Martin Luther King’s impact on the political landscape of the United States of America and the world as a whole cannot be measured. Being influential in every way possible, his activism and political viewpoints shaped the country into what it is today, making a significant contribution to the betterment of the treatment of people of color. However, as history would have it, civil rights wasn’t the only way that he changed lives.
It would seem that on his days off, he would be out in the world, inspiring actors into not quitting their jobs. The legendary actress, Nichelle Nichols had her life completely changed when King inspired her to not quit Star Trek: The Original Series.
Martin Luther King—The No. 1 Nichelle Nichols Fan?
Nichelle Nichols’s contribution to the big screen cannot be understated. The actress played the iconic role of Nyota Uhura, and she was one of the first black characters to not follow a stereotype in popular culture. Having complexities and a personality that did not follow any mold, she created a new standard for writers when they were writing characters of color.
Long before her passing, Nichols gave an interview with NPR, where she revealed quite an interesting piece of information about her time in Star Trek: The Original Series. The actress was once attending a fundraiser for the NAACP, where she was told that she would be meeting her biggest fan ever.
I remember thinking, ‘whoever the fan is, is going to have to wait. Because Dr. King — Dr. Martin Luther King, my leader! — is walking toward me!’
To her surprise, she was met with the legendary Martin Luther King. Interestingly enough, the activist ended up complimenting her on the character that she crafted in the hit series. She then tried to talk to him about what he was most well known for, stating that she wished that she could march with him for their cause.
He complimented me on the manner in which I’d created the character. I thanked him, and I think I said something like, ‘Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you.’ He said, ‘no, no, no. No, you don’t understand… You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for.’
However, he told her that she did not need to as she was making a lot of difference with her character. Being the personification of what he was fighting for, he told her that she was playing a character that they had been desperately trying to show the world.
Martin Luther King Would Not Let Nichelle Nichols Leave
While Martin Luther King was telling Nichelle Nichols all these niceties, he did not know that the actress had recently had a conversation with the creator of Star Trek: The Original Series about quitting. She wanted to pursue other professional opportunities and try her hand at Broadway. However, the showrunner, Gene Roddenberry, had told her to think about it for a weekend before taking such a big decision.
I said, ‘Well, I told Gene just yesterday that I’m going to leave the show after the first year because I’ve been offered…’ — and he stopped me and said: ‘You cannot do that.’ And I was stunned. He said, ‘Don’t you understand what this man has achieved?
For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen.’ He says, ‘Do you understand that this is the only show that my wife Coretta and I will allow our little children to stay up and watch?’ I was speechless.’
Oddly enough, she ended up having her encounter with King during that very weekend. As the activist was telling her how big of an impact she was having, she tried to tell him about her decision to quit the series. However, before she could finish her sentence, he told her not to go through with it.
You cannot, you cannot…for the first time on television, we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people who can sing dance, and can go to space, who are professors, lawyers.
In a separate interview, she mentioned that he immediately told her that she could not leave the role when she was making such a big difference to Hollywood by simply being a part of the series. She was helping the world see people of color in a completely new light; being seen as human rather than a construct or a stereotype.
Such big words coming from someone as influential as King made Nichols change her mind and rethink her decision. It is safe to say that fans are very glad that she did not leave the series when she had planned to.
Star Trek: The Original Series is available for streaming on Paramount+.
