Celebrate ‘Star Trek: Discovery’s’ Farewell With the Franchise’s Best Black Characters
As enduring as the “Star Trek” franchise is, there are still countless timelines and ships left to explore. The universe was reinvigorated and rebooted a little in 2017 with the debut of its seventh series, “Star Trek: Discovery.” As the series enters its fifth and final season on Paramount+, we’re showing it some love for its diversity, inclusivity and originality. Not only did it give us Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, the first Black woman to lead a series as a Starfleet captain, it also championed representation with LGBTQ+ characters, beautiful stories of Black love and a captivating expansion of “The Original Series.”
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Ahead of the April 4 premiere of Season 5, Martin-Green spoke to The Root about Burnham’s legacy and what she learned from the character.
“I hope that people look to this character, see themselves reach higher, go further, do what they never felt comfortable enough to do or confident enough to do,” Martin-Green told The Root. “For me personally, I learned how to not fight for my value or my worth. When I came into ‘Discovery,’ that’s very much where I was coming from. A lot of internalized racism was in my heart and I felt that I needed to prove that I belonged there, deserve to be there. I learned over the course of ‘Discovery’ that’s not the case. God used it to show me that my value is intrinsic and, and I pray that’s part of the legacy as well. Especially for Black women.”
“Star Trek: Discovery” Season 5 premieres April 4 on Paramount+, with new episodes debuting every Thursday. The streaming service is also home to the entire “Star Trek” Universe.