Nathaniel Colley: Mr. Civil Rights of California
- Donald V. Watkins
- May 29
- 3 min read
By: Donald V. Watkins
Copyrighted and Published on May 29, 2025
An Editorial Opinion
Tuesday night, I attended a sculpture fundraiser celebrating Attorney Nathaniel Colley (1918-1992), a civil rights icon in California. Mr. Colley, an Alabama native, is widely known across America as "Mr. Civil Rights of California." Colley was the NAACP's principal civil rights lawyer in California for more than four decades.
I never had the privilege of meeting Nathaniel Colley while he was alive, but I studied his life story and incredible body of landmark civil rights cases while I was attending and desegregating the University of Alabama's (UA) law school from 1970 to 1973.
Nathaniel Colley, who was a captain in the U.S. Army, tried to enroll in UA's law school following the end of World War II. He was denied admission solely because of his race. UA officials did not care that Colley graduated No.1 in his class at Tuskegee University in 1941 or that he served his nation with honor and distinction during the war.
In lieu of admitting Colley to UA's law school, the state of Alabama paid for Colley to attend Yale University's law school, where he graduated with honors. After law school, Colley relocated to California, passed his state Bar exams, and began practicing civil rights law.
Nathaniel Colley became one of the most effective and respected civil rights lawyers of the Twentieth Century. Colley joined the ranks of Charles Houston, Thurgood Marshall, Arthur Shores, Fred Gray, Solomon Seay, Constance Baker Motley, U.W. Clemon, and J.L. Chestnut as one of the elite civil rights lawyers in America.
My Alabama State College Laboratory High School buddy O. Alfred Brown, Sr., invited me to the event. Alfred is a Professor Emeritus, a graduate of Tuskegee University, and President of Sacramento County Board of Education.
Alfred is married to Ola Marie Colley Brown, who is one of Nathaniel Colley's and wife Jerlean Colley’s four daughters. Ola, who is a teacher by profession and a wonderful human being, is also a Tuskegee University graduate. Jerlean Colley, who died in 1998, was a Tuskegee graduate, as well. In addition to their four daughters, the Colley's had one son, Nathaniel Colley, Jr.
In the Sacramento metro area, Alfred and Ola Brown are “movers and shakers.” They know everybody, and everybody knows them. They make positive things happen to uplift humanity.
A Moving Video Tribute to Mr. Civil Rights of California
Over the course of my life, I have attended many banquets and ceremonial events that honored society’s most important people. This event, however, was one of the best ones I have ever attended.
Nathaniel Colley's life touched me in profound ways that very few people will ever understand or appreciate. Colley was turned away from UA's law school in the 1940s. The National NAACP made it possible for me to desegregate this law school in the 1970s.
After graduating from law school, Nathaniel Colley and his family caught pure hell from many local Whites as he battled widespread racial discrimination in California during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. In Alabama, my family and I caught pure hell from many local Whites as I battled the most vicious and entrenched forms of racism in the state during the 1970s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.
The powerful 26-minute PBS video below highlights Attorney Colley's remarkable life and career. Excerpts from this video were played at the fundraiser. Nathaniel Colley is an inspirational American hero. Enjoy this video, as I did.
Dr. Ronald McDowell is One of America's Best Sculptors
During the fundraiser, I reunited with famed Birmingham, Alabama sculptor, Dr. Ronald McDowell, who has been commissioned to create Nathaniel Colley’s statue. Dr. McDowell brought a model of the Colley statue (shown in the photo below) to the well-attended event.
Dr. McDowell is a gifted and accomplished artist and sculptor. He has ascended to the elite class of American sculptors that is led by Dr. Isaac Scott Hathaway.
The Sacramento Historical Society wants to have Nathaniel Colley’s statue permanently and prominently displayed in the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento.
Epilogue
In a world filled with weak and timid men and women who occupy positions of leadership today, it was refreshing Tuesday night to see, remember, and celebrate the life and landmark work of a brave, pioneering, and bona fide civil rights icon -- Attorney Nathaniel S. Colley.
If we do not tell, write, and preserve our history in America, who will?
Thank you for pausing a moment to introduce another historical icon. Although unfamilar to me, Attorney Nathanial S. Colley accomplishments and dedication to the field of law is inspiring enough to mention his name in the same breath of those historical figures stated in your editorial.
I applaud you for your continued contribution of shedding light on history relating to black people here in America and abroad.
Thank you for sharing this important piece.
In the age of Trumpism, I am NOT entrusting the preservation of our part of American history to those who are eager to erase it.