Op Ed: My Tribute to Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022)
The world mourns a woman that was very special in a crucial time for this nation’s TV and filmmaking for minorities, especially African Americans. Her name Nichelle Nichols, but many of us knew and loved her as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, a highly ranked communications officer on the Star Ship Enterprise (1966) in the original series of Star Trek alongside William Shatner (Capt. James T Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock). She died July 31 at the age of 89 and although there are other roles she played; this one is the one she will be known for the most in my childhood memories and my heart.
Before this time, Hispanics and African Americans always played the roles of workers, nanny’s, maid servants or cooks. When Gene Roddenberry casted her as an officer, which made her a woman that was considered equal to the men, and it didn’t matter her race, she got the audience attention pretty quick. This was a bold move for Roddenberry, but he was known to go against the grain, not only in civil right aspects but also in religion. In the book written by Shatner, called “Star Trek Memories” (2009), Shatner explains how Gene created Spock as a so-called character alike to the devil (pointy ear and green color blood) just to make a point about stigmas that were included in religion. When Nichols was about to leave the show, it was also known that Dr. Martin Luther King requested an audience with her to simply thank her for vindicating the black women of America, because for the first time in history, they were seen as equals to anyone else on national TV. It is believed that for this reason she decided to stay.
She was the third of six children, born on December 28, 1932 in Robbins, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. It was based on her upbringing that Nichols found the courage to take a different role in her life to beat the stereotypes of that time. Her father Samuel Earl Nichols was a factory worker who was elected town mayor of Robbins in 1929. Nichols graduated from Englewood High School in 1951 and then studied in New York City and Los Angeles. Before Star Trek, Gene worked with her on other projects like The Lieutenant in an episode called “To Set it Right” featuring Gary Lockwood, Dennis Hopper and Don Marshall (NBC, 1964). Unfortunately, the series was short lived when issues made Gene reach out to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to intervene with the production and pressure them to air the episode, a week later the series was cancelled. Gene was determined to set Nichols in an advanced female role in a time in which this was frowned upon, and this was the beginning of how African American female roles got their chance in the spotlight, and what a beauty to behold she was. It was no secret that Gene and Nichols had a romantic relationship while he was courting Majel Barrett. Majel Barrett was known as Number One in the pilot “The Cage”(1964), the voice of the computer on Star Trek The Next Generation and as Lwaxana Troi, Deanna Troi's mother who was in her words “Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed"
Originally published: November 1994
After Gene’s death, Nichols wrote a book called “Beyond Uhura”. In her autobiography she takes you on her life's journey of personal discovery and professional success - beyond Uhura. Granddaughter of the rebellious son of a slave owner, Nichelle Nichols grew up in a very modern thinking family. By the age of sixteen the young singer-dancer had already been praised by Josephine Baker and had worked with Duke Ellington. She established herself as a first-rate performer in nightclubs, onstage, and eventually in film. From the beginning of her Hollywood career, some would say, she had two strikes against her: she was African American and she was a woman. In the face of racism, the mob, and an attempted rape, she fought against the injustices that stood between her and her dreams. She was a symbol of hope and promise for millions of viewers, Nichols worked toward the same goals Lieutenant Uhura and, indeed, all of Star Trek embody. Whether spearheading a national recruitment drive to bring minorities and women into the NASA astronaut corps or producing space-oriented educational films and programs for young people, she remained dedicated to inspiring a sense of promise for humankind's real-life future among the stars. As a Hispanic, she was one of the rock-solid characters second to only Leonard Nimoy in my life as I saw that we could be what we put our minds up to be, I will miss one of my heroes dearly. As a child watching in the 70s Nichols, an African American woman, and Nimoy a Jewish man, they both made me feel like I too could reach for the stars. Captain’s log star date 07312022, signing out. LLAP
Nichols became the first African-American to place her handprints in front of Hollywood's Chinese Theatre. Vintage Black Glamour
