Cartoon 821: Never

We can envisioned aliens in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors. We can envision aliens with all sorts of proclivities. But how many movies or television series have you seen where more advanced ‘good’ aliens are of a Negroid civilization? Got you: none!

The original StarTrek series was in 1966. Race relations was a very big issue in the country at the time. The Producers wanted to make a statement about racism. They did not want to be banned in certain markets like the Bill Cosby and Robert Culp television series “I Spy”. It was banned for suggesting racial equality.

The Producer of StarTrek, Gene Roddenberry, decided to use a surrogate. The original approach was for Mister Spock to be the nominal “Black man” and Doctor McCoy the racist. Hence, the racial epitaphs frequently used by Doctor McCoy referring to Mister Spock. The play off between Captain Kirk and Mister Spock was to demonstrate strength through diversity.

Racism runs deep and is a subjective attribute in society. Prejudices are inbred and never really evaporate. Under the best of circumstances they are merely air brushed. Superior Negroid aliens can never be accepted. It runs counter to fundamental beliefs.