Star Trek supports Black Lives Matter

Star Trek supports Black Lives Matter. Image Star Trek

Star Trek supports Black Lives Matter. Across their website and social media Tuesday, the franchise’s official accounts expressed their support explicitly, with messages of solidarity, affirming “Black lives matter”.

On the website, StarTrek.com, they posted a video, a three-minute clip of Captain Sisko’s famous speech from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 6 episode “Far Beyond the Stars”. In the clip, Sisko, as writer Benny Russell, grapples with the fact that his story has been dismissed because he’s Black. “To hell with being calm!” he said. “Calm never got me a damn thing!” Accompanying the video was a brief recap of the racist incidents leading up to this week’s widespread protests, and a call to action: “Please join us today, and year-round, in supporting Black Lives Matter's call for a sustainable transition in our communities.”

That same message was echoed on Twitter and Instagram. Accompanying the same clip, those Star Trek accounts wrote, “Star Trek has always represented the hope of a better future for humankind, and we understand that until it's understood that Black lives do matter, that future cannot be achieved.”

Star Trek has always represented the hope of a better future for humankind, and we understand that until it's understood that Black lives do matter, that future cannot be achieved 🖖 pic.twitter.com/VNCwmcmyJS

— Star Trek (@StarTrek) June 2, 2020

And at the start of each clip, on all the platforms, the following: “Black lives matter. Black culture matters. Black communities matter. We stand in solidarity with our Black colleagues, creators, partners, and audiences and condemn all acts of racism, discrimination, and senseless acts of violence.”