California Black Media

SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Long before Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a national holiday, before California women could secure a home loan on their own, and long before South Los Angeles began to rise from the ashes of the 1992 riot, Nathaniel “Nate” Holden, a towering figure in state politics, had already planted seeds for a more just and equal California.

On May 29, hundreds of Californians gathered at West Angeles Church of God in Christ to celebrate the life of this pioneering leader, who died May 7 at age 95.

More than a memorial, the service became a living testimony to a man whose legislative work and personal mentorship have shaped daily lives of people across the state — from civil rights protections and cultural revitalization to grassroots activism.

Holden’s

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