NEW YORK — Percy Sutton, the pioneering civil-rights attorney who represented Malcolm X before launching successful careers as a political power broker and media mogul, died Saturday in New York. He was 89.
The son of a former slave, Percy Sutton became a fixture on 125th Street in Harlem after moving to New York City following his service with the famed Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. His Harlem law office, founded in 1953, represented Malcolm X and the slain activist’s family for decades.
The consummate politician, Sutton served in the New York State Assembly before taking over as Manhattan borough president in 1966, becoming the highest-ranking black elected official in the state.
Sutton also mounted unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate and New York mayor, and served as political mentor for the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s two presidential races.
Jackson recalled Sutton’s talking about electing a black president as early as 1972. Sutton was influential in getting his 1984 campaign going, he said.
President Barack Obama called Sutton “a true hero” to African-Americans across the country.
In 1971, with his brother Oliver, Sutton purchased WLIB-AM, making it the first black-owned radio station in New York City. His Inner City Broadcasting Corp. eventually picked up WBLS-FM, which reigned for years as New York’s top-rated radio station, before buying stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit and San Antonio.
Among Sutton’s other endeavors was his purchase and renovation of the famed Apollo Theater when the Harlem landmark’s demise appeared imminent.
