SPEAKER_00: Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.
This month we're talking about women of science fiction.
These women inspire us to imagine impossible worlds, alien creatures, and fantastical inventions, revealing our deepest fears and hopes for the future.
Today we're talking about a woman who encouraged African Americans to see themselves in galaxies beyond our own.
Let's talk about Nichelle Nichols.
Nichelle was born Grace Dell Nichols in Robins, Illinois, on December 28, 1932.
Grace always knew she wanted to be on Broadway.
She took up ballet at a young age and had a beautiful singing voice with a range of more than four octaves.
At one point, Grace decided she no longer liked her name, so she asked her parents for a different one.
They chose Nichelle, which means victorious maiden.
While still in high school, Nichelle began performing at one of Chicago's well-known jazz spots.
When Duke Ellington saw her on stage, he invited her to join him and his band on tour.
Nichelle sang and danced her way across the country.
After the tour ended, Nichelle continued to hone her craft by studying in New York and Los Angeles.
In 1964, she made her television debut in an episode of The Lieutenant.
The show was created by Gene Roddenberry, the future mastermind behind Star Trek.
And when Star Trek finally hit television screens in 1966, Nichelle was there, part of the intergalactic crew.
Space, the final frontier.
Nichelle played Lieutenant Uhura. As the communications officer on the USS Enterprise, she was fourth in command.
This was one of the first times a Black woman had a leading role in a network television series.
Before Nichelle, Black women were resigned to playing subservient menial roles.
But Lieutenant Uhura was a highly educated, highly respected officer who could take control of other stations on the Enterprise when needed, and did it all with a professional demeanor.
Nichelle enjoyed the show, but ultimately it wasn't what she'd set out to do.
Broadway was still her dream.
So after the first season of Star Trek, Nichelle submitted her resignation to Mr. Roddenberry.
He took the letter, but told her to take the weekend to think it over.
That weekend, Nichelle met an avid fan.
That fan was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He told her that Star Trek was the only show he and his wife let their kids stay up to watch, because of how important it was for them to watch a person of color in such a respected role.
When Nichelle told Dr. King of her plans to leave the show, he was beside himself.
He said, When we see you, we see ourselves, and we see ourselves as intelligent and beautiful and proud.
That following Monday, Nichelle walked into Mr. Roddenberry's office and said, If you want me to stay, I will stay.
Mr. Roddenberry, clearly pleased with this decision, opened his desk drawer, handed Nichelle her resignation letter that he had torn into tiny pieces and happily welcomed her back.
Nichelle firmly cemented her legacy during the show's third and final season in the fall of 1968.
In the episode titled, Plato's Stepchildren, the alien inhabitants of the strange planet force Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner and Lieutenant Uhura, to kiss.
I'm thinking of all the times on the Enterprise when I was scared to death.
And I would see you so busy at your command.
And I would hear your voice from all parts of the ship.
And my fears would fade.
The scene was intentionally written to show that Uhura and Captain Kirk did not kiss voluntarily, but rather were forced into the embrace by aliens that held the power to control people's movements.
Out of fear of the public perception, the network went so far as to film takes of the scene with and without the kiss. In the end, NBC aired The Kiss, although they insisted their lips never actually touched.
Nichelle says otherwise.
Regardless, it was one of the first televised kisses between a white person and a black person.
Star Trek was and is a sensation, and Nichelle's role had an influence that extended beyond
science fiction and into reality.
In 1977, she partnered with NASA to help recruit women and people of color to the space agency.
The next year, the agency received its first astronaut candidate class that included women and minorities.
One of those candidates was Dr. Mae Jemison.
She credited Star Trek as a driving force behind her decision to become an astronaut.
She later became the first black woman to travel to space in 1992.
Over the years, Nichelle made public appearances and recorded several public service announcements on behalf of NASA.
In a news release, the agency credited Nichelle with inspiring thousands of diverse applicants.
She received NASA's Public Service Award in 1984.
Despite wanting to quit after the first season, Nichelle continued to stay in the Star Trek family for years to come.
She voiced Uhura on Star Trek the Animated Series and reprised her role in the first six Star Trek films.
Throughout those films, she was promoted from lieutenant commander to full commander.
When Nichelle wasn't acting, she was back on the stage performing her one-woman show, Tensions, in which she honored black female performers that came before her, like Lena Horn and Eartha Kitt.
In 1992, Nichelle's contribution to film and television was formally celebrated with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
She continued to be recognized for her work in the following decades.
Essence Magazine honored her as one of its champions of the civil rights movement in February of 2014.
Later that year, she introduced NASA's newest vehicle, the Orion.
And in September of 2015, Nichelle went to space through NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy Telescope mission.
Nichelle suffered a stroke in her early 80s and her health began to decline.
On July 30, 2022, Nichelle Nichols died at the age of 89.
Her legacy remains here on Earth as well as in outer space.
A portion of her ashes were launched into deep space aboard a memorial rocket.
Through Lieutenant Uhura, Nichelle helped change the way people think about the universe and who belongs in it.
All month we're talking about women in science fiction. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanaka Podcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow.
