Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren bog Obam here. Star Trek has one of the
Speaker 1: most passionate fan bases of any entertainment franchise in American history,
Speaker 1: and among our ranks is no less than Dr Martin
Speaker 1: Luther King Jr. Who actually had a lasting influence on
Speaker 1: the show. Nachelle Nichols, an African American woman, played communications
Speaker 1: officer Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on the original TV series in
Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties. Her role had immense cultural significance because,
Speaker 1: in an era that severely lacked black representation and opportunity,
Speaker 1: it showed a black woman working as an integral member
Speaker 1: of the crew of the Starship Enterprise. She was the
Speaker 1: first African American in a lead role in a TV series.
Speaker 1: The name Ahura was based on a Swahili word for freedom, huru.
Speaker 1: A show creator, Geane Roddenberry, was determined to create a
Speaker 1: multi race cast, something rare at that time in American television. However,
Speaker 1: Nichol's portrayal of the lieutenant was almost short lived. Her
Speaker 1: background was in theater. After the first season of Star Trek,
Speaker 1: she was approached with the opportunity to return to the
Speaker 1: stage and decided to take it, but fate had other plans.
Speaker 1: Rod and Barry was upset to see her go and
Speaker 1: asked her to take the weekend to mull over her decision.
Speaker 1: During that time, she went to an n DOUBLE a
Speaker 1: CP fundraiser in Beverly Hills, where she was approached by
Speaker 1: perhaps surprising fan. Here's how she recalled the meeting in
Speaker 1: NPR and I turned and before I could get up,
Speaker 1: I looked across the way and there was the face
Speaker 1: of Dr Martin Luther King smiling at me and walking
Speaker 1: towards me, and he started laughing. By the time he
Speaker 1: reached me, he said, Yes, Miss Nichols, I'm your greatest fan.
Speaker 1: I am that trekky. King informed her that Star Trek
Speaker 1: was the only show he allowed his kids to stay
Speaker 1: up and watch, and that not only was he a fan,
Speaker 1: he was deeply moved by what Nichols represented with the
Speaker 1: civil rights movement in full swing, King found it to
Speaker 1: be of utmost importance that Nichols continue to set a
Speaker 1: positive example of an African American woman in a position
Speaker 1: of leadership on TV. Nichols detailed her feelings after the
Speaker 1: conversation for Reddit a m a, she said. Dr Martin
Speaker 1: Luther King said something along the lines of, if you leave,
Speaker 1: they can replace you with a blonde haired white girl,
Speaker 1: and it will be like you were never there. What
Speaker 1: you've accomplished for all of us will only be real
Speaker 1: if you stay. That got me thinking about how it
Speaker 1: would look for fans of color around the country if
Speaker 1: they saw me leave. I saw that this was bigger
Speaker 1: than just me. Nichols continued presence on the show cemented
Speaker 1: Lieutenant Hoa as a cultural icon and science fiction and
Speaker 1: American pop culture. If not for King's insistence and Nichols
Speaker 1: changing her mind, we may never have gotten one of
Speaker 1: the most important scene in TV history. In the show's
Speaker 1: third and final season. NBC aired the episode Plato's Stepchildren
Speaker 1: on November twenty two of nineteen sixty eight, seven months
Speaker 1: after King was assassinated. The episode was groundbreaking as it
Speaker 1: featured the first interracial kiss between William Shatner's Captain Kirk
Speaker 1: and nichols Lieutenant Ahura seen on mainstream US television. The
Speaker 1: very first had occurred in nineteen sixty two in a
Speaker 1: televised version of the play You and Your Small Corner,
Speaker 1: but it was not widely aired. Keep in mind that
Speaker 1: this kiss on Star Trek was only seventeen months after
Speaker 1: the Supreme Court struck down laws that banned into racial
Speaker 1: marriage in their decision in the case of Loving versus Virginia.
Speaker 1: This television moment might seem small now, but it was
Speaker 1: a continuation of what doctor King hoped for Nichols and
Speaker 1: her character. He knew back in the show's first season
Speaker 1: that Nichols had the ability to continue to break barriers
Speaker 1: and redefined beliefs about race in America. Today's episode was
Speaker 1: written by David Dennis and produced by Tyler Clang. For
Speaker 1: more on this and lots of other topics, visit how
Speaker 1: Stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio.
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Speaker 1: favorite shows.