WASHINGTON — It was the kiss heard around the galaxy.

Fifty years ago – and only one year after the U.S. Supreme Court declared interracial marriage was legal – two of science fiction’s most enduring characters, Capt. James T. Kirk and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, kissed each other on “Star Trek.”

It wasn’t romantic. Sadistic, humanlike aliens forced the dashing white captain to lock lips with the beautiful black communications officer.

But the kiss between actors William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols in “Plato’s Stepchildren” would help change attitudes in America about what was allowed to be shown on TV and made an early statement about the coming acceptance of interracial relationships in a United States still struggling with racism and civil rights.

The kiss between Uhura and Kirk “suggested that there was a future where these issues were not such a big deal,” said Eric Deggans, national television critic for National Public Radio. “The characters themselves were not freaking out because a black woman was kissing a white man … In this utopian-like future, we solved this issue. We’re beyond it. That was a wonderful message to send.”

“Plato’s Stepchildren,” which first aired on Nov. 22, 1968, came before “Star Trek” morphed into a cultural phenomenon.

– From news service reports