Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I find it interesting when someone, whose carrier path is not a science or science fiction carrier path, can influence people whose career path is a science or science fiction career path.
I believe that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did that.

The first time I met a member of the original crew of Star Trek the Original Series, was at a convention in Richmond, Virginia. It was about the time the fifth Star Trek movie came out.
Nichelle Nichols was the guest star of the convention. She told us about reading for a part on a new television series, Star Trek. She got the part of Lt. Uhura.
She said that after awhile she considered leaving the series. Dr. King, Jr. talked with her and convinced her to stay. She said he told her how significant her portrayal of black people was.
She stayed with Star Trek The Original Series, the Star Trek animated series, and the first six Star Trek movies.
According to an article about Nichelle Nichols on www.startrek.com:
She flew aboard the C-141 Astronomy Observatory on a mission. She was at the JPL on 17 July 1976 to see the Viking probe's Mars landing. She attended the christening of the first space shuttle, Enterprise, at Cape Canaveral. And She spends much time recruiting minorities for NASA.
She wrote Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories, Nichelle Nichols A Collection of Poetry and Prose, Saturn's Child (by Nichelle Nichols and Margaret Wander Bonanno), and Saturna's Quest.

Today in Richmond Leland Melvin, the Virginia-born space shuttle astronaut, is scheduled to speak at The Virginia Historical Society.
His topic is Linking To The Past: Documenting The African American Experience in Virginia.