- Author: Saoimanu Sope
In celebration of Black History Month
Through music, movies and other media, many people know about Compton, a city located in southern Los Angeles County. Keith Nathaniel knows it from firsthand experience. Before Nathaniel and his family moved to Compton in the 1970s, the LA Watts Riots of 1965 underscored the tension brewing between law enforcement and the Black community that was felt not just in California but nationwide.
“Before we moved, Compton was changing from a predominantly White city to a Black city. The Watts Riots changed that and suddenly, you've got White flight out of Compton and into the suburbs,” said Nathaniel, UC Cooperative Extension director in Los Angeles County.
Growing up, Nathaniel was surrounded by people who looked like him. “It was a typical community of people who supported each other. The adults knew each other, and the kids knew each other,” he said.
Nathaniel remembers his teachers in elementary and middle school, identifying them as first-generation college students – most of whom graduated from universities following the 1954 civil rights case, Brown vs. Board of Education, which resulted in the desegregation of public schools across the United States.
“Those teachers had this real desire for us to match, if not exceed, their success or level of educational attainment,” said Nathaniel. “They were committed to seeing us become healthy and thriving adults.”
Although Nathaniel and his peers had influential Black leaders in their schools, prioritizing academic success was challenged by the introduction of crack cocaine. “With drugs came influx of gangs. Then, you start to see the community become unstable because gangs want to control this block or that corner,” Nathaniel said.
“We used to have shootouts at our high school. But it was Black and Brown lives being affected so it wasn't newsworthy in that sense. Not like today where you see an epidemic of school shootings making the news. This was happening back in the day, too,” he said, emphasizing that he and his peers were constantly reminded to be cautious while out at social events in the community.
“It was scary to think that you could be mistaken for being in a gang even if you had no ties.”
Students that were once friends in elementary or middle school became enemies by the time they started high school. Although Black boys were highly favored as gang recruits, Nathaniel said that his strong family foundation and focus on academics kept him out of the crossfire that others stepped into.
After graduating from high school, Nathaniel started college at UC Davis, where he pivoted to sociology after realizing that engineering was not for him. “I intended to graduate with a degree in engineering, but it was so competitive. I was in classes with pre-med students, and they were jacking up the grading curve,” he joked.
What Nathaniel did not realize prior to college, however, is that academic aptitude would not be the most important aspect of his experience in education. It was also the connections and relationships he built with others. Reflecting on the five years he spent at UC Davis, Nathaniel said that it was the best five years of his young adulthood.
Grateful for the teachers and advisors that kept him grounded, Nathaniel decided he wanted to become a teacher himself. From Davis, he pressed on for his master's degree at Florida A&M University where he studied educational leadership. Despite his high school advisor discouraging Black students from attending a historically Black university or college, Nathaniel felt the urge to do just that.
“My advisor was just incredible. Her goal was to get everyone to college,” said Nathaniel. “But she didn't like the idea of us going to an HBCU because it's not how the real world looks. She would tell us that it's better for us to integrate ourselves on campuses that reflect the world we live in.”
During graduate school, Nathaniel's mother died, and he returned to California. Although his loss led him to believe that returning to school was not ideal at the time, Nathaniel said that his professors reached out to him while he was away, and their concern swayed him.
“They checked up on me and it made me realize how much support I had back in Florida. I'm pretty sure this wouldn't have been the case if I wasn't attending an HBCU,” Nathaniel said.
He went back to Florida to finish what he started. While earning a master's degree, Nathaniel said he was encouraged to pursue a doctorate degree and he seriously considered it, but not immediately. By then, his vision evolved into becoming a principal or superintendent and expanding his influence beyond the classroom. “I wanted a seat at the table, but I knew that I needed the credentials first,” he said.
Upon returning to California, Nathaniel applied for teaching positions and stumbled upon an ad in the Los Angeles Times seeking applications for a 4-H program coordinator. He was not offered the position he applied for, but he was offered a coordinator role for the Americorp/VISTA volunteer program instead and willingly accepted.
Since 1994, Nathaniel has been a part of UC Cooperative Extension and started out by managing the Americorp/VISTA volunteers who were responsible for introducing the 4-H program to communities across Los Angeles. The program grew quickly, engaging 4,000 to 5,000 kids daily. The power of the program was not just in its passionate volunteers, but the fact that the volunteers lived in the communities they served.
Prior to 4-H, Nathaniel worked for the Campfire Council and was introduced to informal education such as teaching youth in life skills and connecting with them outside of the traditional classroom. This experience served Nathaniel well as he transitioned into 4-H, inspiring him to pivot from his original goal of working in the formal K-12 system.
In 1997, Nathaniel was accepted to UCLA where he earned a doctorate of education while working full-time. “Going back to that seat at the table… by this time in my career, I knew that I wanted to influence policy that would benefit young people. I wanted to do more than teach. And I also knew that I needed the credentials to do it,” said Nathaniel.
Now, Nathaniel enters his 30th year of service to the community through UC Cooperative Extension. Realizing how far he has come, Nathaniel said that the adversity of his childhood helped build his character and prepared him for the battles ahead.
Emphasizing the significance of connecting with people, Nathaniel said that it is fulfilling to serve the community that raised him and credits the mentors and peers he has met along the way for his triumphs.
“If we surround ourselves with people that have our best interest in mind, we'd believe that we're going places,” he said. “It's about being selfless, too. So that we can help others see themselves the way we see them; so they feel empowered to do whatever it is they want to do. That's what I had, and that's what I hope to give back.”
