I hate Star Trek fans doing this.

[Pat Mustard]

Roddenberry was driven by the social issues of the '60s. He was also a bit ham-handed about addressing them.

Was he? Putting a female black communications officer on the bridge isn't ham handed. It's rather subtile.

Go watch Turnabout Intruder, and remember Gene was responsible as a writer for that. One thing I've noticed about Uhura is that all too often she's a glorified secretary, rarely considered for a responsible role (eg on a few occasions she's the seniormost bridge officer left on the ship yet never actually has the conn until TAS).

Roddenberry was very much of his time, more progressive than most, but still largely reflecting the prejudices of 1960s white America.