For Nichelle's 90th birthday - her work is continuing! Awesome to hear this!
“Science is not a boy’s game, it’s not a girl’s game. It’s everyone’s game. It’s about where we are and where we’re going. Space travel benefits us here on Earth. And we ain’t stopped yet. There’s more exploration to come.” – Nichelle Nichols
The iconic Nichelle Nichols, “Lt. Uhura” from the original Star Trek® and several of its films, went far beyond just playing a leading role in one of the world’s enduring science fiction series. She was a civil rights icon, encouraged to keep playing Uhura by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself. She was also a trailblazer in human spaceflight. During the 1970s, Nichols was commissioned by NASA – the U.S. space agency – to aid in recruiting a class of new astronauts who would fly aboard the Space Shuttle. This time around, NASA was committed to hiring a diverse group. No longer would qualified astronauts be only upper-middle-class white men. And no one was more devoted to this effort than Nichols, who ensured that NASA’s new direction wasn’t just lip service.
According to space historian Margaret Weitekamp, Nichols’ approach with NASA was aggressive: “So, I said, if I take this on, and this becomes [real], I’ll be your worst nightmare…I intend to speak before Congress for this, and to all the newspapers and all the television [stations]…I’m going after PhDs in physics, chemical engineering...And these people, I will not insult by trying to convince them of something that is not possible.”
Nichols’ public service campaign – conducted by her wearing a bright blue NASA flight suit – convinced thousands of potential candidates to apply to the astronaut program. For the first time, many qualified candidates saw someone whom they resembled. Her clarion call, “This is your NASA,” inspired candidates, including Sally Ride and Guy Bluford, to sign up. 1978’s astronaut group, the “Thirty-Five New Guys,” boasted six women, three African-Americans, and one Asian-American candidate. The 2019 documentary Woman in Motion beautifully captured the period in which Nichols challenged NASA with a simple question: “Where are my people?”
Nichols didn’t stop at NASA, however. She also made a film about the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in 1978, meant to encourage young students to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Nichols was among the first significant public figures to champion STEM education, thus inspiring legions of fans throughout generations to enter careers in science and technology.
Nichols remained involved with NASA for the rest of her life and frequently spoke at agency events. In 2012, she was the keynote speaker at the agency’s Goddard Space Center in Maryland for African-American History Month. A press release from that time stated, “Nichols’s role as one of television’s first Black characters to be more than just a stereotype and one of the first women in a position of authority (she was fourth in command of the Enterprise) inspired thousands of applications from women and minorities. Among them: Ronald McNair, Frederick Gregory, Judith Resnik, first American woman in space Sally Ride and [then] NASA administrator Charlie Bolden.”
When Nichols died in late July at age 89, she was lauded as the trailblazer she was during her lifetime. However, her story is far from over. In early 2023, she will fly alongside the DNA of her son, Kyle Johnson, aboard Celestis Memorial Spaceflights’ Enterprise Flight. In addition, the Nichelle Nichols Foundation – announced today, on what would have been her 90th birthday – will continue to promote diversity in STEM fields.
https://www.celestis.com/blog/to-boldly ... EJxBHUhZIQ
