Percy Sutton | |
|---|---|
 Sutton in 1967 | |
| 21stManhattan Borough President | |
| In office September 13, 1966 – December 31, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Constance Baker Motley |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Stein |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Percy Ellis Sutton (1920-11-24)November 24, 1920 San Antonio, Texas, US |
| Died | December 26, 2009(2009-12-26) (aged 89) New York City, US |
| Resting place | Gates of Heaven Memorial Cemetery, San Antonio |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Leatrice O'Farrel Sutton |
| Alma mater | Prairie View A&M University Tuskegee Institute Hampton Institute Columbia Law School Brooklyn Law School (LLB) |
| Occupation | Activist in theCivil Rights Movement, entrepreneur, lawyer[1] |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | United States Army Air Corps |
| Years of service | 1941-1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Percy Ellis Sutton (November 24, 1920 – December 26, 2009) was an American political and business leader. An activist in theCivil Rights Movement and lawyer, he was also aFreedom Rider and the legal representative forMalcolm X. He was the highest-rankingAfrican-American elected official in New York City when he was Manhattanborough president from 1966 to 1977, the longest tenure at that position.[2] He later became an entrepreneur whose investments included theNew York Amsterdam News and theApollo Theater inHarlem.[1]
Sutton was born inSan Antonio,Texas, the youngest of fifteen children born to Samuel Johnson Sutton and his wife, Lillian.[3]
His father, an early civil-rights activist, was one of the first black civil servants a teacher and school administrator inBexar County, Texas, and used the initials "S.J." for fear his first name, Samuel, would be shortened toSambo. In addition to being a full-time educator, S.J. farmed, sold real estate and owned a mattress factory, funeral home and skating rink.[4]
Sutton's siblings includedG. J. Sutton, who became the first black elected official in San Antonio, and Oliver Sutton, a judge on theNew York Supreme Court.[5]
At age twelve, Percy stowed away on a passenger train to New York City, where he slept under a sign on155th Street in theHarlem neighborhood of theManhattanborough of the city. His oldest sister, Lillian Sutton Taylor, who was 20 years his senior, was attending Columbia Teacher's College at the time. His oldest brother, John Sutton, a food scientist who had studied underGeorge Washington Carver, and also inRussia, was living in New York at the time Percy arrived there. His family was committed to civil rights, and he bristled at racism. At age thirteen, while passing out leaflets in an all-white neighborhood for theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), he was beaten by a policeman.[6]
He joined theBoy Scouts of America and attained the rank ofEagle Scout in 1936 and was recognized with theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award as an adult. Sutton stated thatscouting was a key factor in shaping his life.[7] Percy and Leatrice Sutton married in 1943.[6] He later took upstunt-flying on thebarnstorming circuit, but gave it up after a friend crashed.
During World War II, he served as anintelligence officer with theTuskegee Airmen – the popular name of a group of African American pilots who flew with distinction during World War II as the332nd Fighter Group of theU.S. Army Air Forces. He woncombat stars in theItalian andMediterranean theaters.[8]
Sutton attendedPrairie View A&M University inPrairie View,[8]Texas; theTuskegee Institute inTuskegee, Alabama; and theHampton Institute inHampton, Virginia without receiving a degree. He went on to attendColumbia Law School andBrooklyn Law School, ultimately receiving hisLL.B. from the latter institution in 1950.[4][9] Shortly thereafter, he was admitted to the New York bar.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Sutton became one of America's best-known lawyers. He represented many controversial figures, such asMalcolm X. After the murder of Malcolm X in 1965, Sutton and his brother Oliver helped to cover the expenses of his widow,Betty Shabazz.[10]
In June 1961 Sutton andMark Lane were arrested for breach of the peace inHawkins Field, Mississippi after they attempted to use a white-only bathroom together.[11]
Sutton was a longtime leader in Harlem politics, and was a leader of theHarlem Clubhouse, also known as the "Gang of Four".[12] The Clubhouse has dominatedDemocratic politics in Harlem since the 1960s.[13] His allies in running the Clubhouse wereNew York City MayorDavid Dinkins,U.S. RepresentativeCharles Rangel, andNew York Secretary of StateBasil Paterson – whose son,David Paterson, becameNew York Governor in 2008.[14] Sutton was the one who told David Paterson he should run for the State Senate. He also was a life member of theKappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[6]
He was a member of theNew York State Assembly in1965 and1966. On September 13, 1966, he was electedBorough President ofManhattan, to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment ofConstance Baker Motley to the federal bench.[15] He served in that post until 1977, when heran for the Democratic nomination for New York City Mayor againstBella Abzug, a former U.S. Representative; U.S. RepresentativeHerman Badillo; incumbentNew York City MayorAbraham Beame;New York Secretary of StateMario Cuomo; and U.S. RepresentativeEd Koch; Koch won the nomination and thegeneral election.[16]
In his race for mayor, Sutton surprised hisliberal political base when he turned temporarily to the right. He assailed the rising crime rate, as he termed the situation "a city turned sick with the fear of crime". He attacked criminals for "cheating, stealing, and driving away our families and our jobs."[17] His candidacy was fatally injured by racial backlash that followed the looting and arson during theNew York City blackout of 1977, directly precipitating his retrenchment from politics:[18]
"It was an especially cruel fate for ... Sutton, a master builder of color-blind alliances, who had long been tapped most likely to become New York's first black mayor. (New York magazine titled a May 1974 Sutton profile 'Guess Who's Coming toGracie Mansion?'")[19][20]
In 1971, Sutton cofounded theInner City Broadcasting Corporation which purchased New York City'sWLIB-AM, and WBLS FM the city's first African-American-ownedradio station.[21]
Sutton served in theNew York City Police Department Auxiliary Police during the late 1970s.[22]
Sutton producedIt's Showtime at the Apollo, asyndicated, music television show first broadcast on September 12, 1987.
In 1987, Sutton was awarded theSpingarn Medal, an award presented annually by the NAACP for outstanding achievement by an African American. In 1992, he received aCandace Award from theNational Coalition of 100 Black Women.[23]
In 2024, Sutton was inducted into theRadio Hall of Fame.[24]
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| New York State Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | New York State Assembly New York County, 11th District 1965 | Succeeded by district abolished |
| Preceded by new district | New York State Assembly 77th District 1966 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Borough President of Manhattan 1966–1977 | Succeeded by |
|  | |
