Follow-up:

On Monday, August 1, 2022 at 1:15:31 PM UTC-5, observer wrote:

> On Sunday, July 31, 2022 at 11:23:26 PM UTC-5, dls...@gmail.com wrote:
/> .> I find that more intriguing than if ... Jerry J.
/> .> will ever put Jimmy J in the Cowboy's Ring of
/> .> ... honor.

Doesn't look like that's going to happen this
year, per assorted news reports.

At the end of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Season 2 Episode 1 - The Broken Circle:

"For Nichelle
who was first through the door
and showed us the stars.

Hailing frequencies forever open ..."
..> Per the following news article posted July 31,
..> yesterday, the actress who played Uhura on
..> the original Star Trek series passed away at
..> the age of 89 (she passed away on July 30th
..> per her wikipedia page below):
..> https://deadline.com/2022/07/nichelle-nichols-dies-uhura-star-trek-was-89-1235081916/
..>
..> ... shared one of the first interracial kisses in
..> television history with costar William Shatner.
..>
..> Nichols also played Lt. Uhura by voicing her on
..> “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” and appeared
..> in the first six “Star Trek” films. She became a
..> lieutenant commander in “Star Trek: The Motion
..> Picture” and then a full commander in “Star Trek II:
..> The Wrath of Khan.”
..>
..> Throughout, she was a powerful symbol for Afri-
..> can Americans and a fan favorite in the various
..> projects.
..>
..> ... Dr. Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to fly
..> aboard the Space Shuttle, cited “Star Trek” as an
..> influence in her decision to join the space agency.
..>
..> Nichols became the first African American woman
..> to have her handprints immortalized at the TCL Chi-
..> nese Theatre. The ceremony also included other
..> members of the original “Star Trek” cast.
..>
..> Born Grace Nichols in Robbins, Ill. on Dec. 28, 1932,
..> Nichols sang with Duke Ellington in a ballet she cre-
..> ated for one of his compositions. Later, she sang
..> with his band.
..>
..> ... Nichols was married and divorced twice. She is
..> survived by her son, Kyle Johnson.
..>
..> Nichelle Nichols
..> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nichelle_Nichols
..>
..> ... On Star Trek, Nichols was one of the first Black
..> women featured in a major television series.
..>
..> ... Towards the end of the first season, Nichols was
..> given the opportunity to take a role on Broadway. She
..> preferred the stage to the television studio, so she de-
..> cided to take the role. Nichols went to Roddenberry's
..> office, told him that she planned to leave, and handed
..> him her resignation letter.
..>
..> ... That weekend, Nichols attended a banquet that was
..> being run by the NAACP, where she was informed that
..> a fan really wanted to meet her. I thought it was a Trek-
..> kie, and so I said, 'Sure.' I looked across the room and
..> whoever the fan was had to wait because there was ...
..>
..> ... Dr. Martin Luther King walking towards me with this
..> big grin on his face. He reached out to me and said,
..> 'Yes, Ms. Nichols, I am your greatest fan.' He said that
..> Star Trek was the only show that he, and his wife Cor-
..> etta, would allow their three little children to stay up
..> and watch.
..>
..> [She told King about her plans to leave the series be-
..> cause she wanted to take a role that was tied to Broad-
..> way.] I never got to tell him why, because he said, 'you
..> cannot, you cannot...for the first time on television, we
..> will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelli-
..> gent, quality, beautiful, people who can sing dance, ...
..>
..> ... and can go to space, who are professors, lawyers."
..> Dr. King Jr went further stating "If you leave, that door
..> can be closed because your role is not a black role, and
..> is not a female role; he can fill it with anybody even an
..> alien."
..>
..> King personally encouraged her to stay on the series,
..> saying she "could not give up" because she was play-
..> ing a vital role model for Black children and young
..> women across the country, as well as for other chil-
..> dren who would see Black people appearing as equals,
..> going so far as to favorably compare her work on ...
..>
..> ... the series to the marches of the ongoing civil rights
..> movement. This response by King left Nichols speech-
..> less, allowing her to realize how important to the civil
..> rights movement her role was, and the next day she
..> went back to Roddenberry's office to tell him that she
..> would stay.
..>
..> When she told Roddenberry what King had said, tears
..> came to his eyes. ...
..>
..> ---
..>
..> The character Nyota Uhura, played by at
..> least 3 different black actresses, not sure
..> if the character slept with Spock or not as
..> their having a romantic relationship is men-
..> tioned in the following, but their 'sleeping
..> together' may have been implied or likely ...
..>
..> ... rather than explicitly shown or referred
..> to (not sure about that as 56 years of Star
..> Trek with multiple Uhuras & multiple Spocks
..> is a lot of territory to cover):
..> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyota_Uhura
..>
..> *--- --- ---*