N.A. was born Nathaniel Arthur Smith on January 25, 1924, in Temple, Texas. N.A.’s family moved to Sapulpa, Oklahoma when N.A. was only three years old.
After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, he meritoriously served in World War II and was wounded in battle in Germany. His bravery earned him five battle stars and the coveted Purple Heart medal. He was an Honor Roll member of the local Disabled American Veterans chapter and was a strident supporter of veterans’ rights. He was Sergeant at Arms of the local DAV chapter and was President of the Veterans’ Memorial Garden Association.
He vociferously spoke out against racial injustice and was an active member of the local NAACP chapter. N.A. was also a member of the Sapulpa Human Rights Commission.
He loved children and sought to improve the lives of youth and was an amateur coach for 35 years, coaching softball, baseball, and football. In reference to the youth he coached, he once said, “I love all my kids like a daddy.”
Here is a statement from the BTW Alumni Association:
“His spirit of fatherhood has been a powerful influence in the lives of many Sapulpa children and youth. N.A. Smith, destined for greatness, dignity, and honor, paved the way for a brighter day, blazing trials toward socio-economic freedom for people of his community.”
Smith was a local leader in the Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) program. VISTA is an anti-poverty program designed to provide vital resources to nonprofit organizations and government agencies to expand their capacity to raise communities out of poverty.
N.A.’s tireless efforts led to the first affordable housing project in Sapulpa.
Many honors and accolades were bestowed on N.A. Smith, including Sapulpa’s African-American Man of the Year And the Sapulpa Herald’s Citizen of the Week.
In 1992, Mayor Brian Bingman declared the Saturday shortly before his death, December 9, 1994, as N.A. Smith Day. On July 1st, 1995, the BTW Alumni Association posthumously awarded Smith a Certificate of Dedication for his “outstanding services to the citizens of the community and the City of Sapulpa.”
This man who loved his community and sought the betterment of his fellow man may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
