Consider too what that plaza has represented in recent years: a gathering place for the unhoused, and a stage where activists have come to demand justice. That history doesn’t diminish the space. It defines it. And it makes Nat Colley’s name all the more fitting for it.
Colley’s Legacy Is Above Reproach
The lesson of this renaming moment is not “don’t name public spaces after people.” The lesson is, name them after the right people.
Nat Colley’s record is unimpeachable. The late Rep. Robert Matsui called him “truly one of the prominent lawyers in the United States.” Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Colley’s former colleague at McGeorge School of Law, wrote to him: “You are one of the most gifted of teachers. You have taught generations of attorneys and judges by an unparalleled example of decency, dedication and passionate advocacy.”
His papers are held at the Center for Sacramento History. KVIE made a documentary about his life. A high school bears his name. His midtown office, currently occupied by the Capital Black Chamber of Commerce, is on the Sacramento Register of Historic and Cultural Resources. The OBSERVER has covered his life and his legacy. This man has been vetted — by history, by institutions, and by the people who knew him best.
In 1984, Colley wrote these words:
“I think the role I can play to best help Black people is to see that they are not discriminated against in the general economic area and political and social areas, that I can try to see that opportunities are granted them so they can succeed like anybody else succeeds.”
He wrote this just eight years before his passing. No press release. No audience. Just a man, a pen, and a lifelong commitment.
The plaza will get a new name. The only question is whether Sacramento will use this moment to finally honor its own — or take the safe road and miss an irreplaceable opportunity.
I am asking the mayor, the subcommittee, the City Council and this city to be bold. Give Nat Colley the plaza. Give the man known as “Mr. Civil Rights of California” the statue.
We need a name that aligns with our city’s values. Nathaniel S. Colley Sr. doesn’t merely align with Sacramento’s values. He helped write them. Let’s honor him for that work.