OPINION | LET'S TALK: ‘Star Trek’ star Nichols lived long, prospered

Helaine Williams
Helaine Williams


In the "Star Trek" multiverse, I'm what I'd call a "vestibule area" Trekkie. I'm not hanging out in the actual house, but I'm not hanging out on the front porch or standing in front of the house, gawking at it, either.

In other words, I haven't attended any conventions, read the books, kept up with every scenario of every "Star Trek" story or even stuffed myself into a makeshift "Star Trek" costume (save for dressing as "Star Trek: The Next Generation's" bartender, Guinan, while serving beverages at some long-ago event at the Museum of Discovery).

It's easy to forget just how old the original "Star Trek" is; it first aired as a series in 1966. It grew into a franchise that has had many versions emerge since then. But nothing beats the original Capt. James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Scotty, Dr. McCoy, Chekov ... and of course, Lieutanant Uhura. The latter was made iconic by the incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who died July 31 at the age of 89.

I'd wondered at the back of my mind which "Star Trek: TOS" (The Original Series) we would lose next, remembering the gut punches that came with the losses of Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (McCoy), James Doohan (Scotty) and Nurse Chapel (Majel Barrett).

Now I know. Oooouch.

But Nichols did make it to 89, which, again, shows how long she, and "Star Trek," have been with us.

Let's put aside the fact that in the original series the women of the show's star ship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, wore fit-and-flare uniforms that ended in impossibly short skirts and, complete with black boots, made them look like intergalactic go-go dancers. (Actually the original "Star Trek" was an equal opportunity objectifier: Kirk and other male characters were shirtless in quite a few cases ... and among the humanoid species the Enterprise crew encountered, some of the male costumes were, to say the least, masculinity robbing.)

I was one of those little Black girls who appreciated seeing Lieutenant Uhura, the ship's communications officer, portrayed by someone who looked like myself starring in such a prominent series. I use the phrase "looked like myself" somewhat loosely in that, as someone with lifelong weight struggles, I spent years envying Nichols' perfect figure. Especially when she showed more of it via that midriff-baring version of her uniform in the parallel universe in one of "Star Trek's" more notable episodes: "Mirror, Mirror" ... the episode in which Uhura had that rather steamy exchange there on the ship's bridge with the "other" Sulu. Speaking of steamy, she was on the other end of "television's first scripted interracial kiss with 'Star Trek' co-star William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, in the 1968 episode 'Plato's Stepchildren,'" as an obit story at abcnews.go.com puts it.

The woman did all this onscreen without losing an ounce of dignity and class. Even though Uhura was just one of a zillion female characters Kirk locked lips with on that show.

"In an interview for the Archive of American Television, Nichols explained how she wanted to leave the series for a role on Broadway and how Martin Luther King Jr. talked her into staying at the height of the civil rights movement," continues the ABC story.

"In an interview with StarTrek.com, Nichols explained that during a chance encounter at a fundraiser, King had urged her to remain on the show. 'When we see you, we see ourselves. And we see ourselves as intelligent, and beautiful and proud,' she recalled King telling her. The following Monday she rescinded her resignation to show creator Gene Roddenberry."

King saw beyond the impracticality of that "Star Trek" uniform. He knew that in her role, Nichols — besides adding some femininity and glam to the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise — was a real-life dream initiator, a role model for not only Black girls but all who would go on to pioneering, barrier-breaking roles in their desired professions. She definitely showed me that those two aforementioned virtues, dignity and class, transcends any racial, cultural or socioeconomic background; any environment ... and any attire. That dignity was still intact when she came back for the original set of "Star Trek" feature films starting in '79 and proceeding through the '80s.

Yeah, there was that scene in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," where the then-middle aged Uhura does a "naked fan dance" to distract some bad guys (see Star Trek: 10 Embarrassing Movie Scenes That Should Never Have Been Filmed, whatculture.com). But only her bare legs were onscreen, and that scene didn't reduce the brightness of Nichols' sun in the "Star Trek" multiverse. Or in my heart. Or, I'm sure, in the hearts of those at NASA, for which she served as a recruitment ambassador for women and other underrepresented communities.

Not bad for somebody we first saw in a mini dress on a fictional show about star-ship travels.

Rest in love, Nichelle. Thanks for going where no woman (Black or otherwise) had gone before.

Email: hwilliams@adgnewsroom.com


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