Uhuru beamed up for the last time

[Biffer]

Nichelle Nichols passed away at 89. One of the first black actors to have a significant role in a recurring TV series. Broke many barriers, leaves a legacy behind her.

[Kiwias]

Loved watching Star Trek in the first few seasons and she was one of the reasons. RIP

[sturginho]

[Torquemada 1420]

RIP.


PS, it's Uhuru. Swahili for independence.

[Biffer]

RIP.


PS, it's Uhuru. Swahili for independence.

Not sure how I made that mistake, changed now

[Torquemada 1420]

RIP.


PS, it's Uhuru. Swahili for independence.

Not sure how I made that mistake, changed now

Probably because we tend to type by phonetics and on the series, the Yanks would incorrectly pronounce it oo-hooh-rah.

Easier for me having been a child in East Africa with Swahili as a 2nd language!

[dpedin]

Probably not the first in US tv history but the kiss she had with Captain Kirk in 1968 shocked the racist whites in US and elsewhere and made her famous. She had earlier thought about quitting the show because of the racist abuse but MLK Jnr persuaded her to stay and and remain a shining example for black people. She did that admirably. We forget today just how progressive Star Trek.

[C69]

Probably not the first in US tv history but the kiss she had with Captain Kirk in 1968 shocked the racist whites in US and elsewhere and made her famous. She had earlier thought about quitting the show because of the racist abuse but MLK Jnr persuaded her to stay and and remain a shining example for black people. She did that admirably. We forget today just how progressive Star Trek.

A great progressive voice, I met her about 20 or so years ago when she did a talk that "kiss".
Very inspirational

[Torquemada 1420]

Probably not the first in US tv history but the kiss she had with Captain Kirk in 1968 shocked the racist whites in US and elsewhere and made her famous. She had earlier thought about quitting the show because of the racist abuse but MLK Jnr persuaded her to stay and and remain a shining example for black people. She did that admirably. We forget today just how progressive Star Trek.

Similar story for Barbara Blake Hannah who was the first black news presenter (ITV late 60s). Only she was dropped without explanation after a year although it was clear the reason was because of pressure from racist viewers.

[Niegs]

Not sure about the racism, but she says in this that her heart was always in Broadway and a big role came up.


And how the kissing scene played out:

[laurent]

A pioneering Actress.

Sad to hear of her passing

[assfly]

I bloody wish he was.

[Grandpa]

RIP.


PS, it's Uhuru. Swahili for independence.

Isn't her name Uhura in Star Trek?

[Calculon]

Yeah, Uhura

Gene Roddenberry had intended his new female communications officer to be called "Lieutenant Sulu".[1] Herb Solow pointed out how similar this was to "Zulu" and thought it might act against the plan for racial diversity in the show, so the name Sulu remained with George Takei's character.[2] "Uhura" comes from the Swahili word uhuru, meaning "freedom". Nichols states in her 1994 book Beyond Uhura that the name was inspired by Robert Ruark's 1962 book Uhuru, which she had with her on the day she read for the part. When producer Robert Justman explained to Roddenberry what the word uhuru meant, he changed it to Uhura and adopted that as the character's name.[2] Coincidentally, the end credits of the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country incorrectly refer to Uhura as "Uhuru".

[Gumboot]

[fishfoodie]

Probably not the first in US tv history but the kiss she had with Captain Kirk in 1968 shocked the racist whites in US and elsewhere and made her famous. She had earlier thought about quitting the show because of the racist abuse but MLK Jnr persuaded her to stay and and remain a shining example for black people. She did that admirably. We forget today just how progressive Star Trek.

I'm pretty sure it was the first Interracial kiss on the Networks; hence the landmark, & even the way the story line was written was very lily livered. Both characters were under the influence of aliens, who hypnotically compelled them to kiss ... so there was no question of either of them wanting to kiss, they were forced to

[Lobby]

Probably not the first in US tv history but the kiss she had with Captain Kirk in 1968 shocked the racist whites in US and elsewhere and made her famous. She had earlier thought about quitting the show because of the racist abuse but MLK Jnr persuaded her to stay and and remain a shining example for black people. She did that admirably. We forget today just how progressive Star Trek.

I'm pretty sure it was the first Interracial kiss on the Networks; hence the landmark, & even the way the story line was written was very lily livered. Both characters were under the influence of aliens, who hypnotically compelled them to kiss ... so there was no question of either of them wanting to kiss, they were forced to

It wasn’t the first interracial kiss on TV, and not even the first on Star Trek, although it was still one of the first involving a white man and a black woman (the earlier ones had largely involved women of Asian or mixed heritage).

The network was very still very nervous about it and wanted to film two versions of the scene, one with and one without the kiss. However Shatner and Nichols purposely ruined all of the non-kiss takes, so the network had no choice but to show the kiss.

There was apparently little controversy or complaint at the time, and it is only in the years since that it has gained notoriety. Nichols later commented:

We received one of the largest batches of fan mail ever, all of it very positive, with many addressed to me from girls wondering how it felt to kiss Captain Kirk, and many to him from guys wondering the same thing about me. However, almost no one found the kiss offensive," except from a single mildly negative letter from one white Southerner who wrote: "I am totally opposed to the mixing of the races. However, any time a red-blooded American boy like Captain Kirk gets a beautiful dame in his arms that looks like Uhura, he ain't gonna fight it."

[Torquemada 1420]

RIP.


PS, it's Uhuru. Swahili for independence.

Isn't her name Uhura in Star Trek?

Really?!

FM. All these years. Classic: f**king Yanks don't even know when they've screwed up.

[sturginho]

RIP.


PS, it's Uhuru. Swahili for independence.

Isn't her name Uhura in Star Trek?

Really?!

FM. All these years. Classic: f**king Yanks don't even know when they've screwed up.

Memory Alpha has her name as Uhura

[Torquemada 1420]

Isn't her name Uhura in Star Trek?

Really?!

FM. All these years. Classic: f**king Yanks don't even know when they've screwed up.

Memory Alpha has her name as Uhura

Wiki

Gene Roddenberry had intended his new female communications officer to be called "Lieutenant Sulu".[1] Herb Solow pointed out how similar this was to "Zulu" and thought it might act against the plan for racial diversity in the show, so the name Sulu remained with George Takei's character.[2] "Uhura" comes from the Swahili word uhuru, meaning "freedom". Nichols states in her 1994 book Beyond Uhura that the name was inspired by Robert Ruark's 1962 book Uhuru, which she had with her on the day she read for the part. When producer Robert Justman explained to Roddenberry what the word uhuru meant, he changed it to Uhura and adopted that as the character's name.[2] Coincidentally, the end credits of the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country incorrectly refer to Uhura as "Uhuru".

[Grandpa]

Really?!

FM. All these years. Classic: f**king Yanks don't even know when they've screwed up.

Memory Alpha has her name as Uhura

Wiki

Gene Roddenberry had intended his new female communications officer to be called "Lieutenant Sulu".[1] Herb Solow pointed out how similar this was to "Zulu" and thought it might act against the plan for racial diversity in the show, so the name Sulu remained with George Takei's character.[2] "Uhura" comes from the Swahili word uhuru, meaning "freedom". Nichols states in her 1994 book Beyond Uhura that the name was inspired by Robert Ruark's 1962 book Uhuru, which she had with her on the day she read for the part. When producer Robert Justman explained to Roddenberry what the word uhuru meant, he changed it to Uhura and adopted that as the character's name.[2] Coincidentally, the end credits of the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country incorrectly refer to Uhura as "Uhuru".

A tangled web of intrigue