Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in “Star Trek” (1968)

Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in “Star Trek” (1968)

AP African American Studies Guide

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Topic 4.21

A Photograph of Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in the Star Trek episode “A Piece of the Action” (1968)

Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), a Black woman, wearing a Starfleet uniform (red dress with a black collar and a wavy gold band on each sleeve), with a communications earpiece in her left ear and green hoop earrings. She has her hands on a bank of buttons connected to an array of four light screens.


Source: Star Trek: LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 12: Nichelle Nichols as Uhura in the STAR TREK episode “A Piece of the Action.” Original air date, January 12, 1968, season 2, episode 17. Image is a screengrab. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)

Nichelle Nichols portrayed Lieutenant Uhura on all three seasons of Star Trek’s original series (1966–1969), Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974), and six feature films. Named for the Swahili word uhuru, or “freedom,” Uhura served as the Enterprise’s communications officer, and Nichols’s performance was particularly praised by Martin Luther King Jr. and served as an inspiration for future NASA astronauts and engineers.