by Craig Colby
Star Trek has always excelled in two ways: reflecting the way the world is and showing the way the world should be. The recent series, Star Trek: Discovery, adds a few new twists. The central character, Michael Burnham, is the first Star Trek lead who is not running the ship. Michael, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, is also the first black female lead. She was court-martialed in the first episode, and despite battling back, was demoted again. Michael’s home life has been just as turbulent. She’s Spock’s adopted sister, a human raised on Vulcan. Michael was never accepted on Vulcan, despite excelling at the science academy, because of the way she looked. This is Star Trek reflecting the way the world is.
The Way It Is
Darlene Love knows the way the world is. She was a soul singer in the 1960’s, belting out lead vocals on hits like “He’s a Rebel”and “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home.” She sang back up on the Ronette’s “Be My Baby”, Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life” and performed with Sam Cooke and Elvis Presley. Darlene Love was an elite talent. However, talented and odious producer Phil Spector, the creator of the Wall of Sound, wouldn’t put her name on her records, instead using the name the Crystals. When Love confronted him about this, he stopped recording her as a lead. Opportunities became so scarce Love stored her belongings in her car, bounced between relatives’ houses, and took any job she could get. Darlene Love would hear her songs on the radio while she was cleaning homes.
Michael Burnham is the smartest person in the room. She’s the toughest fighter too. Yet, she keeps getting burned in her career because she does the right thing, despite the cost to herself.
In 2000, when I was producing the series the Sex Files for Discovery Channel Canada, the researcher for the show quit in the middle of production to take a better position (more power to her). I needed someone right away. Colleagues recommended Marcelle Edwards saying, “other people can do the job, but she’ll run through a wall smiling to get it done.” That was an understatement. When I’d go home to write a show, Marcelle would hand me a thick binder of research, not just articles on studies but the original scientific papers. Also, her relentless positivity got us rare access. Marcelle earned a promotion to associate producer and was instrumental to every series I produced at Discovery Channel until I left in 2005.
Since then, she’s worked on most of the successful shows produced in-house, even developing a series that turned into a money maker. One executive told me how impressed she was by Marcelle. All Marcelle’s efforts at work go into making the show the best it can be. Her efforts at home go into raising her daughter as a single mom and taking care of her own mother, who lives with her after some serious health scares. Marcelle Edwards is an elite talent and a straight-up hero. She’s also still an associate producer, the same job title she had when I left Discovery Channel 16 years ago. Despite her stellar work and attitude, Marcelle never received the opportunities to advance that others have.
Making the Save
At the end of season two of Star Trek: Discovery, Michael Burnham saved the universe, despite an incredible cost.
Last year, the United States was saved from four more years of Donald Trump by black voters, and black women in particular. Stacey Abrams’ organization Fair Fight Action, which lobbies for fair voting practices and engages black voters, helped deliver Georgia’s votes to the Democrats. This was after she lost a tight, and contested, election for Governor. When the votes in Wayne County, Michigan, were being counted, Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey was pressed by CNN host Chris Cuomo on when she would know the results. Her response was to the point - “sometime.” Winfrey was more focused on getting the job done than playing nice on TV. The Democrats won the election with Kamala Harris occupying the second spot on the ticket.
It hasn’t been a clean victory, though. Donald Trump’s bloated, white entitlement has a lot of support. His insurrectionist mob was almost entirely white. The bumbling, lie-drenched legal defence of his actions came from an all-white law team. His impeachment was denied by 43 white, mostly male senators.
If Trump’s acquittal is a victory, it looks to be short-lived. Black women may see that Trump and his cronies don’t escape. Fanni Willis, the Fulton County District Attorney, has announced an investigation into Trump’s attempts to influence Georgia’s election results. Letitia James, the New York State Attorney General, is investigating Donald Trump’s business dealings.
A Change For All
I’m not saying black women have special abilities that white men lack. I think human frailty and excellence is evenly distributed through every race, religion, and gender. I am saying black women’s talents have been overlooked, to all our detriment. That may be changing. An inclusive new world is something white people, particularly men, need to support. I’m not just talking about tiki-torch carrying nationalists, or the Mitch McConnell’s who wag their fingers at injustice while refusing to do anything about it. I’m talking about well-meaning people like me.
We may not get positions for which we’re qualified, or even overqualified. As prime opportunities are being purposefully opened to a more diverse labour pool, people like me need to up our games to compete.
The pandemic and the shrinking television industry in Canada have already made work scarce. I’ve used down time to build a bigger network, find a new customer base, work on my web site and develop sales and marketing skills. Anyone complaining about this new world isn’t just missing the point, they’re missing an opportunity. Change won’t just make the world better; it will make you better.
Spoiler Alert
If this article has got you interested in Star Trek: Discovery, you may want to skip to the next paragraph because I’m about to spoil the end of season three. The last scene of the most recent season of Discovery shows Michael Burnham walking past approving colleagues to take her well-earned position in the captain’s chair. This scene must not be relegated to science fiction.
Darlene Love received a standing ovation at the Academy Awards when a film featuring her won an Oscar. Marcelle has been moved to a different production group. If she gets to lead a show I’d love to be on her team.
I’m not being selfless, and this isn’t about any specific gender or race. I just don’t like the world created by exclusion. To get past the ugliness of insurrection and rioting, we need a society that is built on the best all of us have to offer. That’s the world I want to live in, the one I want to leave to my children. I’ll do everything I can to make it so.
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Craig Colby is a television executive producer, producer, director, writer and story editor. He runs a storytelling consulting and production service for businesses.