On this day… in 2063

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

When the clock strikes midnight on April 5, Earth will be 39 years away from humanity’s first official contact with an alien race — at least, according to Star Trek. 

Trekkers, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “(devoted or enthusiastic) fan[s] of the U.S. science fiction television series Star Trek and subsequent associated series, films, etc.,” celebrate First Contact Day every April by practicing their Vulcan salutes, dressing up and, of course, watching Star Trek.

Though we’ll all have to wait until 2063 to officially meet our vulcan partners in space exploration, given that first contact will be made across the border in Bozeman, Mont., it’s only fitting that Reader readers learn a bit about the cultural impact of the Star Trek franchise and its accepting vision of the future.

Star Trek: The Original Series first aired in 1966 to a U.S. audience in the midst of the Cold War and the civil rights movement. While contemporaneous sci-fi like Planet of the Apes and The Twilight Zone almost exclusively featured white men, TOS introduced Nyota Uhura, an African woman, and Hikaru Sulu, a Japanese man, as main characters.

Uhura — played by Nichelle Nichols — was famously a favorite of Dr. Martin Luther King, who only allowed his kids to stay up past bedtime to watch Star Trek, according to Nichols. At the time, her character was essentially the only representation for African Americans that wasn’t menial or vilified. Rather than a maid or racial caricature, Lieutenant (later, Captain) Uhura was the U.S.S. Enterprise’s communications officer, as well as a linguist, cryptographer and talented singer.

Likewise, Sulu’s portrayal as the ship’s trusted helmsman was especially meaningful for a country holding tightly to the mistrust and racial stereotyping of the Japanese stemming from World War II. Sulu’s actor George Takei and his family were imprisoned by the U.S. government in Japanese-American internment camps during the war under the bigoted suspicion that they would side with Japan in the conflict, despite being American.

The imagined, unified future broke down political and ideological barriers as well by including the character Pavel Chekov — played by Walter Koenig — a proud Russian and beloved crewmember, despite ’60s American fears regarding the Soviet Union and the spread of communism.

Star Trek’s representation not only paved the way for future diversity in film and television, and thereby in real-world workplaces, but also made history by spurning racist anti-miscegenation sentiment by depicting the first on-screen kiss between a European-American and African-American in U.S. media. The episode, titled “Plato’s Stepchildren,” aired just one year after the supreme court case Loving v. Virginia declared laws banning interracial marriage illegal.

People often refer to this kiss between Uhura and protagonist James Kirk as the first televised interracial kiss, though that accomplishment actually belongs to the series I Spy, in which Robert Culp kissed Asian-French actress France Nuyen. Due to the legacy of slavery in the U.S., Star Trek’s kiss was far more controversial and almost wasn’t aired. According to William Shatner (Kirk) and Nichols, the studio requested two versions of the scene — one with the kiss, and one without. The two actors filmed the kiss, then deliberately ruined every other take to ensure it stayed in the episode.

The franchise’s diverse representation continues throughout the 10 sequel and prequel series and 13 films featuring people of color, LGBTQ and disabled characters in leading roles. Bigots and internet trolls have vocally criticized Discovery — the first new series since the cancellation of Enterprise — accusing them of “ruining the franchise” and “forcing diversity” for only starring two straight, white men. Of course, to those same fans, one woman or person of color is more than enough representation for the rest of the world.

There’s no arguing against such intense stupidity. Star Trek has always depicted (or at least tried to depict — it still started in the ’60s) a bright future free from racism, sexism, homophobia and all other forms of bigotry. From portraying disabled, POC characters like Geordi La Forge in Next Generation or transgender characters like Gray Tal in Discovery, to plot lines revolving around women’s reproductive rights in TOS’ “The Mark of Gideon” or allegories of self-destructive racism in “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” Star Trek makes it clear that the only path forward is one of equality, peace and understanding.

Happy First Contact Day and may we all work to fulfill Star Trek’s vision for a kinder future.