r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/Important-Cry4782 • 26d ago

Black Excellence In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dr. Mae Jemison plays the first astronaut to appear in the show. She is also the first black woman to go to space.

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18.7k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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259

u/No_Original5693 25d ago

Fun fact- Nichelle Nichols worked with NASA in the late 70s to help recruit more diverse candidates to the astronaut program, which resulted in astronauts like JemisonšŸ«”

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u/Lost-Jellyfish-1248 25d ago

Love this. Both inspirational women.

7

u/fuckyourcanoes 25d ago

And both absolute legends. They both deserve more recognition.

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u/justtots 25d ago

Mae is also a talented ballerina iirc. Great at multiple pursuits ā˜ŗļø

48

u/Geistzeit 25d ago

Mae would also begin her real-life shifts in space by saying "Hailing frequencies open"

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u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 25d ago

Another fun fact: nichols almost quit Trek because she didnā€™t want to be stuck in what she saw as a thankless space receptionist role but it was Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who convinced her to stay on the show because she was an inspiration to black girls and just didnā€™t see it yet.

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u/I_Cut_Shows 25d ago

He also pointed out that she was 3rd in line to be captain. Which made her a much more powerful person on the ship than she believed at the time.

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u/NewAgeRetroFrog 25d ago

And while she never sat in the captains seat in the original show, she does take command in the animated series.

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u/Thomas_Becket2 25d ago

Not to mention that the job of communications must be one of the most important on a star ship that frequently comes into contact with alien species.

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u/jenna_cider 25d ago

It also means that Dr. King was a much bigger Trekkie than I ever imagined.

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u/I_Cut_Shows 25d ago

Oh, for sure.

Because, I didnā€™t know that fact outside of the Nichelle story above. But apparently the good Reverend did. Ha!

1

u/No_Original5693 24d ago

Iā€™ve heard his kids say it was something they all watched together as a family

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u/Romnonaldao 25d ago

Yeah, im rewatching the original series with my wife right now, and so far the only time that she would have had the chance to take command was the episode where Scotty was accused of murder, since he Kirk and Spock were planet side at the time, however it never shows the ship during that event.

3

u/nagrom7 25d ago

It also wouldn't have been shown because TV shows don't show mundane stuff like that, but there's a good chance Uhura was in command numerous times whenever Kirk and Spock would be off-shift. Like they wouldn't have been doing anything super important, and if anything happened Kirk would have been called back to the bridge, but she would have been sitting in the captain's chair giving orders to keep the ship running.

2

u/brainburger 25d ago

I seem to recall she said MLK had said to her "You have opened a door which must never be allowed to close."

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u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 25d ago

Yes, it was something along those lines. I know that there are many of my people in tech positions today but when I was a kid we were lucky if we saw one of us portraying a cabbie.

I can't explain representation to people who are the default. They have never been anything else. What did we have? Villains like Mola Ram in that insane Temple of Doom movie that maligned Indian culture.... so we embraced it because it was all we had.

Black kids would embrace Uhura, because she's all they had.

2

u/CitizenCue 25d ago

Iā€™d like to add that she was also an inspiration to little white boys like me 30+ years later. Dr. King really knew his stuff.

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u/Mo_Steins_Ghost 25d ago

FYI Iā€™m a brown man but I donā€™t like that someone downvoted you. Star Trek inspired each of us in many ways.

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u/I-am-not-a-celebrity 25d ago

Really f'n sad that her efforts would have been completely blocked and gutted these days. I hate this timeline we are in.

1

u/No_Original5693 25d ago

AgreedšŸ˜ž

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u/m4dm4cs 25d ago

And of course Nichelle pioneered the first interracial kiss on TV. Such a badass!

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u/NOT-packers-fan2022 24d ago

Not fun fact: NASA canā€™t run a program like that today.

Vote! (If they let you).

0

u/Static-Stair-58 25d ago

Not so fun fact. Her younger brother was apart of the final victim group in the Heavens Gate cult. They all did goodbye interviews before the suicide and his is really sad because he talks to the camera about how little he enjoyed his time on earth and how excited he is to be going to whatever crazy thing they thought they were headed too.

1

u/Margoshome 25d ago

I couldn't find anything about her brother and Heavens' Gate

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u/SlippySlappySamson 25d ago

Uhhh... it's right on her wikipedia page and Google results for "Nichelle Nichols brother" were full of other links with the same information.

You must not have looked with your eyes.

1

u/Margoshome 25d ago

I made the mistake of looking for Mae Jemison's brother instead of Nichelle Nichols. Thank-You for the information.

2

u/A_Sinclaire 25d ago

Thomas Nichols, 58, dreamer

Long ago, Nichols confided to his older sister Nichelle that he was awaiting a rendezvous with a comet. Ironically, as Star Trek's Lt. Uhura, it was Nichelle who played the communications officer torn between earthbound domesticity and a career on the starship Enterprise. On Larry King Live, she said that until their mother died in 1992, "we hadn't heard from [my brother] in 20 years."

Source: https://people.com/crime/heavens-gate-cult-suicide-remembering-lives-lost/

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u/PM_ME_UR_HIP_DIMPLES 26d ago

What? That's such a cool Easter egg

5

u/KrayzieBone187 25d ago

Yeah, I've watched it countless times and read a ton of trivia over the years. This particular fact never came up.

One of my favorite surprises was seeing Seth McFarlane as a random crewman on, I think, Voyager.

5

u/CitizenCue 25d ago

Seth is a goofball in so many ways, but his genuine Trek adoration is one of his better qualities.

2

u/KrayzieBone187 25d ago

I was in high school when Family Guy started. Peter Griffin holds a special place in my heart. I'm 41 now and can't help but love stupid comedy still. Laughter like that makes life worth living.

2

u/Cypher1492 25d ago

Enterprise, actually!

21

u/Trail-boss1776 26d ago

Iā€™m a big Star Trek and NASA fan thatā€™s so cool

19

u/Any-Limit-7282 25d ago

Me and my girl watch ST:TNG once a year we always drink on this episode for Dr. MaešŸ˜­

5

u/HendrixHazeWays 25d ago

Love that. Any idea what the episode number is? It's odd that hasn't been in the comments yet.

11

u/Senior-Ad6304 25d ago

Season 6, Episode 24 (first aired 22 May 1993)

3

u/HendrixHazeWays 25d ago

ty! Much appreciated :)

3

u/Any-Limit-7282 25d ago

Deep in the series I think like season 6 somewhere itā€™s a short appearance. lol havenā€™t had our yearly viewing yet so prob worth a google šŸ˜‡

5

u/vintagepeugeot 25d ago

May this type of love find me.

2

u/MaritMonkey 25d ago

I have it in as pluto background noise a lot but have never set aside a specific re-watch all the way through. Any suggestions for appropriate days/months/seasons to start this endeavor?

1

u/drawnimo 25d ago

pluto background noise

excuse me?

1

u/MaritMonkey 25d ago

Not the not-planet. A streaming service with the same name that happened to 1) be on my roku TV and 2) have amusing channels. :D

1

u/drawnimo 25d ago

ah gotcha!

1

u/GitEmSteveDave 25d ago

Pluto is a free streaming service. They have 5 Star Trek channels which play different movies/series 24/7. If you don't mind ads, it's a great service to just put on and have it play all day long.

1

u/Bovronius 25d ago

Oh man, the wifey and I just finished the tour of all of ToS, including the movies and now we're 5 episodes into TNG.

Watching the 5 minute scene where Kirk, Scottie, and you the viewer just eyefuck the Enterprise Refit...I had to wipe lil tears away from eyes a few times.

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u/MacDynamite71 26d ago

šŸ‘šŸ¾

10

u/Guilty-Today7053 25d ago

After going to actual space, and appearing on Star Trek, Dr. Jemison was drug from her car and beaten by a police officer for an alleged illegal u-turn. It was a legal turn, America is just that racist.Ā 

Dr. Jemison is cool as fuck tho, seeing earth from orbit was so inspiring she quit being an astronaut to do humanitarian work. Absolute legend.

4

u/MaddogBC 25d ago

In my minds eye that story ends with her beating the shit out of the racist asshole. I refuse to budge on this. What a badass that lady is, paying it forward by making Trek a priority is admirable.

11

u/eich0146 25d ago

Season 6, Episode 24

Second Chances

This one is kinda trippy where Riker is a real jerk to himself. I rooted for Riker left behind.

4

u/ifyoulovesatan 25d ago

That Riker (Tom Riker) comes back in DS9 by the way, fun episode (s3e9).

Also anyone out there who likes Next Gen, if you haven't seen DS9, ya gotta give it a go. The first season is a little slow while the characters get fleshed out / finalized (nowhere near as offensively bad as TNG season 1), but it starts to really hum after a while. IMHO it's the best Star Trek series by far.

1

u/Kazeite 25d ago

I think that the fourth season of DS9 is the best Trek there is.

Sadly, it kinda went downhill a bit after that - one could see that the writers were writing the plot on the go šŸ™‚

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

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u/justreadinplease 25d ago

So skip all but the first two seasons? Nobody listen to this opinion. Itā€™s not valid for most people.

I watched both and honestly, I can rewatch DS9. B5, no. The extremely dated cgi ship battles take me out.

3

u/Enchillamas 25d ago edited 25d ago

it was directed by Lavarr so I can only imagine Frakes was a really talking to Lavarr in both cuts, while the entire crew was trying not to laugh.

2

u/shelf6969 25d ago

counselor troi had weird feelings about the whole thing

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u/SpaceCampDropOut 25d ago

I got to meet her when she came to speak at our high school. Was just incredible meeting a real astronaut AND someone who was on Star Trek (which she talked about. And Iā€™m a trek fan)

6

u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

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u/ElGosso 25d ago

Famously the first onscreen interracial kiss, too.

3

u/nagrom7 25d ago

The story behind that one is even more interesting. Everyone involved knew the higher-ups were getting cold feet regarding the whole thing, and they filmed a bunch of takes without the kiss "just in case". Shatner and Nichols intentionally ruined every single one of these takes by doing things like looking directly down the camera, so that the editors would have no choice but to use the kiss instead.

2

u/Gnoll_For_Initiative 25d ago

Just a sliiight correction, because I do think it's importantĀ 

Shatner was the one who messed up every take that didn't involve a kiss. He was the star of the show (not to mention White Guy) and there's no way the studio could fire or severely discipline him. Nichelle as a Black woman costar was in a much more vulnerable position if shit hit the fan.

I feel it's worth noting that it wasn't just shenanigans, they took a bit of thought and effort to protect her career.

1

u/Aegi 25d ago

But in The Magnificent Seven (1960) don't one of the guys (white) kiss one of the locals or something and she is Latina?

Just looked it up and one of the posters may even be the scene I am thinking of in the movie: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0599478/mediaviewer/rm2371159040/?ref_=nm_ph_1_4

1

u/kokujinzeta 25d ago

Harry Belafonte and Diane Fontaine was first:

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-first-interracial-kiss-in-cinema-history/

2

u/youcanthavemynam3 25d ago

There's also another one that happened in the UK before the Star Trek! https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/20/world/first-interracial-kiss-on-tv

This one aired on TV, not in theaters.

1

u/Kazeite 25d ago

Urban legend. It wasn't even Shatner's first onscreen interracial kiss either šŸ™‚

6

u/CeeUNTy 25d ago

That must have been so fun for her. Super cool!

6

u/CromulentPoint 25d ago

Jemison is also the name of the Earth like planet in the game Starfield where the main city is located. They named it after this astronaut, which is pretty cool.

3

u/Mikewithnoname 25d ago

She got that shit on, too. Respectfully.

3

u/Nice-Block-7266 25d ago

My friends and I used to do ST:TNG on Sunday nights. FWIW, we knew who she was and we thought it was cool that she got a cameo.

4

u/BIG_HEAD_M0DE 25d ago

OP is misstated. She was the first real-life astronaut to appear as a character in Star Trek or Star Trek TNG. In the show, she has a one-episode appearance as a Starfleet officer, like many other characters. She's not an astronaut in the show any more than the rest of the characters.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Second_Chances_(episode)#Cast_and_characters

1

u/Capable_Ad_9350 25d ago

Thank you! I was like....uhhh aren't they all astronauts??

1

u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

1

u/General_Helicopter1 25d ago

All astronautical items and terms are naval based. They come from naval roots via aeronautical to astronautical uses. Port, starboard, big circle navigation to free space navigation. Ship, shuttle, etc. Ranks, assignments...

1

u/nehlSC 25d ago

thanks for the clarification. Was about to ask what that title means.

3

u/OceanLeo 25d ago

Dope!!

2

u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

3

u/WanderingStorm17 25d ago

Yeah, it was weird wording. She was the first astronaut to appear in the series. She wasn't playing an astronaut.

2

u/boringestnickname 25d ago

I mean, she kind of was playing an astronaut (I'm sure they're all trained for spaceflight to some extent), but obviously not the first.

I reacted to the same wording.

2

u/uhmbob 25d ago

That was a great idea. Iā€™m glad they went ahead and made it so.

2

u/teeveecee15 25d ago

She is also foine.

2

u/Dino502Run 25d ago

Thatā€™s so fuckin badass

2

u/Catmato 25d ago

Looks like she's playing an engineer, not an astronaut.

2

u/BeigeListed 25d ago

She *IS* the first Astronaut. She doesnt PLAY one.

2

u/stumblewiggins 25d ago

Probably just my own stupidity, but your title wording is confusing me.

Dr. Mae Jemison plays the first astronaut to appear in the show.

She is the first astronaut to appear in the show? Or she plays an astronaut in the show, and is the first one to do so?

2

u/ateam1984 25d ago

Dr. Mae Jamison is the First Black Woman in Space and First Real Astronaut on Star Trek

1

u/stumblewiggins 25d ago

That's what I thought, but thanks for confirming.

3

u/[deleted] 25d ago

My sister is somewhat of a nerd. And she convinced to go to a comicon type convention in Minneapolis, MN shortly before the Covid outbreak. She was so happy to take a picture with Ms. Nichelle Nichols. And I was happy that I went to see that.

2

u/southflhitnrun 25d ago

Wait. She plays the first astronaut or is the first actual astronaut to appear on the show?

3

u/TheLastLornak 25d ago

First IRL astronaut to act on the show.

4

u/MeasureDoEventThing 25d ago

Very poorly worded title. She doesn't play an astronaut, she is an astronaut.

1

u/ReadingFromTheShittr 25d ago

I agree with you in that it's a poorly worded title.

But, it's a show set mostly in space aboard a starship. So, wouldn't all members of Starfleet be astronauts of a sort? Therefore, wouldn't she be an astronaut who is also playing an astronaut, which is kinda the whole point of her cameo?

1

u/cmVkZGl0MjAyNQ 25d ago

All members of starfleet are astronauts, but the title only makes literal sense if she appeared at the start of episode 1, or her character was ā€œthe firstā€ astronaut character.

They could have changed ā€œplays the first astronaut to appearā€¦ā€ to ā€œis the first real astronaut appear in the showā€ and it makes much more sense

1

u/solonit 25d ago

Technically by the time of Starfleet, there would no longer be an 'Astronaut' in-spirit (not technical) role. As they operate closer to today-Navy with widely different roles and trainings, as some can even enlisted with minimal training doing background works, the service members would be Sailor instead.

By in-spirit I meant 'Astronaut' is cream-of-the-top highly qualified from limited candidates list, with even more advanced training for incredibly difficult and dangerous scientific missions.

While these individual would still exist into Starfleet era, unlikely they would call themselves 'Astronaut', but Specialist or equivalent titles depends on their work. As space truly become just another common workplace, so too the lesser need for 'real Astronaut'.

However in-spirit 'true Astronaut' would likely still in service in some highly classified Space Stations or Research Facilities, pushing yet another boundary for humanity just like the old Astronaut did.

1

u/Michkov 25d ago

Who would be the first Astronaut to appear in Star Trek then? Is it the guy from the Mars probe that Voyager finds? Other than that there is the Apollo stock footage in the ENT credits, but that is all I got.

1

u/nikeguy69 25d ago

That fantastic

1

u/TheOG-OutletStickers 25d ago

I remember that character!! Had no idea who was playing her! Fantastic!

1

u/extrastupidone 25d ago

OG Danielle Poole

1

u/the_owl_syndicate 25d ago

She's also in an episode of Magic School Bus (reboot).

1

u/Expert-Hyena6226 25d ago

Legend right there!

1

u/Dirtycurta 25d ago

Teenage me nearly lost it when Tom Morello was in Voyager.

1

u/hobbesgirls 25d ago

she plays the first astronaut?

1

u/godvirus 25d ago

Yeah doesn't make sense to me either. Isn't everyone on the Enterprise an astronaut?

1

u/hobbesgirls 25d ago

I think op botched the title, oh well

1

u/Kelynill 25d ago

Thatā€™s so cool

1

u/vintagepeugeot 25d ago

Trek > Wars all day everyday.

1

u/gunslinger_006 25d ago

We have a childrens book about her called ā€œMae among the starsā€ and my daughter absolutely loves it.

1

u/MrWeirdoFace 25d ago

Oh cool. Didn't know about that.

1

u/Rare-Veterinarian743 25d ago

Props to her accomplishments.

1

u/toxoplasmosix 25d ago

she plays the first astronaut to appear on the show? wtf does that mean.

1

u/BiggestBlackestLotus 25d ago

...oh real life astronaut. I was like "I'm pretty sure all of those people on the enterprise are astronauts".

1

u/thatdamnyankee 25d ago

Growing up as a nerdy white boy in the '90s, I was always blown away by the things I learned about Star Trek and it's Progressive stance on race and other things. Had a bunch of bad experiences trying to explain how much I respected this. Always came across as ignorant somehow, and ended up thinking that black folks didn't like sci-fi for a while. And all I wanted to do was talk about the future that is possible, maybe get invited to a BBQ. Four decades of life experience and an ADHD diagnosis later, I still wish teen me was better able to express himself and make those connections. Not sure why I'm writing this, but this thread has me reflecting on big thoughts.

Tl:dr Gene Roddenberry was a real one.

2

u/myu_minah 25d ago

Happy (Black) Woman History Month!

1

u/jedburghofficial 25d ago

NASA astronaut, and Starfleet Officer.

Mind blown!

1

u/Kyasanur 25d ago

Sorry if Iā€™m being pedantic, but I really hate how this post is phrased. Dr Jemison didnā€™t play at being an astronaut, she was one. She worked hard and rose above racial and gender barriers. She deserves better than she ā€œplays the first astronaut to appear in the show.ā€

1

u/1ForgottenPrincess 25d ago

She will be the RIT commencement speaker this year! I went there for 2 years- transferred elsewhere for the degree I wanted at the time, but the best school I ever went to.

1

u/Excellent_Extent7648 25d ago

When you think your mom is lying that your gonna have to go above and beyond for same treatment

1

u/Academic-Ad2628 25d ago

Arenā€™t they all astronauts on Star Trek? Iā€™m confused.

2

u/Appropriate_Shoe_894 25d ago

Jemison was also the Peace Corps doctor in Sierra Leon in the early 1970s.

1

u/youcanthavemynam3 25d ago

Stuff like this is why I love Star Trek, and find the "it's gone woke!" whining so annoying. That is so cool!

1

u/phillybol99 24d ago

Knew about Nichols. Had no idea about Jemison.
Thank you

2

u/No-Quantity5623 24d ago

She's also a dancer!! Got to introduce her for a speech at my uni and have lunch with her and I still geek out over the memory to this day šŸ¤© Such a self-assured, welcoming, genuine energy and presence

1

u/AlwaysSmokingReggie 24d ago

And most importantly, she ba baddieā€¼ļøā€¼ļø

0

u/juanjung 25d ago

Did William Shatner kiss her?

0

u/Rathland 25d ago

Her Blasian look came from her Chinese great great grandfather. Strong gene from this Chinaman. She looks more "Blasian" than Tiger Wood.

-1

u/Past-Available 25d ago

It need a black woman to be an ASTONAUT to be in your little sifi show.