As a fan of the Classic Star Trek show, I am deeply saddened we are now in a time period of great losses. Where we had earlier already lost DeForest Kelley ( he died in 1999 ), James Doohan ( died in 2005 ), Majel Barrett Roddenberry (2008) and Leonard Nimoy (2015), one month ago my world was again shattered by the passing on of Nichelle Nichols. Nichelle Nichols played Lt Uhura in the Classic Series as well as in all 6 Original Trek Feature Films.
Nichelle Nichols was not aware of it at the time but with her portrayal of Uhura, all of a sudden she was representing a minority group on a television show that was watched by millions of people worldwide. It was Dr. Martin Luther King who had to make her aware of this when he announced himself to be a fan of her, at a convention after the first season. Nichelle had told us she had intended to leave the show but Dr. King said she could not do that. Her symbolic value on this show was such that even Nichelle Nichols had to admit he was right and fortunately for us, she stayed on the show.
The show did not have all that much immediate success though. She worked for many years outside of the entertainment business on personal projects to call up new talent for NASA and was able to bring in a lot of women, as well as a lot of colored talent. But even if she would primarily be remembered for Uhura, her presence on the show meant something. Even I, watching them as a kid, sensed that.
There are also a lot of other things that she can be remembered for. Other roles, her singing, other work that she engaged in. I myself praise myself lucky that I was able to see her live at several conventions. And she also always told us how much she appreciated that we, the fans, appreciated her and the show. I am also very pleased that she had the chance to see how Sonequa Martin-Green now honors her on Star Trek Discovery with her role.
There are not many left of those who were on the original Star Trek show. William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Koenig. Yes, these are sad times so the best thing to do is to remember her, to remember them at their best. And then, even now, STAR TREK LIVES !!!
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