When Martin Luther King Jr. convinced Nichelle Nichols to stay on Star Trek

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was instrumental in ensuring that Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura stayed on Star Trek: The Original Series. Nyota Uhura was the Communications Officer on board USS Enterprise. She was a vital character on Star Trek not just on screen, but off too. Nichols’ performance held a deep cultural significance since she was one of the first Black actresses to have a substantial role on television in 1966.

Dr. King and Nichols met at an event where he requested her not to quit the show. He realized that at a time when African Americans were seldom offered main roles, Uhura’s character was treated the same as any other.

Star Trek: The Original Series was created by the visionary Gene Roddenberry in 1966. He envisioned a utopian world with diversity and equality. Uhura was part of the multicultural crew on board USS Enterprise.

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When Nichelle Nichols met Martin Luther King Jr.

Nichols, who came from a musical theatre background, wanted to quit the show to pursue a career in theatre. She approached Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry with the request. While speaking to StarTrek.com in 2010, Nichols recalled,

‘…Gene said, “You can’t, Nichelle. Don’t you see what I’m trying to do here?” I just looked at him, because I was resolute. He said, “OK,” and I handed him my resignation…he said, “I’m not going to accept this yet.” He put it in his desk drawer and said, “Take the weekend and think about this, Nichelle. If you still want to do this on Monday morning I will let you go with my blessings.’

During the weekend she attended a NAACP fundraiser when an organizer approached her asking if she could meet a fan. She said,

‘…I remember saying to myself, “Whoever that fan is, whoever that Trekkie is, it’ll have to wait because I have to meet Dr. Martin Luther King.” And he walks up to me and says, “Yes, Ms. Nichols, I am your greatest fan.” You know I can talk, but all my mouth could do was open and close, open and close; I was so stunned.’

Dr. King shared the weight of her character in the African American community with her. He also added that Star Trek was the only show he and his wife allowed their children to watch late. He was taken aback when Nichols shared that she was planning to quit. She recalled,

‘He said, “You cannot,” ….He said, “Don’t you see what this man is doing, who has written this? This is the future. He has established us as we should be seen. Three hundred years from now we are here. We are marching, and this is the first step. When we see you, we see ourselves, and we see ourselves as intelligent and beautiful and proud.”’

She continued,

‘He goes on and I’m looking at him and my knees are buckling. I said, “I…, I…” And he said, “You turn on your television and the news comes on and you see us marching and peaceful, you see the peaceful civil disobedience, and you see the dogs and see the fire hoses, and we all know they cannot destroy us because we are there in the 23rd century.’

This impactful rendezvous made her change her mind. Nichols returned on Monday to inform Roddenberry of what happened and her decision to stay on. She quipped,

‘He looked at me and said, “God bless Dr. Martin Luther King. Somebody truly knows what I am trying to do.” He opened his drawer, took out my resignation and handed it to me. He had torn it to pieces. He handed me the 100 pieces and said, “Welcome back.”’

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Uhura in the Star Trek Universe

Nyota Uhura is the Communication Officer on Starship Enterprise under Captain Kirk. She is portrayed as an intelligent woman, involved in the decisions taken on the Bridge in the spaceship. She was a well-versed officer with knowledge in polyglot translator, signal intelligence analysis, and linguistic cryptography.

In Season 3, episode 10 titled Plato’s Stepchildren, Captain Kirk and Uhura share a kiss. An interracial kiss scene in 1968 was considered unthinkable. However, it became one of the more iconic moments from the show despite the resistance from the network during the time.

Academy award winner Zoe Saldana played the role of Nyota Uhura in the movies Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness directed by J. J. Abrams.

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Nichols’s significance beyond Star Trek

Nichols is an important figure even outside the world of Star Trek. Astronaut Mae Jemison was inspired to pursue space science because of Lieutenant Uhura. She became the first African American to travel to space.

Even today, when it comes to conversations on equality, Nichols as Uhura always finds a significant mention for being a part of the diversity representation in entertainment and beyond.

ALSO READ: Star Trek: A look at some of the iconic lines by Captain Kirk in The Original Series

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