Afrofuturism by Ytasha L. Womack

Author:Ytasha L. Womack
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2013-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman to go into space, always liked math and technology. But her space dreams were sparked by watching Lieutenant Uhura, the lone black character on Star Trek, each week. The role of Uhura, played by Nichelle Nichols in the 1960s, has been reprised by Zoe Saldana in recent years. Nichols was one of the only black women on television in the 1960s and, next to Diahann Carroll’s Julia, one of the few who weren’t playing maids.

Uhura was written into Star Trek in part to use the show as a commentary about racial equality. But Nichols was frustrated that her character’s story line was underutilized, and she submitted a letter of resignation. The story goes that civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. hoped to change her mind.

“He said, ‘I’m the biggest Trekkie on the planet and I am Lieutenant Uhura’s most ardent fan,’ ” Nichols recalled. “ ‘You can’t abdicate your position,’ he said. ‘You are changing the minds of people across the world. For the first time, through you, we see ourselves. What we can be, what we are fighting for, what we are marching for.’ ” Nichols was convinced.1

In 2012 Mae Jemison launched the 100 Year Starship project, a nonprofit whose goal is to achieve interstellar travel by 2112.

And it all began with a fictitious character.

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