Mr. Spock’s Tips For Coping With Racism

Star Trek originally aired during the 1960s, when many US schools and sporting and social clubs were still heavily segregated. Growing up during this period in England, black role models on television and within the media were hard to find, with the great majority of ethnic actors playing submissive clown characters that caused me to squirm with embarrassment.

Enter Spock, the otherworldly harbinger of reason. While the minutiae of our circumstances diverged, a singular truth remained immutable. I was black within a predominantly white milieu, while Spock stood as an alien amidst humanity. Our distinct attributes – my ebony skin and Spock's pointed ears – were beacons that set us apart in an intricate dance of identity.

Spock dealt with many colleagues who would angrily/fearfully bring up Spock’s alien heritage when facing an alien threat. Doctor McCoy, in particular, would often call Spock “cold-blooded” and refer to Spock as if his lack of humanity equated to being less than human.

 As a young man, I often found my skin colour being brought up during arguments with white kids who would, at some point, bring up my blackness as something that prevented me from ever being as good as them. Observing Star Trek on a weekly basis allowed me to deduce that Spock never allowed Dr. McCoy’s wild, often racist harangues to unsettle him. His careful dissection of any bigoted insult enabled me to step back and question the actual meaning of phrases like “coon”, “black bastard”, “nig-nog”, and “golliwog” and find them and those who spoke them to be empty and not worth fearing.

Spock's tutalege resonateed far beyond his fictional realm. As an emotionally ravenous youth, a televisual mentor beckoned. A mere 50 minutes on screen sufficed.

NB: The Original Star Trek series ran for three seasons from 1966-1969. In total, the entire Star Trek movie franchise spanning “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979) to “Star Trek Beyond” 2016 have grossed over one billion dollars. Not bad, considering the budget for the show’s original pilot entitled “The Cage” cost $615,751.