One of the most groundbreaking characters ever to appear on television

 It is difficult to understate the significance of the Uhura character in television and society, both generally and specifically. Up until that time, the general role of black women on television and in movies was as maids. Here was a black woman that was an officer, treated as such and with some spunk. Her pulling of a knife on the lecherous Zulu in "Mirror Mirror" demonstrated that she was a fighter. Her role was so significant to the black community that when Nichelle Nichols wanted to quit, no less a person than Martin Luther King Jr. personally told her that she couldn't quit. He explained how significant a role model she was for all blacks in general and young black women in particular. Whoopi Goldberg has also been very explicit in stating the influence of the Uhura character on her career decisions.