Woman in Motion

To most of the known universe, Nichelle Nichols is Lieutenant Uhura, the communications officer aboard the Starship Enterprise. On Star Trek she broke barriers as one of the first African Americans to star in a network show and as a participant in television’s first interracial kiss. In reality Nichelle Nichols was a pioneer, a fiercely intelligent and passionate advocate for African Americans, women, and minorities. She worked with the NAACP and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a role model for young black children and women. Beyond that, Nichelle Nichols is arguably the single most important figure in history for the recruitment of women and minorities to the field of space exploration, specifically the NASA space shuttle program. In early 1977, Nichols was appointed to the board of directors for the National Space Institute where she defiantly challenged NASA with one idea: “Where are my people?” From that moment on, Nichols and her company Women in Motion crisscrossed the United States recruiting 8,000 men and women to swell the ranks of diversity in the fledgling Space Shuttle program. Woman In Motion gathers together dozens of interviews with Star Trek cast members (George Takei, Michael Dorn, Walter Koenig), scientists (Neil deGrasse Tyson), entertainers (Pharrell, Vivica A. Fox, Lynn Whitfield), politicians (Maxine Waters, Bill Nelson), and a host of NASA astronauts and administrators to celebrate the accomplishments of one woman who has dedicated her entire life to boldly going where no man or woman has gone before. (Orlando Film Festival)