10 Ways Star Trek Changed People's Lives
4. Uhuru Inspired Whoopi Goldberg to Become an Actor
As the first season of Star Trek came to a close, Nichelle Nichols met with Gene Roddenberry to discuss her future plans. She'd been offered a role in a Broadway show, and was keen to follow her first love of musical theatre. She felt this would be a better career move than staying on as Uhura.
Roddenberry wanted Nichols to stay on the Enterprise and subtly suggested the importance of her visibility on the show. He asked her to think about it and make her final decision on the following Monday. Over that weekend, she was due to appear at a fundraising event for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
At that dinner, she was introduced to Dr Martin Luther King, who was horrified to discover her plans to leave the show. King told her that she was a role model for millions of young girls and women. Meeting King had a huge impact on Nichols, who took his advice, became his friend and sang at his funeral. And he was right. One those young girls watching was Whoopi Goldberg, who has cited the character of Uhura as the inspiration for her acting career. "There's a Black lady on TV," she told her mother "and she ain't no maid!"