Star Trek: New Uhura star publishes heartfelt article on death of Nichelle Nichols

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds star Celia Rose Gooding wrote a heartfelt and inspiring obituary on the death of Uhura star Nichelle Nichols.
• Gooding plays a young version of Uhura, and in her article, published by The Hollywood Reporter, explains how important Nichols’ role as Uhura is for generations to come.

Celia Rose Gooding plays a young version of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The role was made famous by Nichelle Nichols in the ’60s and has become an icon of the Star Trek universe. However, Nichols recently passed away. To honor her heroine, Celia Rose Gooding has now written a heartfelt post.

The actress, who joins Nichols from Broadway, doesn’t exactly describe herself as a good writer, but that doesn’t make her comment on Nichelle Nichols’ legacy any less personal or heartfelt. She shared the post, which was published by US magazine The Hollywood Reporter, on Instagram.

Gooding talks about how Nichols changed the way many people think. Especially from young black girls who only knew black women in the 1960s as maids on TV. Uhura as a starship officer was something new!

The actress reinforces her point with an anecdote from ‘Star Trek: Picard’ star Whoopi Goldberg. At that time she watched “Spaceship Enterprise” on TV and when she saw Uhura, she ran through the house screaming: “Come on quickly! I saw a black woman on television – and she wasn’t a housemaid!”

For many today, Uhura’s role is trivial, small and hardly worth mentioning, but the cultural change the role brought about cannot be denied. Nichelle Nichols’ role enabled many other young Black women to dream.

Of course, Celia Rose Gooding also mentions Nichelle Nichols’ anecdote about how Martin Luther King saved Uhura. Gooding goes on to say that if it weren’t for Nichelle Nichols, she probably wouldn’t have had her career.

This is a reference not only to inheriting the role of Uhura from Nichols, but also to “Nichelle’s dedication to creating space for strong-willed, intelligent, opinionated and tactful Black women in the entertainment industry”.

There is still a long way to go for women in industry, especially Black women, but Nichelle Nichols paved the way.

Celia Rose Gooding returns as Uhura in Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. In Germany we are still waiting for the start of the first season. We have a trick that you can use to watch “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” in Germany right now. We also list all “Star Trek” releases for you!