Percy Sutton, attorney for Malcolm X, dies at 89

[demoleft]

Source: ap

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, has died. He was 89.

Marissa Shorenstein, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson, confirmed that Sutton died Saturday. She did not know the cause. His daughter, Cheryl Sutton, declined to comment when reached by phone at her New York City home on Saturday before midnight.

The son of a 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.
...
Sutton also mounted unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate and mayor of New York, and served as political mentor for the Rev. Jesse Jackson's two presidential races.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091227/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_percy_sutton

[Ken Burch]

1. Percy Sutton was a good man. I believe at one point he was also a mayoral candidate in NYC.

And this was my favorite bit of information about the man from the obituary:

(excerpt)
"Sutton was among the first voices raised against the Vietnam War, surrendering his delegate's seat at the 1968 Democratic convention in protest and supporting anti-war candidate George McGovern four years later against incumbent President Richard Nixon."

[defendandprotect]

2. Thanks for that info -- obviously I know very little about him . . .

[Kolesar]

3. I loved that movie with Denzel Washington as Malcolm X ... eom

[BumRushDaShow]

4. R.I.P.

Mr. Sutton will be sorely missed. He was a pioneer within the black community through his
involement with law and civil rights, politics, business, and entertainment.

His legacy will continue to be felt for years to come.

R.I.P.

[Way2go]

5. Now he will be 89 forever. nt

[Amerigo Vespucci]

6. Percy Sutton, attorney for Malcolm X, dies at 89

Source: The Washington Post

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, has died. He was 89.

Marissa Shorenstein, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson, confirmed that Sutton died Saturday. She did not know the cause. His daughter, Cheryl Sutton, declined to comment Saturday when reached by phone at her New York City home.

The son of a 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.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/27/AR2009122700350.html?hpid=topnews

---

FILE - Former New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins, left, and Civil Rights activist Percy Sutton attend the 80th anniversary celebration of Harlem's Schomburg Center at Lincoln Center in New York, in this Oct. 6, 2006 file photo. Sutton, the pioneering civil rights attorney who represented Malcolm X before launching successful careers as a political power broker and media mogul, died Saturday Dec. 26, 2009 at age 89. (AP Photo/Rick Maiman, File) (Rick Maiman - AP)

[madmax]

7. RIP Mr. Sutton n/t

[Way2go]

8. Speaking of Malcom - I believe that what happened to him as a child

had profound effects on his adult life. His father was murdered by white bigots who caused him to be run over by a bus (I think it was a bus, may have been a trolley) and his mother was later institutionalized for mental problems. Malcolm grew up without any love
and had a very deep sadness that he was unable to "reach" his mother and make her love him.

[Ken Burch]

10. You forgot one detail of Malcolm's hellish childhood

After Malcolm's father was murdered(by a racist crowd that bashed the back of the man's head in and threw him, conscious but helpless, into the path of a streetcar), his father's insurere refused to pay his life insurance policy...claiming that his death was a suicide. Because this left her destitute, Malcolm's widowed mother was then constantly hounded by "social workers" to break up her family.

Plus, there was also the incident of what his schoolteacher, a "nice" white man, said to Malcolm when he announced, as a child, that his ambition was to be a lawyer. I won't repeat it here...read The Autobiography of Malcolm X and you'll find it there. It's also in the movie if you don't have time to read.

[classysassy]

12. The insurance

crooks.It seems like the insurance thugs have been acting badly for a long,long time.

[mr1956]

9. RIP Mr. Sutton

When I lived in the City, I saw him as a quietly dignified force in NYC politics. The likes of him will be sorely missed.

[goclark]

11. RIP RIP

[Vidar]

13. RIP Mr. Sutton.