Percy Sutton's eloquent address to conservatives after Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in the 1980 race for the US presidency.

Percy Sutton leaves behind an impressive legacy. When I was first getting acquainted with Malcolm X and black nationalism I can recall wondering why Malcolm X had a white guy representing him. It was a bit later that I realized that Mr. Sutton was a black man. I will remember him more as an iconic symbol of Civil Rights and Black Power in his capacity as legal advisor to the Malcolm X family. Harlemites will likely have more grounded memories of his political life and his rise to media mogulship. Mr. Sutton was principled, passionate, and dedicated to black uplift. In the clip below he delivers an eloquent address to conservatives after Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter for the US presidency in 1980.

tags: civil rights, black power, conservatives, media, Malcolm X, harlem

Photo Credit: The Grio

Percy Sutton, Eminent Black Politician, Dies at 89

By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Published: December 27, 2009

Percy E. Sutton, who displayed fierce intelligence and exquisite polish in becoming one of the nation’s most prominent black political and business leaders, died on Saturday, The Associated Press reported. He was 89.

Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

Percy E. Sutton in 2005.

Marissa Shorenstein, a spokeswoman for Gov. David A. Paterson, confirmed Mr. Sutton’s death but said she did not know the cause, according to The A.P.
Mr. Sutton stood proudly at the center of his race’s epochal struggle for equal rights. He was arrested as a freedom rider; represented Malcolm X as young lawyer; rescued the fabled Apollo Theater in Harlem; and became a millionaire tycoon in the communications business to give public voice to African Americans.
He was also an eminent politician in New York City, rising from the Democratic clubhouses of Harlem to become the longest serving Manhattan borough president and, for more than a decade, the highest black official in the city. In 1977, he was the first seriously regarded black candidate for mayor.

Read entire story at the New York Times.

tags: Malcolm X, civil rights, black power, harlem