Like the old saying goes, “show, don’t tell”. TOS didn’t need to shake us by the shoulders and say “look! There’s a black woman in a respected professional position! Isn’t that amazing‽” They just showed us Uhura doing her job, being treated the same as anyone else because it’s the future and why would it be any other way?
And that is exactly why it was so effective.
Like the old saying goes, “show, don’t tell”. TOS didn’t need to shake us by the shoulders and say “look! There’s a black woman in a respected professional position! Isn’t that amazing‽” They just showed us Uhura doing her job, being treated the same as anyone else because it’s the future and why would it be any other way?