Percy Sutton
| Percy Sutton | |
|---|---|
| 21st Manhattan 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 November 24, 1920 San Antonio, Texas, USA |
| Died | December 26, 2009 (aged 89) New York City, New York, USA |
| Resting place | Gates of Heaven Memorial Cemetery in San Antonio |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Leatrice Sutton (1943–2009, his death) |
| Alma mater |
Prairie View A&M University Tuskegee Institute Hampton Institute Columbia Law School Brooklyn Law School |
| Occupation | Civil-rights activist, entrepreneur, lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Corps |
| Years of service | 1941-1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | |
Percy Ellis Sutton (November 24, 1920 – December 26, 2009) was a prominent black American political and business leader. A civil-rights activist and lawyer, he was also a Freedom Rider and the legal representative for Malcolm X. He was the highest-ranking African-American elected official in New York City when he was Manhattan borough president from 1966 to 1977, the longest tenure at that position. He later became an entrepreneur whose investments included the New York Amsterdam News and the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Sutton was born in San Antonio, Texas, the youngest of fifteen children born to Samuel Johnson ("S.J.") Sutton and his wife, Lillian.
His father, an early civil-rights activist, was one of the first blacks in Bexar County, Texas, and used the initials "S.J." for fear it would be shortened to Sambo. In addition to being a full-time educator, S.J. farmed, sold real estate and owned a mattress factory, funeral home and skating rink.
Sutton's siblings included G. J. Sutton, who became the first black elected official in San Antonio, and Oliver Sutton, a judge on the New York Supreme Court.
At age twelve, Percy stowed away on a passenger train to New York City, where he slept under a sign on 155th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of the city. Ironically, 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 under George Washington Carver, and also in Russia, was living in New York at the time Percy arrived there. His family clearly had resources, a sense of adventure and determination during a time when many African-Americans were extremely limited in options.
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