It is often said that the first interracial kiss on TV was the (involuntary) kiss between Captain James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) and translator and communications officer Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) in the Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” that was broadcast on the 22nd of November 1968.
This is not the case.
There had of course been interracial kisses before in Star Trek but these were between humans and aliens but for some reason those don’t count when people are talking about interracial kissing.
A lot of people seem to be obsessed with people with different skin colours kissing each other but are fine with people kissing aliens from other planets.
And nobody seems to mention the interracial kiss between two women that was broadcast in an 1966 Star Trek episode! ( Uhura kisses Nurse Chapel in episode; ‘What are little girls made of’) and Kirk himself had kissed Lt. Marlena Moreau (Eurasian heritage).
Kirk also kissed Filipino Marlena Moreau, French-Vietnamese France Nuyen and Sulu kisses Uhura her neck in earlier episodes.
But besides this, there had been other interracial kisses on TV before the kiss between Kirk and Uhura.
If you’re familiar with the Deep Space Nine time-travel episode “Trials and Tribble-ations” this next meme will have a bit more context. but I think the joke stands pretty much on its own.
Update, 23 Nov 2023
Here’s a great cosplay honoring this important TV moment (even if the caption isn’t entirely accurate).
12 thoughts on “No, Kirk and Uhura didn’t share the first interracial kiss on television”
We are forgetting about all the westerns that pre date Star Trek where white cowboys openly kissed and had sex with Native American, Mexican and Black Women.
William Shatner says that when this scene was being filmed, network authorities were in the room, and they pressured Gene Roddenberry to reblock the scene so that the camera never shows any mouth contact. According to Shatner, that’s the take they ended up airing.
An interracial kiss between a black man and white woman was first shown on British TV in June 1962 as part of a broadcast of the staged play, You in Your Small Corner. It
I believe they were speaking of America. If so, it is Star Trek or if you want to go with movies Tamango. Aliens aren’t even a thing when it comes to the question. Also, Hispanic/Latino is not a race so that rules out I Love Lucy.
For some reason when they speak of “interracial” they mean black/white. That being the case, Star Trek wasn’t the 1st. It was Dorothy Dandridge in Tamango (1958)
from the “Fake History Hunter” article my post links to: “But at this moment there are a few contenders that all pre-date the Kirk-Uhura kiss. In 1951 Lucille Ball (European ancestry) and Desi Arnaz (Cuban-American) kissed on screen in the TV-show ‘I love Lucy’. Yes, this is a controversial contender, some people claim that their marriage was not interracial.”
So far you haven’t even left any remark as to who was and all you say is, “ no it isn’t” so either state who it was or admit you made a mistake and give credit where it’s due, . Don’t trash talk with, “no it’s not cause I said so” because it makes you look silly.
As far as your assertion, so far, everything I have read says you are dead wrong. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings my friend
In the UK there was an interracial kiss on the British soap opera Emergency Ward 10, which was broadcast in July 1964 which used to be considered the first. However they can now be traced back to 1959 in the UK.
We are forgetting about all the westerns that pre date Star Trek where white cowboys openly kissed and had sex with Native American, Mexican and Black Women.
William Shatner says that when this scene was being filmed, network authorities were in the room, and they pressured Gene Roddenberry to reblock the scene so that the camera never shows any mouth contact. According to Shatner, that’s the take they ended up airing.
https://www.tiktok.com/@darastarrtucker/video/7256889037930122539
An interracial kiss between a black man and white woman was first shown on British TV in June 1962 as part of a broadcast of the staged play, You in Your Small Corner. It
I believe they were speaking of America. If so, it is Star Trek or if you want to go with movies Tamango. Aliens aren’t even a thing when it comes to the question. Also, Hispanic/Latino is not a race so that rules out I Love Lucy.
For some reason when they speak of “interracial” they mean black/white. That being the case, Star Trek wasn’t the 1st. It was Dorothy Dandridge in Tamango (1958)
I am pretty sure Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball kissed on TV long before then.
from the “Fake History Hunter” article my post links to: “But at this moment there are a few contenders that all pre-date the Kirk-Uhura kiss. In 1951 Lucille Ball (European ancestry) and Desi Arnaz (Cuban-American) kissed on screen in the TV-show ‘I love Lucy’. Yes, this is a controversial contender, some people claim that their marriage was not interracial.”
So far you haven’t even left any remark as to who was and all you say is, “ no it isn’t” so either state who it was or admit you made a mistake and give credit where it’s due, . Don’t trash talk with, “no it’s not cause I said so” because it makes you look silly.
As far as your assertion, so far, everything I have read says you are dead wrong. Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings my friend
Tell me you didn’t click the link without telling me you didn’t click the link.
In the UK there was an interracial kiss on the British soap opera Emergency Ward 10, which was broadcast in July 1964 which used to be considered the first. However they can now be traced back to 1959 in the UK.
I just saw the episode of TOS star trek “What little girls are made of” when Uhura and nurse Chapel shared a cheek kiss!
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