Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an avid fan of Star Trek. He was such a big Trekkie, he even convinced actress Nichelle Nichols, who played “Uhura,” to stay on the show past it’s first season although she wanted to leave. When Nichols told King her intentions of leaving Star Trek, he said “You can’t do that” and explained to her that television needed her because the images on TV have the power to permeate culture, either for the good, or for the bad. “And [Star Trek] is for the highest good,” said Dr. King to Nichelle…
During an interview with NPR, Ms. Nichols explained regarding her conversation with Dr. King during an NAACP fundraiser in Beverly Hills:
Nichelle Nichols- “One of the promoters came over to me and said, Ms. Nichols, there’s someone who would like to meet you. He says he is your greatest fan.
And I’m thinking a Trekker, you know. And I turn, and before I could get up, I looked across the way and there was the face of Dr. Martin Luther King smiling at me and walking toward me. And he started laughing. By the time he reached me, he said, yes, Ms. Nichols, I am your greatest fan. I am that Trekkie.
She continued:
“And I was speechless. He complimented me on the manner in which I’d created the character. I thanked him, and I think I said something like, Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you. He said, no, no, no. No, you don’t understand. We don’t need you on the – to march. You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for. So, I said to him, thank you so much. And I’m going to miss my co-stars.
And his face got very, very serious. And he said, what are you talking about? And I said, well, I told Gene just yesterday that I’m going to leave the show after the first year because I’ve been offered – and he stopped me and said: You cannot do that. And I was stunned. He said, don’t you understand what this man has achieved? For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen. He says, do you understand that this is the only show that my wife Coretta and I will allow our little children to stay up and watch. I was speechless.”
Years later, Whoopi Goldberg also confirmed to Nichelle Nichols, what Dr. King had previously stated:
N.N.- “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.
And that did something to my heart, so I knew that I had made the right decision, because as Dr. King said, you have been chosen.”
Wow, thankfully Dr. King was always thinking of putting the greater god of our people before his own, and from the looks of it, he convinced other important figures, like Nichelle Nichols to do the same. So glad she took heed to his advice, and very grateful for the life and legacy Dr. King left in his path. May he continue to rest in power and peace. Happy MLK Day I Love Old School Music fam!’
