Nichelle Nichols, who is famously known as Star Trek’s inestimable Lieutenant Uhura aboard the USS Enterprise, will be attending EM-Con in Nottingham next month.
The impact that Nichelle’s role played in the history of television cannot be understated. She was the first black woman in a position of authority, she was the first woman to have an inter-racial kiss on screen, and she was personally, by Dr. Martin Luther King himself, encouraged to remain in her role.
Following her role with Star Trek, Nichelle volunteered her time to recruit minority and female personnel for NASA. Among those recruited include Dr. Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut and United States Air Force Colonel Guion Bluford, the first African-American astronaut.
In recognition of her role, Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his novel Friday to her, and Nichelle later had Asteroid “68410 Nichols” named in her honour.
As well as being an advocate of space exploration, Nichols has served on the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a non-profit, educational space advocacy organization and later flew aboard NASA’s C-141 Astronomy Observatory for an eight-hour high-altitude mission.
Nichelle Nichols will be appearing at EM-Con on Sunday 15th March at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham. Autographs, as well as a limited number of photoshoots with Nichelle, can be booked in advance here.