Posted: 2016-02-09T15:18:50Z | Updated: 2016-02-09T15:18:50Z
Martin Luther King Personally Stopped One 'Star Trek' Actor From Quitting The Show | HuffPost
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By 1967, "Star Trek" had been on the air for about a year and had amassed quite the following. Nichelle Nichols was one of the stars of the series -- one of the first black women to have a lead role on television -- and despite the show's success, the actress was planning to quit to pursue a different opportunity.
Then she spoke with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The legendary civil rights leader was a fan of "Star Trek," and had requested a meeting with Nichols. As Nichols tells "Oprah: Where Are They Now?", she was floored when she walked into the room and saw the man who was leading racial change throughout the country with his peaceful activism.
"I went, 'Oh, my God, there's Dr. King,'" she recalls.
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Dr. King, a fan of "Star Trek," urged Nichelle Nichols not to quit the show. She recalls him saying, "You can do it at another time, but at this time, you have an obligation."
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At the time, Nichols was planning to leave her TV role for Broadway, where she had been offered a part, and the one-time vocalist was determined to embark on the new adventure.
"Hell or high water wasn't going to stop me," Nichols says. "Only Dr. King did."
King, as he explained to Nichols, viewed her work on "Star Trek" as far more than a simple television role.
"He said, 'You can't [quit]. You can do it at another time, but at this time, you have an obligation … to a million and a half black people and twice as many white people, and a few yellow, brown, orange and green people. You were first on television. You changed the face of television forever,'" Nichols says. "He said, 'But right now, if you leave, it's as though you were never there. You haven't been there long enough.'"
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Nichelle Nichols remained on "Star Trek" for its television run, then appeared in six "Star Trek" films and even voiced her Lt. Uhara character for the show's animated series.
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Initially, Nichols wasn't happy with the idea of letting her Broadway opportunity pass her by.
"I was mad," she admits.
Soon, however, Nichols began to understand that she was representing more than just herself when she appeared as Lieutenant Uhara.
"I started thinking about it, and I [realized], it's not about me," Nichols says. "It's about us."
"Oprah: Where Are They Now?" airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN.
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." (credit:AP Photo/File / BrainyQuote.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(02 of16)
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"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land." (credit:AP / BrainyQuote.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(03 of16)
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"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." (credit:AP / BrainyQuote.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(04 of16)
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"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." (credit:AP / BrainyQuote.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(05 of16)
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"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" (credit:AP / BrainyQuote.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(06 of16)
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"The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict." (credit:AP / BrainyQuote.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(07 of16)
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"The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'" (credit:AP / BrainyQuote.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(08 of16)
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Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude. (credit:AP /Goodreads.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(09 of16)
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Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they cant stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes theyll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. Thats love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. Theres something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies." (credit:AP / Goodreads.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(10 of16)
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Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. (credit:AP / Goodreads.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(11 of16)
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"You know my friends, there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled by the iron feet of oppression ... If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. And if we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer that never came down to Earth. If we are wrong, justice is a lie, love has no meaning. And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream." Address to the first Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Mass Meeting, at Holt Street Baptist Church, 1955 (credit:AP)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(12 of16)
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It is cheerful to God when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom of your heart. (credit:AP / Goodreads.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(13 of16)
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The end of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure and avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may. (credit:AP / Goodreads.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(14 of16)
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The early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail (credit:AP / Goodreads.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(15 of16)
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When I took up the cross I recognized it's meaning. The cross is something that you bear, and ultimately, that you die on. (credit:AP / Goodreads.com)
The Words Of MLK Jr.(16 of16)
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"The gospel at its best deals with the whole man, not only his soul but his body, not only his spiritual well-being, but his material well being. Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial."Pilgrimage to Non-Violence, 1960 (credit:AP)
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