Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Uhura on “Star Trek” in a groundbreaking function for Black actresses earlier than occurring to assist recruit folks of colour and ladies for NASA in actual life, has died, her son introduced on Facebook. She was 89.
“I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years,” her son, Kyle Johnson, posted on Nichols’ official Facebook web page. Nichols died of pure causes, based on Johnson.
“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,” he wrote.
After “Star Trek,” Nichols went on to change into a recruiter for NASA, taking part in a key function in serving to recruit folks of colour and feminine astronauts.
Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump and director Todd Thompson, who each served as govt producers of the documentary “Women in Motion: Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek and the Remaking of NASA,” referred to as her story “monumental.”
Nichols portrayed U.S.S. Enterprise communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on the “Star Trek” tv sequence from 1966-1969. She additionally reprised the function in six films from the enduring sci-fi franchise.
Nichols was one of many first Black actresses to star in a primetime tv present, and he or she and “Star Trek” made historical past with tv’s first interracial kiss in 1968.
“She was the third-highest ranking member in the space command,” Crump advised “CBS Saturday Morning” in 2021. “I mean, you talk about every little Black boy and girl running to the TV to say, ‘hello that’s a Black woman, and she’s in charge?'”
“Star Trek” suffered from poor scores throughout its preliminary run and, based on “CBS Saturday Morning,” Nichols had been considering leaving the present after the primary season to go to Broadway. But then she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a religious Trekkie, who pleaded along with her to remain, saying it was the one present he watched along with his youngsters.
“He said, ‘you don’t understand the effect that you’re having, not only on Black people, not only on young women, but on everybody,'” she mentioned within the documentary.
As “Star Trek” grew to become extra fashionable, members of NASA took discover – and had change into followers, attending the “Star Trek” conventions. Nichols as soon as gave a speech to members of NASA, and Crump mentioned that she seen there have been no girls or minorities within the viewers.
“I said, ‘where are my people?'” Nichols mentioned within the documentary. “I meant that then and I mean it now.”
The head of NASA was within the viewers and took discover, providing her the chance to recruit for them. Nichols shaped the corporate “Women in Motion,” touring all through the nation to recruit girls and other people of colour for NASA.
The effort paid off. In 1978, NASA recruited 35 folks, together with for the primary time, six girls and 4 folks of colour.
“This might sound a little corny, but it felt like my children,” she mentioned within the “Women in Motion” documentary. “And my heart, it pounded. And I knew the world would never be the same again. We would go on to great heights – and to think I had the slightest thing to do with it makes me know that all things good are possible.”Â