“WAGON TRAIN TO THE STARS” by Mary Karpin
This was Gene Roddenberry’s original concept pitch for his tv series STAR TREK that premiered in the USA in 1966. Roddenberry wanted people of the world to get along, to realize they had more in common than they realized. Hence the TV series set in the future with a multi-racial, multi-gender, even a non-human character, all working together for a common purpose. The network bosses were so upset that Leonard Nimoy’s character Spock had pointed ears, that they missed Roddenberry’s casting of Lieutenant Uhura as a bridge officer! Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), didn’t think much of her role in the series until she was attending a dinner honouring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the off season. Dr. King surprised her by personally thanking her for her portrayal of a black woman in a role of authority a rarity at the time.
65