'Star Trek: Discovery' cast kneels in solidarity with the NFL

With Star Trek's legacy of diversity, it seems fitting that the cast of the reboot series, Star Trek: Discovery, would enter the national conversation on the NFL national anthem protests less than 24 hours after the show's premiere.

SEE ALSO: #TakeAKnee protests are about police violence, not the military or the Constitution

On Monday morning, Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays the show's protagonist First Officer Michael Burnham, posted a photo of the Star Trek cast "taking a knee."

Martin-Green used the hashtag #takeaknee, invoking the NFL players who supported the protests of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and defied the president's calls for their firing Friday by kneeling and locking arms during the national anthem during Sunday's games.

While many comments on the Instagram post applauded the cast with heart eye and "live long and prosper" emoji, there were, of course, those who objected to the political and serious tenor.

"Ridiculous, lost a follower!" commented Instagram user bostonbone31. "It's disrespectful to those that died for our flag no matter how you look at it. #shameful"

But there were many more messages of support than detractions. Instagram user rbenenge wrote:

htownbrown75 made use of the full spectrum of emoji diversity, writing "Absolutely!! Love it!!! ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🖖🏻🖖🏼🖖🏽🖖🏾🖖🏿"

Star Trek Discovery premiered Sunday night on CBS.  The reboot takes place ten years before the storyline of Captain Kirk and his crew-mates begin, and so far, is focusing on the story of Martin-Green's Michael Burnham. The show premiered to positive reviews - including our own - and so far seems like a promising addition to the Star Trek canon.

Along with the Instagram protest photo, the show itself does justice to the legacy of Star Trek as an inclusive and "progressive" show. Star Trek historian Mark A. Altman told The Washington Post that when the show premiered in the 1960s, its casting was notable for its diversity. It featured a black woman and a Japanese man in its cast - Nichelle Nichols as communications officer Lt. Uhura, and George Takei as Lt. Sulu - at a time when few other shows were prioritizing diverse representation on-screen.

Now, Discovery has cast two women of color as both the show's protagonist, Michael Burnham, and this iteration of Star Trek's commanding officer, Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). 

In the Star Trek universe, imbued with the Vulcan philosophy of "Infinite diversity in infinite combinations," having women of color in power seems delightfully the norm - not something that should have to be stated as remarkable.

But, in a world where the president calls any NFL player who protests along with the Black Lives Matter movement a "son of a bitch," and one in which Star Trek fans object to the lack of a white man at the helm of a space ship, diverse casting, and taking a knee, are still bold acts that go where this universe desperately needs to go.

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