Actress Sonequa Martin-Green is making history as the first Black woman to serve in a Captain role on Star Trek.
While appearing on The View to talk about the history she’s making on Star Trek: Discovery, Martin-Green took a moment to credit Whoopi Goldberg for all she represents for Black women in Hollywood. While also shouting out Nichelle Nichols
, who played Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, Martin-Green took a moment to give Goldberg and Nichols their flowers for paving the way for her to continue breaking glass ceilings into the new generation.“Making history in this way … I thought it was up to me to do it perfectly and to do everything right to pay homage to the people that came before me,” Martin-Green said.
“But this is not my accomplishment…. I simply stepped onto the path that was already laid for me by Nichelle and by you,” she said while pointing to Goldberg. “And so I am your accomplishment and I thank you.”
She noted Goldberg’s past work that helped give a young Martin-Green hope in acquiring her own success as an actress.
“You mean a lot to me,” she told Whoopi. “A lot of your work I shared with my family growing up, so you kind of hold those memories with me: ‘The Color Purple,’
and ‘Made in America,’ and ‘Ghost.’”Martin-Green also touched on some things going on in her personal life, like welcoming her second child months before losing both of her parents in April. The Space Jam: A New Legacy star gushed over her 1-year-old daughter, Saraiyah, and shared the challenges of tackling topics about race and culture with her 6-year-old son, Kenric Jr.
“It’s a lot. It’s time. It has to be. Because as genuine and as innocent as he is, a lot of people do not see him this way,” Martin-Green said.
After some of the hosts noted how some people would think her son is too young to have those types of conversations, the Walking Dead star said, “He’s not too young to get shot, is he?”