“You can’t give up, you can’t… for the first time in the history of television they see us as they should see us every day, as intelligent, valuable, beautiful people, people who can sing, dance, go to space, who are teachers or lawyers, if you leave that door will close forever, because your role is not the role of a black woman, not even a woman, it is a role that they might play with anyone, even with an alien. When Nichelle Nichols Hearing those words, she was speechless. She had made the decision to leave Star Trek and his role as Thirsty fornication to go to theater. But his interlocutor, who had just declared the biggest fan of the seriesconvinced her to stay and pointed out that her place in the prime time American television, with a character on an equal footing with the others, was as important or more important for the future than all the civil rights marches of that time. That his figure there might inspire hundreds and advance the idea of equality beyond skin color. His interlocutor was none other than Martin Luther King Jr.
Nichols passed away on Saturday, although his family only broke the news on Sunday followingnoon. Luther King Jr. was not exaggerating. Nichols inspired not only other black actresses (such as the enormous Whoopi Goldberg)but young people to follow their dreams, like NASA astronaut Mae Jemison (the actress worked for a time with the US aerospace agency on a project to hire more female and ethnic minority employees).
Although she had some minor roles in the rest of her career, her role as Lieutenant Uhura was pioneer and it earned him, among other things, that an asteroid (68410) was baptized with his last name. NASA fired her yesterday with a heartfelt tweet: “She symbolized for many what was possible and inspired generations to reach for the stars.” Y Lynda “Wonder Woman” Carter noted, “Many actors and actresses can become stars, but very few can move a nation. Nichelle Nichols showed us the extraordinary power of black women and paved the way for a better future for all women in media. Thank you, NIchelle. We will miss you.”
