If you’ve been a Star TrekOpens in a new tab fan for any length of time, chances are that by now you’ve heard Trek legend Nichelle NicholsOpens in a new tab, who played Lt. Uhura on the original series and the first six feature films, tell one very specific story many times. This would be her famous anecdote of how she once almost quit the series, but was convinced otherwise by one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a pretty great story to be honest, but even if you’ve heard Nichols tell it before, you’ve never heard it told quite like this.
Thanks to io9Opens in a new tab, we’ve learned that the producers of Comedy Central’s Drunk HistoryOpens in a new tab recently got comedian Ashley Nicole BlackOpens in a new tab to get a wee bit tipsy and recount Nichelle’s historic run-in with Martin Luther King Jr., and not only did she tell the story of their historic chance encounter, but she also elaborated on Nichelle Nichol’s role in making sure the first ever interracial kiss made it on the air. And yes, that’s Raven SymoneOpens in a new tab as Nichols, and Jaleel White from Family Matters as Dr.King.
Ashley Nicole Black even gets into Nichelle Nichol’s huge contribution to the real space program, where she was recruited by NASA to lead a recruitment program for women and minorities to become astronauts. Among these astronauts were famous names like Sally Ride, the first woman in space, Guion Bluford, the first African-American man in space, and Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space. Getting to be a vital part of the crew of the Enterprise is cool, but helping recruit all these people into NASA? What a mic-drop on an amazing career. “Hailing frequencies closed” indeed.
Were you aware of Nichelle Nichol’s amazing contributions to promoting civil rights? Give us your thoughts down below in the comments.
Images: CBS
More of the nerdy news you need
- Will Deadpool 2 bring some much neededOpens in a new tab queer representation to superhero movies?
- Why Black Panther is destinedOpens in a new tab for commercial success
- Where did weOpens in a new tableave Westworld at the end of season 1, again?
[brightcove video_id=”5727627648001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]
