According to Black Enterprise, Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Michael Burnham, the franchise’s first Black captain on Star Trek: Discovery, paid tribute to Goldberg, who played psychic bartender Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation. She also gave props to Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Nyota Uhura on the original Star Trek series and served as an inspiration to Goldberg to become an actress and star in The Next Generation.
“Making history in this way…I thought it was up to me to do it perfectly and to do everything right to pay homage to the people that came before me,” said Martin-Green.
“…But this is not my accomplishment…I simply stepped onto the path that was already laid for me by Nichelle and by you [Goldberg]. And so I am your accomplishment and I thank you.”
“You mean a lot to me,” she continued to Goldberg. “A lot of your work I shared with my family growing up, so you kind of hold those memories with me: The Color Purple and Made in America and Ghost.”
Goldberg has talked about Nichols’ impact on her life many times, including at a 2016 tribute event to Nichols.
“You could see Black people on television, but you never saw Black people in the future until Gene Roddenberry put a beautiful Black woman on that show,” she said at the time, according to Cnet. “And not just a beautiful Black woman, but a beautiful Black woman who was the communications officer. She wasn’t cleaning house.”
Watch the clip below:
https://youtu.be/X25gVG34L-0
