In the 1960s, television wasn’t just an opportunity to entertain; characters in television provided representation to viewers who rarely had the opportunity to see themselves.

When Star Trek began filming, Nichelle Nichols had aspirations of working on stage, not playing a character in a sci-fi show.

In fact, Nichols had told series creator Gene Roddenberry that she was planning to depart the series early in its run, but one very special interaction changed her mind.

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“I was in Beverly Hills at an event,” Nichols said to the Vancouver Sun. “And one of the producers came up to me and said, ‘Ms. Nichols, before you sit down and before you get started, there’s someone who says he’s your greatest fan and he wants to meet you.’ I thought it was a little kid because it was kind of a family event and there were a couple of little kids there. And I said, ‘Well, certainly.’ And I turned around, and I said, ‘Where is he?’ And he said, ‘He’s right over there. He’s right here, behind you.’ So I stood up and turned around to see a cute little boy, and it’s Dr. Martin Luther King.”

“And he was smiling at me, and he walked up to me, and he says, ‘Yes, I’m your greatest fan, Nichelle Nichols.’ And that’s how I met Dr. Martin Luther King. He was a big Trekkie.”

Dr. King convinced Nichols to remain on the show, arguing that Uhura provided necessary representation that didn’t exist anywhere else on television. Nichols stayed with the series.