When the Star Trek: Discovery casting announcements started to hit, and then the trailer dropped, there was one thing everyone agreed on: the newest entry in the Star Trek franchise is embracing diversity in a big way, including having its very first African-American female lead. Some particularly vocal critics have accused CBS of bowing to “political correctness” in their casting choices. The press pounced on the story, and Discovery‘s star, Sonequa Martin-Green, told Entertainment Weekly what she’d say to these so-called fans who have issues with what they’re seeing.

“Well, I would encourage them to key into the essence and spirit of Star Trek that has made it the legacy it is — and that’s looking across the way to the person sitting in front of you and realizing you are the same, that they are not separate from you, and we are all one. That’s something Star Trek has always upheld and I completely believe that is why it’s been a mainstay in society in the hearts of so many people for so many decades. I would encourage them to look past their opinions and social conditioning and key into what we’re doing here — which is telling a story about humanity that will hopefully bring us all together.”

Diversity is part of Star Trek

Of course, anyone who’s been following Star Trek from the beginning (or even anyone who picked it up along the way) knows that diversity is at its core and is part of Gene Roddenberry’s vision of the future. From the early 60s when it was revolutionary to show bridge officers who were African-American, Asian, and even Russian to the crews of the Deep Space Nine space station and the starship Voyager in particular, representation has always been baked into Star Trek’s DNA. These points were made effectively last month by George Takei in an appearance on MSNBC.



Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.