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Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
When people think about civil rights trailblazers in Hollywood, Nichelle Nichols rarely comes up in conversation. That’s a shame because she genuinely went where no man or woman had ever gone before.
Her seminal role as Lt. Nyota Uhura in the pioneering years of the Star Trek franchise was so much more than a scene-building character. In 1966, studios did not allow Black women to contribute–much less lead–a scene on TV. From the moment Uhura addressed Captain Kirk in the groundbreaking television series, creator Gene Roddenberry knew he had a pop culture phenomenon on his hands.
Many of her decades-long fans were not aware of Nichols’ other achievements. Grace Dell Nichols–as her mother named her–loved watching ballet and musical theater in her native Chicago. She even dazzled behind a microphone with a four-octave vocal range (take that, Mariah Carey).
In 1968, Nichelle Nichols hurled a massive rock at the glass ceiling overhead. It shattered and was never rebuilt. The scene is globally known to the media but is acclaimed among Trekkies and other sci-fi enthusiasts.
Black Love Conquered White Pride
The astonishing fact about that kiss is that it took a more historical figure to make it happen.
Legend has it that Nichelle Nichols was going to leave Star Trek after one season. News traveled at warp speed around the Black community, instigating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to offer some advice and influence.
He said, ‘You cannot leave. Don’t you see what this man [Roddenberry] has brought? He has changed the face of television forever, unless you leave…You have a God-given opportunity to change the face of television, change the way we think.’
Nichelle Nichols sharing with Smithsonian Magazine‘s Arcynta Ali Childs, 2011
Two years later, Captain Kirk and Lt. Uhura swapped breath mints, making history. Following the three seasons of Star Trek on TV, Nichols took those words and that mantle to heart. Following Apollo 11 (“The Eagle has Landed”), he began a 50-year relationship with NASA to recruit women and people of color. Her recruiting is said to have attracted Guion Bluford (the first Black American in space) and Sally Ride (the first American woman in space.)
Nichelle Nichols Did More Than Her Part
Amid the tumult of the Civil Rights Movement, Star Trek and Nichelle Nichols stood tall on the backs of giants to make a statement seen across the universe. She was gifted and intelligent, bold and brazen, and smokin’ hot–not for a “Black” woman or an actor, but period!
That’s where many Americans had to come to grips. Some TV heartthrobs like William Shatner kissing Nichelle Nichols creates the identity of a person without melanin, skin tone, or the stereotype of whatever “color” meant to some people in the ’60s.
One brick on that sociopolitical wall was removed, causing a part of it to crumble for all people. Now that she is in the Final Frontier, may Nichelle Nichols’ legacy be lasting. She deserved it and was proud of creating it.
Although she suffered a mild stroke in 2015 and struggled with dementia since 2018, Nichols remained active in conventions and with NASA in her latter years. Nichelle Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, shared the tragic news about his mother’s passing. Until further word, the cause is “natural causes.”
I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years. Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration. Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.
Kyle Johnson, Facebook, August 1, 2002
Nichols was 89 years old.
Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
This article was edited by Zach Smith.