Our favorite communications officer Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) is set to receive the Gordon Parks Choice of Weapons Award Oct. 9 at the sixth annual Gordon Parks Celebration of Culture and Diversity at Fort Scott Community College.

The Gordon Parks Celebration, a component of the Gordon Parks Museum/Center, was created in 2004 to honor Parks, a Fort Scott native and noted photographer, writer, musician and filmmaker.

Nichols sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton, touring the United States, Canada and Europe before turning to acting. In addition to her role of communications officer the USS Enterprise for the Star Trek television series and movies, her other credits include the movies "Snow Dogs" and "The Torturer"; The Cabonauts, a sci-fi musical comedy that debuted on the Internet; the NBC drama "Heroes"; Broadway tours of " Horowitz and Mrs. Washington" and "Nunsense II;" and the "Anthology of Interest I" and "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" episodes of the animated series "Futurama."

She also has written an autobiography and two science fiction novels.

After "Star Trek," Nichols volunteered her time in a special project with NASA to recruit minority and female personnel for the space agency. She has served since the mid-1980s on the Board of Governors of the National Space Society, a nonprofit, educational space advocacy organization. (source CJonline.com)

Read the article here.