Nichelle Nichols, trailblazing 'Star Trek' actress, dies at 89

Actress and singer Nichelle Nichols, best known for her groundbreaking portrayal of Lt. Nyota Uhura in "Star Trek: The Original Series," has died at age 89, according to a statement from her son, Kyle Johnson. Nichols portrayed communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in the "Star Trek" TV series and many of its film offshoots. When "Star Trek" began in 1966, Nichols was a television rarity: a Black woman in a notable role on a prime-time television series. There had been African-American women on TV before, but they often played domestic workers and had small roles; Nichols' Uhura was an integral part of the multicultural "Star Trek" crew. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called it "the first non-stereotypical role portrayed by a Black woman in television history." Nichols is widely known for participating in one of the first interracial kisses on US television when her character kissed James T. Kirk, portrayed by White Canadian actor William Shatner. In an interview with CNN in 2014, Nichols said the kiss scene "changed television forever, and it also changed the way people looked at one another." #NichelleNichols #JasonCarroll #CNN