Elyse Wanshel
Mon, August 1, 2022
Nichelle Nichols and Raven-Symoné as Nichols on “Drunk History.” (Photo: CBS Photo Archive / Contributor via Getty/Screenshot “Drunk History”/Comedy Central via YouTube)
Nichelle Nichols played a key role in helping others live long and prosper.
After news broke that the “Star Trek” icon died Saturday in Silver City, New Mexico, at the age of 89, tributes to the pioneering actor flooded social media.
One of these salutes was by comedian Ashley Nicole Black, who tweeted that Nichols’ “beautiful legacy” was an example of “what it really means to use the platform you have to make the world a better place.”
“I think of her example often and I hope others will too,” Black wrote before offering an actual example of how Nichols’ decisions helped others aim for the stars.
Black tweeted a clip from a “Drunk History” episode she narrated about Nichols’ life.
In the 2018 clip, Raven-Symoné plays Nichols in a reenactment of the famous moment in which Martin Luther King Jr. helped Nichols realize how much her role as Lt. Nyota Uhura — who was the communications officer on the Starship Enterprise in the original “Star Trek” TV series — meant to Black Americans.
In the clip, Black tipsily paraphrased that Nichols was thinking about quitting “Star Trek” right before attending an NAACP fundraiser that Nichols and King both attended. At the event, King gushed about “Star Trek” to Nichols and told the actor she couldn’t quit the show because, as Black paraphrased:
“’You are the only Black woman on television who doesn’t play a servant. You’re the only person out there providing hope to Black people that there’s a future where maybe they won’t be seen as less than, and they’ll be seen as equals”
Nichols shared the story of her interaction with King as well during a 2011 episode of PBS’ “Pioneers in Television.”
“He was telling me why I could not [resign],” she recalled on the show in 2011. “He said I had the first nonstereotypical role, I had a role with honor, dignity and intelligence. He said, ‘You simply cannot abdicate. This is an important role. This is why we are marching. We never thought we’d see this on TV.’”
Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Nyota Uhura and William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk in the 1968 “Star Trek” episode "Plato's Stepchildren."
Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Nyota Uhura and William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk in the 1968 “Star Trek” episode "Plato's Stepchildren." (Photo: CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images)
The “Drunk History” clip also covers how Nichols made history in November 1968, when her “Star Trek” character kissed Capt. James T. Kirk, played by white actor William Shatner — which is often credited as the first interracial kiss on American television.
Black touches on how Nichols dedicated decades of her life to advocating for space exploration as well, particularly among women and minorities.
Nichols launched a consultant firm, Women in Motion, which partnered with NASA to recruit minority and female personnel for the space agency. Her recruits included Guion Bluford, the first African American astronaut in space; Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut; and Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel into space.
“So, Nichelle Nichols was the first Black lady to go to space for fake, and she recruited the first Black lady to go to space for real,” Black explained on “Drunk History,” adding: “She literally integrated space.”
It also seems that Nichols was a fan of the “Drunk History” tribute to her life.
“She reached out to the show after it aired to say she was pleased with it,” Black tweeted.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Watch ‘Drunk History’ Telling The Story Of Nichelle Nichols And ‘Star Trek’ [UPDATED]
On Tuesday Comedy Central’s Drunk History will turn it inebriated gaze on a bit of Star Trek history, telling the tale of Nichelle Nichols. The segment features comedian Ashley Nichole Black narrating a story about how Nichols was convinced to stay in her role as Uhura by Martin Luther King, TV’s first inter-racial kiss and Nichols work with NASA. You can watch the full segment and read our exclusive interview with creator and star Derek Waters.
Singer and actress Raven Symoné plays Nichelle Nichols, Jaleel White plays MLK, Craig Cackowski plays Gene Roddenberry and Waters plays William Shatner. Check out the clip below.
UPDATE: Full Drink History Segment
Interview: Derek Waters on bringing Star Trek to Drunk History
What gave you the idea to turn your attention to the history of Star Trek and Nichelle Nichols?
The genesis of any story is hearing something that sounds familiar, but told in a brand new way. So, hearing what Nichelle Nichols had done and how Martin Luther King inspired her to stay and the importance of her is just a great moment in history, not just Star Trek, that more people need to know about. And on top of that there is the first inter-racial kiss and recruiting astronauts like Mae Jemison. It’s one of those stories like “yeah, but did you know this? and did you know that?” How did I not know all of that?
Did you have a chance to talk to Nichelle about the episode?
I never met her, but I did send it to her and she said that she loved it and couldn’t stop laughing, so that is the seal of approval.
How was the narrator and cast picked for this episode?
With narrators I talk to them about something that is going on that they would really want to talk about and what kinds of stories are important to them. I talked to Ashley Nichole Black about what she knew about Nichelle Nichols and she said she loved Nichelle Nichols. She knew all of this stuff and she had the strongest reaction to I assigned it to her. And I love Raven and thought this would be the perfect part for her and luckily she said yes. And I thought it would be really cool to have Jaleel White as Martin Luther King and somehow it all happened.
Raven Symoné as Nichelle Nichols and Derek Waters as William Shatner in Drunk History
What did you do to find your inner Shatner?
I don’t know. I normally wear that outfit so I was kind of being myself. I watched that episode over and over again. With these shows I never want to do an impression, it’s more about how I would have been in a scene.
You guys had to recreate part of the Star Trek set and get costumes together, was that a challenge?
You can’t use the trademark obviously, but we wanted to get as close to it as possible. That stuff is fun for me. It looks a bit off, but you can tell our hearts are in the right place. And that is what I want the show to be like. They are doing a history show, but it’s drunk, and their hearts are in the right place and they are trying their best to make it as authentic as possible.
Raven Symoné as Nichelle Nichols in Drunk History
Airs on Tuesday
Drunk History “Game Changers” airs on Comedy Central on Tuesday, February 6 at 10pm ET/PT. For more about the show or to watch full episodes and clips, visit cc.com.
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