Today in class we briefly talked about the ways in which popular media can influence cultural politics. I wanted to give a bit more background to the history of Lt. Uhura's character on Star Trek: The Original Series. According to the National Names Database, as a communications officer on the Enterprise, Nichols' character was the first black female to not be "stereotypically black -- a housekeeper or a nanny."
The NNDB also offers a thorough description of her interaction with Martin Luther King:
She considered quitting Star Trek midway through its first season, when her character had been given little to do beyond perpetually opening hailing frequencies. In one interview, she famously described Uhura as "a glorified telephone operator in space." Then, at a civil rights protest, she met Martin Luther King Jr. -- who told her that he was a big fan of Star Trek. According to Nichols, when she told King she was thinking of quitting the show, he was shocked. "Don't you know you have the first non-stereotypical role in television?" she recalls King saying. "For the first time the world will see us as we should be seen -- people of quality in the future. You created a role with dignity and beauty and grace and intelligence. You're not just a role model for our children, but for people who don't look like us to see us for the first time as equals."
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