The Uhura Effect

My favorite song from Shakira starts with the phrase “Si es cuestión de confesar...”, ["If it’s about confessing..."], and here’s a confession from me. In the last few months, my path in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been one of mixed results, and that has been disheartening.

I usually expect myself to generate significant impact with my efforts, but living in a state like Utah, impact comes usually at a slow pace. So slow that it can bring discourage. Not only the slow pace, but also the current efforts from some politicians in 19 different states to make DEI initiatives illegal, (really not cool, Mi Gente).

Right when I started planning a retirement from volunteer work in the field of inclusion, equity & diversity, something beautiful happened today, and it has given me a second wind to stay in the race. I watched a beautiful documentary called Woman In Motion .

To Boldly Go…

This might be perceived as one of the geekiest editions you'll ever receive from InnoLatino Newsletter. I’m going to pay homage to one of the actors of Star Trek, a series who made a deep mark in the field of DEI: The great Nichelle Nichols (1932 – 2022).

Nichelle played the character of Lt. Uhura in the first series of one of the greatest franchises that have emerged in the last few decades. Star Trek.

Now imagine, this is the 60’s in the USA. The fight for Civil Rights is on, and there are barely any roles for people of color on the screen. Gene Roddenberry decides to cast a talented female black performer from Broadway for a role for which there was not even a name (in her reading, Nichols was given the lines of Mr. Spock because her character hadn’t been written yet). By the way, Nichols helped name the character because she was reading a novel by Robert Ruark named “Uhuru”, she suggested to change the last letter.

Lt. Uhura is usually remembered because she’d open the communication channels across ships, and alien races. Unfortunately, during the first season her lines few on each episode and were almost identical:

“Hailing frequencies open, Sir.”

Still, Nichols played her role in a dignified and professional way. Her poise communicated a stark contrast with the negative propaganda from the enemies of the civil rights movement. The mere presence of a beautiful black woman on screen, with a military rank, that in fact had the attention of the entire bridge of a spaceship when she spoke, made her a symbol. ?

What people should know is that Nichelle Nichols also became a force to be reckoned with. She left a legacy much greater than her performing career in Star Trek. She is one of the greatest champions in the realm of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) realm, specifically in the NASA Space Program.

By then, Nichols was already a musical theatre figure and her talent as a singer, dancer and actress had already been established in the business. When she realized that the writers were relegating her to the same line over and over, she decided to quit the show, and even wrote a letter of resignation to Gene Roddenberry, creator and producer of the Star Trek series. Gene begged her to give it greater thought over the weekend.

A few hours after she’d submitted her resignation letter, she was at a fundraising event. During the event, the organizer invited her to meet a man who described himself as “her biggest fan”. Nichelle didn’t think much of it and was expecting the typical exchange she’d had with other fans, but when she turned around to greet her “biggest fan”, Nichelle saw the shining smile of a global figure that she recognized immediately.

It was Dr. Martin Luther King, whom she described as “My leader”. He approached and said, “Yes Ms. Nichols I’m your greatest fan”. Ms. Nichols was mesmerized, speechless in fact. as After Dr. King told her how much he and his family enjoyed the show and watching her in it. Ms. Nichols mustered the courage to let him know that she’d submitted her resignation earlier in the day.

The reaction and response of Dr. King caught her by surprise and made her a bit defensive. His words were: “You cannot, you cannot.” (Mi Gente, especially dudes out there, don’t tell a woman what she can’t do). Martin Luther King got away with telling Ms. Nichols she couldn’t quit the show for a very relevant reason. In his words,

“You don’t understand… For the first time on television, WE would be seen, as we SHOULD be seen, EVERYDAY… The effect you’re having, not only on black people, not only on young women, but everybody’s mind… Their attitude has changed immeasurably, simply because you’re there.”

Dr. King also helped her realize that the character that Gene Roddenberry had created wasn’t a black character, and it wasn’t even a female character, therefore, if she left, her character could be substituted by anyone, even an outer space alien.

The next week Nichelle Nichols went to Roddenberry’s office to tell him whom she’d talked to over the weekend and told him she’d like to stay in the show. Gene said, “Thank God for Dr. King, he gets what I’m about”. After tearing her resignation letter into pieces, he gave them to Nichelle and exchanged sincere ‘Thank You's. Nichelle Nichols described those events as the realization of why the universe had put her in that place and time.

Woman In Motion

While on hiatus, Nichols was a frequent guest at Star Trek conventions, and in one of them, Dr. Van Putkamer from NASA gave a mesmerizing presentation about space, and the importance of its study. Nichols witnessed this presentation and remained in awe… for a moment. What followed was a feeling of disenfranchisement. She wouldn’t see herself reflected in the Space Program as it was then, and as it had been.

She couldn’t reconcile the vision of the future in space that she helped the world to see, and how things were at the time: no women, no black people in the program. In her own words, “I want to be there [in Space], not 300 years from today, but now.”

By then, the National Institute of Science had stated that at the moment there were no black people qualified to join the Space Program. With what we know now about unconscious bias, and prejudice, we can imagine where statements like that came from.

And this, Mi Gente, is when a quote from Lemony Snicket fits perfectly:

Nichols decided to do something about it. So, she started writing about the need for diversity in the Aerospace industry and got published in magazines and newspapers. She gave interviews and poised poignant questions that shook the system:

“What’s in Space for Me?”, “Where are my people?”.

When Lt. Uhura from the U.S.S. Enterprise asked those types of questions, the system was shaken, but when a member of board of directors of the National Space Institute (which she became in 1977) poised those questions, the system was bound to pay attention. She was so persistent that she was invited to NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters.

At that time, NASA had found itself at a defining moment. The Apollo program had ended after its XVII mission and the Apollo - Soyuz, and a recession had produced cuts in jobs across the board, including NASA. Under these conditions a new era was coming for the organization: The Space Shuttle program.

With the arrival of the shuttle, the need for a variety of roles emerged: mission specialists, scientists from different branches of science, medical doctors, etc. New blood was needed, and more astronauts were going to be performing experiments on space, but there was a problem: The pile of applicants reflected a legacy of discrimination and bias (conscious and unconscious), and the eight-month effort to recruit hadn’t been successful; they only had four months before the program started. They were not working anymore under the assumption that no talent could be found in disadvantaged communities, but they just weren’t good at getting talent from those.

It was then that they offered Nichols the chance to help in their recruiting efforts. At first, she was reluctant, as she thought people would make fun of NASA, but they replied: “They won’t if they hear you speak for five minutes.”

Here’s where the genius of Nichols shows her as a woman of vision & determination: She decided to not be perceived as a celebrity that only showed up to give some remarks and then leave the ship, pun intended. She didn’t want to be a gimmick.

She wanted to make sure her efforts would produce impact, and moved the needle for disadvantaged communities, and not simply lip service. So, she partnered with NASA not simply as a spokesperson, but AS A RECRUITER with her company "Woman In Motion" (the caps is a shoutout to all the DEI recruiters out there!).

She said she’d bring them so many people, they were going to really hire diverse talent. She also issued a warning, saying that if in ten years, she saw no difference in the diversity scene in NASA, she would testify publicly against the organization.

Amazingly, the then Director, Dr. James C. Fletcher shook her hand as he said he’d join her if that were the case. But it never came to that.

For the next few months, Nichols would focus on this endeavor fully. She went through rigorous training (physical and science) to get closely familiar with the program.

At first, the NASA personnel were uneasy to have this celebrity interfering with their work, because they knew what they were doing, and didn’t need her (according to them). But once they started a conversation with her, their attitude shifted tremendously. The need for diversity was finally being adopted in the organization. That was one battle won.

Now, the challenge was to have women & people of color to apply. For that effect she’d take advantage of her Uhura persona in the media, she went to Black Historic Colleges, especially in the deep South, where at times she wasn’t welcomed and violence against her became a real threat.

She met with women, science engineers & scientists’ organizations; she’d reach out to the Asian community and met the Latino communities as well to encourage recruitment and look for talent (way to go, Queen!!!).

When the Top Brass at the Pentagon rejected her recruiting efforts, she actually found a way in the system to contact the talent that been rejected from the military program and worked the bureaucratic system to have them apply… as civilians (brilliant move, Nichols). Some Generals were shocked to see astronauts that had served in the military qualify in the Space Program without going through the program they’d created for their service men & women.

All those efforts constituted a grueling schedule jammed in a four-month period. They would produce unprecedented results. From a roster of 1,800 applicants before Nichols joined, less than 100 were women, and 35 were members of ethnic minorities. When Nichols finished her work there were more than 8,000 applications: with 1,649 of them being from women, and over 1,000 from ethnic minorities.

As I said above, discouragement had been creeping in me regarding my efforts in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. But yesterday while learning about the legacy of such remarkable woman, I felt I could not allow myself to stop fighting the good fight. That’s what the Uhura Effect caused in me.

Along with that, there are several lessons that I can get from her. Among them.

1.????Your Influence Is Greater Than You Think: Nichols didn’t see her role as relevant and she kept saying the same line over and over in the different episodes. But it wasn’t until she met Dr. Martin Luther King, when she realized that her mere presence and work were elevating entire communities to a higher level. Thanks to her role, carried with great poise and professionalism, many women and people of color could see themselves in a future that would value them as equal contributors to society. Many don’t see themselves succeeding, simply because they have no way to visualize the success of someone that looks like them. Don’t discount yourself too quickly, you might be creating an impact that you can’t perceive now but will affect many lives for the better. ?

?2.????Broaden Your Vision: Armed with the knowledge given by Dr. King, Ms. Nichols’s vision was expanded to see potential where others did not. She could see a problem that the mainstream did not perceive. Nichelle Nichols saw a disparity in the Aerospace industry that should have been corrected. She had been part of a marvelous story & vision created by Gene Roddenberry, a vision where humankind had overcome racial prejudice. She had a glimpse of how things could be, as opposed to how they were at the moment.

3.????Position Yourself to Make a Difference: Lt. Uhura gave Nichelle Nichols the ability to project her image globally. She decided to use such an image to make a positive difference in the world. She described her situation like this: “Uhura and I became friends. It is the character I had the blessing to create, and it never failed me.”While not everyone is going to have the type of platform that Nichols had, we can still find a way to serve those around us and help this world a better place, by simply doing what we can with what we’ve been given.

4.????Find the Right Channel to the Decision – Makers: While appointed to the board of directors of the National Space Institute, she knew that the leaders of NASA and the Aerospace industry were going to be there. Her remarks reached home because the message got the ears of the Director of NASA. The place, time and occasion were the right moment to communicate the message, and so she did.

5.????Intentionality Means Taking Action: Fortunately, the top leadership at NASA at the time had the sincere and honest intention to change course and let diversity grow in the organization. When Nichols prescribed a formula to obtain higher visibility and credibility, they supported her and carried on.

Just because an organization states platitudes like: “Our commitment to Diversity is fundamental”, or “We pledge to support the DEI efforts in our organization”, or “We value diversity”, it does not mean they're really committed to DEI, unless resources are assigned to such efforts.

Know the difference between those who talk the talk and walk the walk. Nichelle Nichols even stated she would go against the organization if they didn’t support her efforts with actions, in this case, recruiting a more diverse workforce. As described above, engaging in DEI efforts implies getting embedded in communities across the nation or globe; it implies earning the trust of those communities by demonstrating a genuine interest in their growth. Anything less than that, is going to be perceived as a gimmick to sell a product or service and will not create relevant impact.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

I’d like to point out that if any of today’s anti-DEI vocal pundits and politicians had been present then, they would have probably shut down the Space Program permanently, simply because NASA had embraced inclusion as an organization. This would have hurt our nation and its role as a leader in Science & Technology. At this moment, these voices are trying to make illegal DEI initiatives like Nichelle Nichols’, and some have the audacity to quote leaders of Civil Rights movements like Dr. Martin Luther King to justify their quest. If you’re reading this, please think about the type of progress that would be stymied, by basing our perceptions on the frustration, fear and even hate that many public figures keep spewing.

Contrast that to the potential we could have as a society if we allow disadvantaged groups to surge into professional spaces like STEM and Aerospace. We need more Uhura’s in our communities. We need heroes and heroines in whose stories people can see themselves reflected. We need more people from rural backgrounds (white or not) in scientific fields that would help our society. We need the voice and expertise from members of the Latino, Black and Native American communities, as their perspectives can increase the rate of success of our businesses and organizations.

Lastly, I'd like to point out something important, Mi Gente. Yesterday was Star Wars Day, May the Fourth. And I enjoyed it in a very geek fashion. And yet...