MLK convinced her to return to a groundbreaking role for Black actors Nichelle Nichols, best known as the communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura of the starship Enterprise, died July 30.
As Uhura, Nichols was a core presence during Star Trek’s original run on NBC from 1966 to 1969.
Though the series’ first run was cancelled in 1969, Nichols remained a singularly identifiable Star Trek figure in the coming decades.
To that point, Black actresses were largely given servile or ancillary roles in television and theater.