The Uhura Effect

Synonyms:
See also:	The Scully Effect
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Many Black and Indigenous female fans cite Star Trek character Uhura as someone who empowered them to go into careers that involved science, technology, engineering, and other similar fields (STEM).

The character of Uhura was a competent, authoritative and respected scientist, at a time when Black women on American television were generally entertainers, housewives or maids.

Additionally, actress Nichelle Nichols was actively involved in promoting STEM careers to Black women. She is credited as the inspiration for US astronauts Mae Jamison and Sally Ride to join NASA, a her role which was explored in a 2021 documentary.

A similar phenomenon is The Scully Effect.

What Is the Uhura Effect

The 2020 Northeastern University "The Uhura Effect" research project underlines the importance of the Uhura character:

Of the most popular shows of the 1950s and early 1960s that were not musical and variety shows, none of them featured a Black woman. In the 1960s, as the Civil Rights movement reached a crescendo, Black men became prominently featured, but Black women were relegated to housewives and maids. In 1966, Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek debuted with a multicultural cast and an aspirational portrayal of future race relations. A key figure among the cast that included diverse races and species was Communications Officer, Lt. Nyota Uhura. At the time, Uhura was the only Black woman on American television who was not a domestic worker or housewife. Uhura remained the primary image of Black potential through the 1970s and 1980s.

The Uhura Effect Research Project

The project aims at augmenting the findings of the well-known Scully Effect report by focusing on Black and Indigenous women of color and how the original run and syndication of Star Trek might have affected their choice to enter STEM careers.

Nichols and MLK

The importance of the Uhura character is exemplified by Nichols's famous interaction with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Early in Star Trek history, she considered quitting the show to join the cast of a musical, because she saw her role as a glorified switchboard operator.

After speaking to Dr King, however, she started to see her role differently:

And at this his face totally changed, and he said “What are you talking about?!” and so I told him I would be leaving the show, because; and that was as far as he let me go, and he said, “STOP! You cannot! You cannot leave this show! Do you not understand what you are doing?! You are the first non-stereotypical role in television! Of intelligence, and of a woman and a woman of color?! That you are playing a role that is not about your color! That this role could be played by anyone? This is not a black role. This is not a female role! A blue eyed blond or a pointed ear green person could take this role!” And I am looking at him and looking at him and buzzing, and he said, “Nichelle, for the first time, not only our little children and people can look on and see themselves, but people who don’t look like us, people who don’t look like us, from all over the world, for the first time, the first time on television, they can see us, as we should be!

As intelligent, brilliant, people! People in roles other than slick tap dancers, and maids, which are all wonderful in their own ways, but for the first time we have a woman, a WOMAN, who represents us and not in menial jobs, and you PROVE it, this man [Gene Rodenberry] proves and establishes a precedent that validates what we are marching for because three hundred years from today there we are, and there you are, in all our glory and all your glory! And you CANNOT leave!”

And I did not leave.

The true story of MLK and Lt. Uhura

NASA Recruitment

On top of providing a positive and inspirational fictional role model, Nichols was personally involved in reaching out to minority candidates to recruit civilian astronauts for NASA, speaking at schools and colleges in the 1970s.

From a 2012 Q&A with Nichols:

@NASAHistory 2021 tweet celebraing the influence of Uhura for Black History Month

In the post performance Q&A, Nichols revealed that she was asked by NASA to recruit women and minorities for the space shuttle program.

She relayed her response to NASA with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "I am going to bring you so many qualified women and minority astronaut applicants for this position that if you don't choose one… everybody in the newspapers across the country will know about it."

Nichols credited Star Trek with the success of her recruiting efforts. "Suddenly the people who were responding were the bigger Trekkers you ever saw. They truly believed what I said… it was a very successful endeavor. It changed the face of the astronaut corp forever."

Star Trek Week: How Nichelle Nichols Changed the Face of NASA

This episode of Nichols's life was recounted in the 2021 documentary, "Woman in Motion," directed by Todd Thompson:

Nichols' involvement with the very first Star Trek conventions in the mid-1970s put her in contact with various NASA officials, including Dr. von Puttkamer. After attending one presentation about the future of space travel, she was struck with a problem:

"There was no one in the astronaut corps who looked anything like me. There were no women. No Blacks. No Asians. No Latinos." [...]

Why didn't NASA have enough applicants? Nichols believed the problem was a matter of public trust. As the new documentary demonstrates, her belief was that people who might apply to be astronauts simply didn't believe that they would be taken seriously. She was also deeply concerned that if NASA didn't commit to the goal of diversity that what she was doing would be nothing more than a "media blitz."

As she says in the documentary, "If I put my name and my reputation on the line for NASA, and I find qualified women and minority people to apply, and a year from now I still see a lily-white, all-male astronaut corps, I will personally file a class action lawsuit against NASA."

New documentary reveals how Star Trek changed NASA forever

In just four months, Nichols’s recruitment efforts aided in transforming NASA’s application pool from 1500 to more than 8000 applicants, including 15 times more women and nearly 30 times more minority applicants. The 35-candidate astronaut class that emerged in large part from Nichols’s efforts included six women and three Black men, featuring many now-legendary astronauts Dr. Sally Ride and Dr. Judy Resnik (the first and second American women in space), Dr. Guion “Guy” Bluford Jr. and Dr. Ronald McNair (the first and second African Americans in space), and Ellison Onizuka (the first Asian American in space).

Woman In Motion: How Star Trek and Nichelle Nichols Forever Changed the Face of NASA

When Mae Jamison transmitted from space for the first time on Sept 12, 1992, she opened her communications with "Hailing frequencies open," a Lt. Uhura catchphrase.

In Dec 2021, during her last public appearance at Comic Con, Nichols was awarded the NASA Exceptional Public Achievement Medal, honouring her committment and contributions to the agency.

Further Reading

• Star Trek Week: How Nichelle Nichols Changed the Face of NASA (2012)
• The Legacy of Lt. Uhura: Astronaut Mae Jemison on Race in Space, Duke Today (2013)
• Representation Matters: It's Science (2018)
• https://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Pioneering-astronaut-and-Lt-Uhura-from-Star-12816028.php Pioneering astronaut and Lt. Uhura from ‘Star Trek’ talk science at Silicon Valley Comic Con], sfchronicle.com (2018)
• Nichelle Nichols on Martin Luther King, Jr. convincing her not to leave "Star Trek", FoundationINTERVIEWS, posted on YouTube Jan 17, 2019
• The Evolution of Female Role Models in Star Trek (2020)
• "Woman in Motion," 2021, Todd Thompson (director)
• NASA and Uhura, newspress.com (2021)
• New documentary reveals how Star Trek changed NASA forever, inverse.com (2021)
• Woman In Motion: How Star Trek and Nichelle Nichols Forever Changed the Face of NASA, Mental Floss (2021)