Star Trek debuted in 1966 with a pioneering vision of different races and species uniting to explore the universe, with Nichelle Nichols representing a future United States of Africa as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura. Nichols developed the character with series creator Gene Roddenberry, but the initial spark occurred during her audition, when she brought in the book she was reading that day.

Uhuru is a 1962 novel by Robert Ruark, set near the end of the real-life Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya, which had only ended two years prior. In her interview with the Television Academy, Nichols explained that she had brought the tome to her audition to pass the time as she waited to go in, and so had to bring it with her into the audition room. The novel ignited a conversation between her, Roddenberry and the other executives, one which lasted 20 minutes before the audition finally commenced.

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To Nichols, the fictional story of Uhuru illustrates Africa's ongoing struggle for freedom, using many means through many trials. This is embodied in the book's title, as "uhuru" is literally the word for freedom in Swahili, a national language of many African nations and widely used across the continent. Nichols' passion for the book likely contributed to the huge impression she made that day; according to the actor, just an hour after her audition, director Joseph Sargent informed her, "You had it when you walked in the door."

Indeed, the discussion about Uhuru prompted Roddenberry to read the novel, during which he grew particularly attached to its title and the importance of the word itself to the African people. According to Nichols, he later expressed his wish to name her character after the book, but felt that the word's ending "u" sound was "too harsh." Nichols casually suggested replacing the "u" with an "a" to soften the name, and Roddenberry was instantly inspired. He quickly decided that Uhura, as named by Nichols, hailed from the United States of Africa.

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Although one might criticize the idea of merging all African countries into one resembling the United States of America, the significance of a woman from this nation boarding the U.S.S. Enterprise cannot be denied. In 1966, the fight for independence from colonial Britain was still occurring in the continent, with Uhuru representing that fight in Kenya. Thus, Lt. Uhura personified this freedom finally being achieved, with her very name paying tribute to it.

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In fact, this is highlighted in the very first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. "The Man Trap" features a telepathic alien that shapeshifts into forms that will appeal to its targets. For Uhura, it turns into a handsome African man played by Vince Howard, charming her by speaking Swahili. Sadly, this brief exchange is the only one Uhura gets to have in her first language, the one from which her poignant surname is derived. Although further episodes affirmed Swahili's importance to her, none of them had her converse with a fellow native speaker.

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It is a little sad that the communications officer, who translates various languages for her crew, has little opportunity to use her own language. However, this very skill is what makes her indispensable to William Shatner's Captain Kirk, and the establishment of Swahili as her native tongue upholds the multicultural future envisioned by Gene Roddenberry. Regardless of the controversy for suggesting a United States of Africa, Uhura's existence unquestionably foretold a freedom which, at the time, Africa was still struggling to realize.

It is thus a wonder what might have happened had Nichelle Nichols not brought Uhuru into her audition for Star Trek. While she likely still could have won the role without it, the impact the book had on the character's development is incalculable, as is the impact Uhura continues to have as the first black woman in a position of power on American television. Nobody could have imagined that Uhuru's depiction of African conflict would give birth to Nyota Uhura: a symbol of African freedom.

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