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Nichelle Nichols, Lieutenant Uhura on ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 89

16 points by fortran77 4y ago

kamaitachi 4y ago
RIP. I grew up watching the original Star Trek, not appreciating (at that young age) what a wonderful role model she was.
- actually_a_dog 4y ago
  I did so as well. She was such a role model for black women that MLK himself had to convince her not to leave the show after her first year. And then there's this [0]: > I met Whoopi Goldberg when Gene was doing The Next Generation and she had told me when Star Trek came on she was nine years old and she said she turned the TV on and saw me and ran through the house screaming: Come quick, come quick. Theres a black lady on TV and she ain't no maid. On top of that, while on Star Trek, she was one half of the first and second interracial kisses involving a black person on US television, which was a big deal at the time [1]. She played a black person in an important leadership role on a very popular series. As MLK said to her: "We don't need you on the - to march. You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for." [0] She'll be missed. --- [0]: https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Reflects-On-MLK-Encounter https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Re... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_interracial_kiss_on_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_interracial_kiss_on_tele...
nabla9 4y ago
Long live and Prosper William Shatner 91 (alive) Nichelle Nichols 89 George Takei 85 (alive) Walter Koenig 85 (alive) James Doohan 85 Leonard Nimoy 83 TOS main actors live long compared to people from their generation https://u.demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html https://u.demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html
- zeristor 4y ago
  DeForest Kelly 79 Just didn’t want to leave him out.
balentio 4y ago
I met her at a Star Trek convention long ago when I was much younger. I remember her emphasizing her contribution to race-relations and the other thing I remember is she kept some kind of mixed alcohol drink flowing throughout the convention such that by the time we were at the end, she was a little bit slurry. I also met Scotty. He had a much more jovial attitude and wasn't as "into his contribution or legacy".

16 points by fortran77 4y ago

RIP. I grew up watching the original Star Trek, not appreciating (at that young age) what a wonderful role model she was.

actually_a_dog 4y ago
I did so as well. She was such a role model for black women that MLK himself had to convince her not to leave the show after her first year. And then there's this [0]: > I met Whoopi Goldberg when Gene was doing The Next Generation and she had told me when Star Trek came on she was nine years old and she said she turned the TV on and saw me and ran through the house screaming: Come quick, come quick. Theres a black lady on TV and she ain't no maid. On top of that, while on Star Trek, she was one half of the first and second interracial kisses involving a black person on US television, which was a big deal at the time [1]. She played a black person in an important leadership role on a very popular series. As MLK said to her: "We don't need you on the - to march. You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for." [0] She'll be missed. --- [0]: https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Reflects-On-MLK-Encounter https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Re... [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_interracial_kiss_on_television https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_interracial_kiss_on_tele...

nabla9 4y ago

Long live and Prosper William Shatner 91 (alive) Nichelle Nichols 89 George Takei 85 (alive) Walter Koenig 85 (alive) James Doohan 85 Leonard Nimoy 83 TOS main actors live long compared to people from their generation https://u.demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html https://u.demog.berkeley.edu/~andrew/1918/figure2.html

zeristor 4y ago
DeForest Kelly 79 Just didn’t want to leave him out.

balentio 4y ago

I met her at a Star Trek convention long ago when I was much younger. I remember her emphasizing her contribution to race-relations and the other thing I remember is she kept some kind of mixed alcohol drink flowing throughout the convention such that by the time we were at the end, she was a little bit slurry. I also met Scotty. He had a much more jovial attitude and wasn't as "into his contribution or legacy".