When the going gets tough

It helps to have a major public figure explain that there is value to what you do. No, that does not apply to me but to actress Nichelle Nichols who played the communications officer on the original Star Trek series. In her biography, she relates how much racism she had to contend with while working on the series. She was planning to quit the show. But then she was told that a fan wanted to see her. That fan was none other than Martin Luther King, Jr. He told her that she was accomplishing something very important in portraying this character on television. Well, with that type of encouragement, she determined to continue. I come across many references to MLK in the examples SAT students use to illustrate their essays. So it was almost jarring to read about someone who actually met him and was directly influenced by him.