The African American Science Fiction Character in Literature, Television, and Film

Consequently, Jan Rodricks does not have and does not generate, as traditional fiction does, the universal complexity, racial depth, and pathos of, say, Richard Wright’s Native Son protagonist, Bigger Thomas, or James Baldwin’s character in "Sonny’s Blues." Conversely, Rodricks’ presence--though very racially marginal--as a black man in SF literature at all during the time is unique to say the least. Jan Rodricks’ presence in Childhood's End is fortuitous in that although the character lacks "soul" or Black ethnicity--uncreated with that soulfulness and recognition of his blackness and its origin and travails—the character serves as a template for future Black characters yet to be written. History, race, culture, and gender equality are the essential elements which provide the imprint for making the African American SF character more three-dimensional. Black SF characters in literature would be written as equally strong and complex and as readily acceptable as white characters thanks to authors such as the controversial Harlan Ellison--one of Octavia Butler's mentors--who created a strong and quite complex black character in the horror/sci-fi short story "Mephisto in Onyx," in which its protagonist is Black. Black readers would have to wait a little longer before a black voice would emerge in this genre. However, a few SF television shows would showcase some black characters in the genre, though marginal still, and raise attention to them—this writer notwithstanding. Specifically, thanks to shows such as Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, and The Outer Limits, this emergence of Black SF voices would begin.

Envisioned in the world of American television by the late Gene Roddenberry as a "wagon train to the stars," Star Trek is a metaphor for the human "inner space" and the human adventure giving its 1960’s audiences voyages of moral and social dilemmas in its handling of war, love, sex, and especially racism. Due to many important risks taken by its creator, Roddenberry's series would allow a few of its ethnic characters—particularly Blacks--to connect with a much broader audience all over America and later abroad--access to the sci-fi genre. For example, the Black character most remembered by Trek's fans is Lieutenant Uhura, played by actress Nichelle Nichols. Intelligent, brave, and beautiful, her character--a Starfleet communications officer, opened a door that would never be closed for future African American characters. Uhura's character is an image of dignity and pride for the American TV audience. On Gene Roddenberry's vision, Ms. Nichols recalls something she was told by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the series' first run on TV in the late 1960s, "He has created a show that has . . . For the first time, men and women of all colors and background, including an alien, going forth in peaceful exploration as equals, not as robots, not as automatons but as human beings with a human frailty". Nichols’ involvement with recruiting minorities and women for the NASA space program is poignant. On her view of how Star Trek and TV portrayed ethnic groups during the 1960s she states, "I think it did a damn good job of almost succeeding. You have to remember that Hollywood was still Hollywood, and this was an enormous breakthrough, in terms of what was acceptable" Just a few years earlier, African American actress Diane Sands portrayed an intelligent but strong character in a show titled "The Mice," an episode from The Outer Limits, an early 1960s sci fi anthology TV series and a genre precursor to Trek.