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\u2019t diminish the space. It defines it. And it makes Nat Colley\u2019s name all the more fitting for it.<\/p>\n
Colley\u2019s Legacy Is Above Reproach<\/p>\n
The lesson of this renaming moment is not \u201cdon\u2019t name public spaces after people.\u201d The lesson is, name them after the right people.<\/p>\n
Nat Colley\u2019s record is unimpeachable. The late Rep. Robert Matsui called him \u201ctruly one of the prominent lawyers in the United States.\u201d Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Colley\u2019s former colleague at McGeorge School of Law, wrote to him: \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u2014 by history, by institutions, and by the people who knew him best.<\/p>\n
In 1984, Colley wrote these words:<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
He wrote this just eight years before his passing. No press release. No audience. Just a man, a pen, and a lifelong commitment. <\/p>\n
The plaza will get a new name. The only question is whether Sacramento will use this moment to finally honor its own \u2014 or take the safe road and miss an irreplaceable opportunity.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cMr. Civil Rights of California\u201d the statue. <\/p>\n
We need a name that aligns with our city\u2019s values. Nathaniel S. Colley Sr. doesn\u2019t merely align with Sacramento\u2019s values. He helped write them. Let\u2019s honor him for that work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Consider too what that plaza has represented in recent years: a gathering place for the unhoused, and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[4962,121,123,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-261241","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento","8":"tag-city-of-sacramento","9":"tag-sacramento","10":"tag-sacramento-headlines","11":"tag-sacramento-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}