10 Times Star Trek Went Woke
1. Hailing Frequencies Open, Captain
Lt. Uhura answered the phone.
Does this do an incredible disservice to Nichelle Nichols' legacy? Or does it speak to the limitations, as Amy Foster puts it in her book Integrating Women into the Astronaut Corps: Politics and Logistics at NASA, placed on women's rights and positions in the 1960s?
Though The Cage didn't feature the character, Roddenberry was keen to create his future with as diverse a crew as possible. Where No Man Has Gone Before featured Lloyd Haynes as communications officer Alden, though he was keeping Uhura's seat warm for her when she arrived to serve in the position for the majority of the show's run.
As previously discussed in this article, the Civil Rights Movement was both gaining traction and facing major challenges in the mid-60s. Nichelle Nichols described a meeting with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wherein the latter convinced her to remain with the show beyond the first year, citing the importance of representation in media.
When viewed through a 21st-century lens, Uhura's inclusion seems obvious and less a statement than another role filled. In 1966, casting an African American actor in a main role, for a character with a Swahili name, visible in almost all episodes that featured the bridge - was nothing short of transgressive.
Can we say that Star Trek was 'Woke' in the 1960s? If to be 'Woke' one has to be aware of the struggles faced by the African American citizens of the US, then this writer would argue that yes, it was. If to be 'Woke' is to use the pejorative meaning of the word of recent years, then this writer would have to argue that yes, it was.
Star Trek, from its earliest days, has displayed both racial and social awareness. It is by no means perfect, stumbling almost as often as succeeding, yet in its contemporary setting, that too is almost as impressive. It fell, but it tried again.
Star Trek has been 'Woke' since its earliest days.