Percy E. Sutton ’50 (1920–2009)
Sutton, a BLS graduate and former Tuskegee Airman, became one of New York’s most prominent civil rights attorneys and political leaders. After representing Malcolm X a..
more » Percy E. Sutton ’50 (1920–2009)
Sutton, a BLS graduate and former Tuskegee Airman, became one of New York’s most prominent civil rights attorneys and political leaders. After representing Malcolm X and more than 200 other civil-rights activists in the 1960s he was appointed Manhattan Borough President in 1966 and served through 1977, making him the highest-ranking Black elected official in New York City. In 1971 he co-founded Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, which acquired WLIB-AM and later WBLS-FM to create one of the first major Black-owned radio networks in the United States, and led the restoration of Harlem’s Apollo Theater. His career linked law, politics, and media to broaden Black civic and cultural influence in New York.
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