How cool is this?
Nichelle Nichols, who played the character ‘Uhura’ in the original TV show ‘Star Trek,’ met President Obama in the White House back in February. But she finally received this photo in the mail yesterday, according to her Twitter feed, with the caption “Taken 2/29/12 in the Oval Office - Live Long & Prosper!”
Thanks for sharing. This makes me happy.
I think this photo had to have made Obama especially happy, with a certain “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”-type connection….
Nichelle Nichols actually intended to quit Star Trek at the end of the first season of the original series, had even turned in her notice, and when at an NAACP convention she was unexpectedly introduced to “her biggest fan, a Trekker,” she sadly explained this intention — only to be told in no uncertain terms:
And yes, I do think the woman standing next to the President of the United States in that photo had helped him — significantly helped him — win that office.
Four decades of exposure to the idea that a black woman could be fourth-in-line-of-command of a starship, yes, I do think that helped pave the way for the acceptance of the idea that a black man could be President.
“Coming events cast their shadows before.” — Thomas Campbell (1777-1844)