In another episode of Star Trek, the story was of a man who went against the ideals of the Civil Rights movement by discriminating based on appearance.  Dr. King spoke these famous words:  "I have a dream that my...children will one day live...where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character..." (King np)  In the show, the Enterprise came within range of a Romulin flagship.  One of the pilots immediately recollected the story of when his ancestors were killed by Romulins one hundred years before.  This encounter was the first time that humans were able to see what the Romulins looked like, and they looked precisely like Vulcans.  The pilot then accused Spock--a Vulcan--of being a Romulin sympathizer.  Spock was a man of loyalty and commitment;  the pilot was reprimanded for acting so obnoxiously ("Balance" np) because he lived in a time where this was considered unacceptable.  It wasn't just the plot that could grab people's attention and make them think;  it was also the lives that the actors lived.

The actors George Takei and Nichelle Nichols may also be considered as symbols of the impartial ideas that Star Trek possessed.  "In 1942, when the United States was at war with Japan, some 100,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry would be forced to leave their homes and jobs for relocation comps.  Many of those sent away were native-born Americans" ("Relocation" np).  The Takei family was sent to a camp.  When they were finally released, they found much heartache from the many anti-Japanese feelings.  The mother was almost deported because she renounced here citizenshop in order to same her family--or so she thought.  Because of all the social injustice that he and his family had borne, Takei was confused on the subject of why his father wanted citizenship.  His father explained:

America is a strange country.  Despite everything, it is still a nation of ideals.  Yes, justice here is           neither blind nor fair.  It only reflects the society, but this is an open society where anyone who           wants to can become apart of it.  If people like me aren't willing to take a chance and participate,           then America strays that much farther from its ideals.  My choice is to help America to be, what           it claims to be.  (Takei np) Takei is a symbol of what the Civil Rights movement tried to gain in the way that he represented the faith of his family and the oppression of his people.  Everyone involved with the Civil Rights movement and Star Trek is a true American who believes in the ideals that this great nation was built on.  Takei also represented his people by speaking before the Commission of Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians along with other elderly Americans of Japanese heritage.  After the bill was signed to compensate those in the camps, Takei put his money where he thought it truly belonged--to the Japanese-American National Museum in Los Angeles (Takei np).  (Nichols np)  Not only was Nichols the first black woman to have a major continuing role on T.V., but she also represented the commitment to the ideas of equality.  Nichols's great-grandfather was a white slave owner, but that did not stop Nichols's grandfather from marrying a former slave.  He believed very strongly in the ideals that all are created equally even when his father took him out of his will.  Nichols's grandparents moved near Chicago to a small town that was populated with people of similar beliefs.  After many years while he was on his deathbed, Nichols's great-grandfather sent a message asking his son to come back to him and apologize for what he had done so that he could be written back in his will.  Nichols's grandfather replied that he had nothing to apologize for.  Nichols's father also married someone of a different race--a Cherokee woman.  They fought for Nichelle to have the equal privileges she deserved (Nichols np).  Nichols is a symbol of the ideas of the Civil Rights because of the way she was raised.  These ideas stayed with her throughout her life.  Soon after Star Trek was canceled Nichols wanted a change in the space program because there were no women or colored people.

A recruiter asked Nichols to help him attract more of these types of people.  She agreed and many applied almost immediately including "women and minorities" (Nichols np).  Not only can the actors be recognized as symbols but also the characters that were portrayed.      Much can be said about the way the characters of Star Trek symbolized the ideas of the Civil Rights movement.  The most controversial character was the black communications officer Uhura.  Her name comes from the Swahili word "uhuro" meaning freedom (Nichols np), which has a very deep meaning all in itself.  Lt. Uhura was an African woman, and despite the fact that she was not featured nearly as often as she ought to have, Uhura still gave a lot of hope to many people.  In fact, after the first season of Star Trek Nichols was discouraged because of Uhura's lack of airtime and wanted to quit.  While at a party, someone told her a fan of hers wanted to meet her.  She turned and it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. standing before her.  He told her that Star Trek was the only

show he let his children watch.  Nichols informed him of her leaving the show, and he protested that she not do so.  Dr. King said that Uhura was the first nonstereotypical role on television and that Nichols held a great part in the Civil Rights movement for portraying such an extraordinary character. Nichols decided to stay (Nichols np).  This was a wise decision because Star Trek could not have kept its ideals strong without her.  She was also involved with what many now call the most controversial kiss on television.  In one of the episodes Kirk was telepathically forced to kiss Uhura ("Plato's" np).  The network producers were worried about how the viewers might take offense.  However, it did not upset the audience as much as anticipated.  Actually, the closest thing to hate mail received concerning the kiss went as follows:           I'm a white, Southern male, and I'm opposed to the mixin' of the races.  However, anytime a           red-blooded, American boy like Captain Kirk gets a beautiful gal in his arms that looks like Uhura,           he ain't gonna fight it.  So why'd ya fight it?  (Nichols np) Uhura helped bridge the racial gap in television.  Another symbolic character that faced controversy was Spock.  At first the network did not want this alien creature on the show because he looked too weird, but in the end, Roddenberry got his way so Spock stayed.  Spock--even though only half Vulcan--devoted himself to the ultimate logic that his father pursued.  There is an enormous difference between the two extreme worlds, and he was forced to work harder than other Vulcans because of his lingering human half. His mother told him that she cried for him when he would come home with "a stiff upper lip" after the other children mocked him for being different ("Journey" np).  The Vulcans were a people who wanted to gain universal peace.  Prejudice is illogical and

unpeaceful, but Vulcans still harassed Spock for his "undesirable" half.  The United States was based on the idea that all people of every creed could live together in harmonious brotherhood even though that ideal has never been fully carried out.  The Vulcans symbolize this.  They believe their logic will allow them to escape falling victim to practicing the same ignorant ways of those who have biased feelings towards those who are different, but in reality they could not help but allow their superiority to overcome them so they did not allow "outworlders" to live the way they do.  This is what many rich, Anglo-Saxon men have done countless times in American history.  Vulcans, like native-born, Anglo-Saxon Americans, believed their ways were too pure and right for others to follow correctly.  They allowed their insecurities to devour their senses of civility.  They lacked the idea of Dr. King that "True peace is not merely the absence of some negative force-tension, confusion or war;  it is the presence of some positive force-justice, goodwill and brotherhood" (Washington 6).

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