Dear Friends,
You’ve heard the timeless adage: “Life comes full circle,” and “what goes around comes around.” I believe that, rather than moving in a circle and returning to the same starting point again and again, we travel the course of an infinite spiral. When we return to a starting point we are at a different level, hopefully a higher one; a spiritual peak from which to view our lives. And, thanks to you, what a life I’ve lived.
Before I made the leap to working with the great Duke Ellington, before I became a professional dancer and singer, I had to discover myself. As I learned to believe in my talent, my voice, myself, I learned that I could make others believe as well.
Gene Roddenberry believed in me. His belief presented me with a fantastic opportunity: to help conceive and create the groundbreaking role of Uhura on Star Trek, the original series.
And my belief was expanded to embrace Gene’s vision of a bright future for humanity. When I was on those wonderful sets with all of the cast members, the universe of Star Trek began to feel not so much a fantasy but an opportunity to lay the groundwork for what we might actually achieve by the 23rd Century… a bold aspiration and an affirmation of Uhura as we eagerly await her arrival.
After my “tour of duty” on the original series ended I was invited to become a spokesperson for NASA, where I helped recruit and inspire a new generation of fearless astronauts; young men and women with a strong belief in themselves, in their potential, and in a future of learning and achievement for all humanity. In motivating them as others once did me, it’s as if my life had come back, full circle, to where the dreams of a young woman began.
Today, I want to invite you, my beloved friends and devoted fans; everyone who’s helped to make my dreams come true, to see me on my Farewell Tour later this year. It will be a celebration of my career in entertainment with all its challenges, achievements, and the joy of the journey. I look forward to seeing all of you there.
Lovingly,
