Star Trek Legend Nichelle Nichols To Receive A Fitting Final Resting Place
In a world going through a rough time, it's nice to be able to tell you some lovely, if bittersweet news. The world lost Nichelle Nichols on July 30, 2022. Nichols, of course, played the role of Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on "Star Trek," breaking new ground for Black women in television. Lt. Uhura shared the first interracial kiss on a network TV series with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). When she wanted to leave the role to pursue another job, none other than Martin Luther King Jr. — whose own family watched the show — convinced her not to because of how powerful it was to see a Black woman on TV in a high ranking position during the height of the civil rights movement.
Nichols' role inspired so many people, from Whoopi Goldberg to NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to go to space. (Both went on to appear in "Star Trek" shows.) Now Nichelle Nichols and her life's work will be honored in a lovely way, courtesy of Celestis (via Gizmodo).
Nichols' son Kyle Johnston has donated some of her ashes to be sent to space on the Celestis Memorial Spaceflight. This Celestis mission is one that will also honor "Star Trek" legends Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, James "Scotty" Doohan, and VFX engineer Douglass Trumbull. If you would like to honor the legacy of Nichelle Nichols, you can join in as well. The Celestis website allows you to send pictures or music, or even a message. The messages will be digitized and sent into space with the flight in the "Celestis Mindfile." I just sent my own, and even being able to send my admiration for this amazing woman to space with her is humbling.