The conflicting accounts of Nichelle Nichols meeting MLK (with sources)

Indeed, I thought there were versions that were "what would MLK do" and "I got a letter from MLK". But there doesn't seem to be documentation for those either.

 

That is indeed a problem. My simplistic logical solution is primarily intended to give people the opportunity to defend themselves against rumor-mongering and slander, i.e. being called a coward, or worse. If you say you aren't, the other person must prove you are. If they say you are, they're lying unless they can prove you are. Either way, you as the one accused are the one who would know intrinsically, and are therefore the one everyone should believe without proof.

That said, once other people are brought in to offer their own version of events, that's where all the trouble begins. Even if their version of events matches yours on all the large points, any difference can be seized on by the accuser as proof of their position, even if they're wrong. It's a very grey area.

 

Problem is: in the 1960s, Science Fiction conventions were more literary affairs. They discussed science fiction literature because they felt that the TV and film interpretations were for kids.

The term "Trekkie" was coined by those literary science fiction fans because they resented the fact that Star Trek fans were more interested in the television and film aspect, and not in the traditional literary aspect that Science Fiction cons of the time made bank on; and they didn't consider the new group of science fiction fans who were primarily Star Trek fans, and went to these cons wanting to see the actors and writers of Star Trek and other TV science fiction faire of the day; "real" fans of science fiction.

So yeah, at a general Science Fiction con in the mid 1960s; The majority of the fans of that era wouldn't really want to see or hear from Star Trek actors. That's one reason devoted Star Trek conventions started in the 1970s.

 

Genre fans being snooty? Who would have thought!

 

Thanks for the link! MLK is mentioned several times in the issue, but never in relation to Nichelle or Star Trek.

 

Star Trek was creeping into cons while the show was still on the air. But the Trek specific cons were some years off.

 

Our city's Science Fiction shop definitely doesn't stock Star Trek books. I've asked. I think they reluctantly have limited Star Wars books.
When I lived in Sydney There was a whole display of Star Trek books. Crocheting Star Trek figures, Star Trek pop-up books.. You could get Blish adaptions. The logs.
I suppose our city's science-fiction book store doesn't want the Star Trek rif-raf in there.

 

Assuming the issue was prepared in December, then ST was only 2/3rds or so done with the first season. My point in posting the link was that awareness of the character was extended beyond being a watcher of the show by that article, especially in the Black community.

Wasn't the only time NN appeared in an issue of Ebony either. She received a write up five years earlier because her role in a satire* of Playboy magazine that flopped led to a singing gig at the Playboy Club, (on page 41)

*(opposite Burgess Meredith)

 

Sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like I was debunking something. I was just throwing that bit of info in to save anyone else reading it if that was what they were specifically wanting from it.

 

That Ebony cover always struck me as pretty cool. Uhura should have worked in the Jefferies tube once in a while. Her blue coveralls scene in "Who Mourns for Adonais" would have been a good opportunity to get her in there.

 

No worries. Was just trying to be more specific as to my intent.

One little detail that I find interesting is this: According to declassified FBI files found here*, MLK was in Beverly Hills, CA, on February 25, 1967, at a conference entitled "National Priority One: Redirecting American Power." Held at the Beverly Hilton, the conference was sponsored by The Nation magazine and was reported to have about 1500 attendees. Besides MLK, four US Senators (including George McGovern and Eugene McCarthy) were featured and several NBC-affiliated individuals are mentioned (Robert Vaughn introduced MLK.)

While nothing directly indicates a connection to NN, it should be noted that ST season one wrapped up its filming just a few days prior to that Saturday conference. Oh, and the Beverly Hilton is six miles from what was then the Desilu lot.

So, no matter how much of NN's story is "fish story," MLK was in the right spot at the right time for it to possibly be true.

*(relevant pages are 72-81, which covers the conference and a followup meeting between MLK and Stanley Levison, which has more details about the conference.)

 

This site makes the same speculation about the Nichols/King meeting taking place at that conference: http://legendsrevealed.com/entertai...n-luther-king-keep-nichols-leaving-star-trek/

 

This kind of stuff is interesting and certainly indicates where it might have been possible for Miss Nichols to have encountered King, and these data points all go into our research on the matter, but the danger of course is jumping from "they could have met" to "they met".

 

Which is why I explicitly stated "While nothing directly indicates a connection to NN" and "possibly be true."

i didn't even know until a few days ago that MLK had been to California, much less as a speaker at an event. I had intended to compile a list of places NN would have had to travel to in order to have met MLK ( thinking of Chicago or Detroit or Atlanta or somewhere else "back east") only to find out she didn't need to travel very far at all.

Does it prove she met him there. No, not at all. But the accessibility is a point in her favor, IMO.

 

MLK traveled a lot. We've looked into it some.

 

King made several publicized visits to Los Angeles during the run of the series. He traveled a lot in the 1960s.

 

I guess they never made onto his highlight reel. Appreciate the heads up.

 

Ha, I can't remember which one, but there was a thread in the GTD forum that touched upon Star Trek fandom. One person told how there was one Star Trek club or whatever, that made a point of trying to exclude certain kinds of "weird' ST fans.

This poster told how she wanted to tell them "I hate to break it to you guys but to non-Star Trek fans, we're ALL weird."

This just cracked me up because by trying to keep, y'know, "those' fans, the 'weird' ones out, those guys were making themselves look like the weirdest Star Trek fans of all.

Robert