Docu-Series Breathes Life into Civil Rights-Era Cold Cases, New Meaning to Cry “No Justice, No Peace”

Beverly Terry

Last week, Investigation Discovery, partnering with the NAACP, hosted the premiere of  their new reality three-part investigative docu-series, ‘The Injustice Files’ with narrator/host, film-maker Keith Beauchamp at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Feb. 16th, 2011.

The atmosphere was abuzz with anticipation, hundreds of guests flocked to the Schomburg Center to view this monumental show. Keith Beauchamp — the force behind the recent ground-breaking documentary film The Untold Story of Emmet Louis Till — developed the idea with the ID channel out of his experience working on the Till documentary.
He told Our Time Press, “The Wharlest Jackson, Sr. story {“The Secrets of Natchez”} was one of the hardest cases I’ve ever had to work on during my career as an investigative film producer.  It is a haunting story.”

In 1967, one month after taking a promotion at the Armstrong Tire and Rubber Factory in Natchez, Mississippi, Wharlest Jackson, father of five and treasurer for the local chapter of the NAACP, was murdered in a car bombing, one block away from his home. Hearing the explosion, Wharlest Jackson’s son rode his bike to the scene of the crime and unfortunately witnessed the results of this sophisticated murder plot.

Of special historic note, Mr. Jackson, Sr. was appointed to the NAACP Natchez chapter by Charles Evers, brother of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, NAACP field secretary who  was assassinated four years earlier in Jackson, Mississippi, a 90-mile stretch from Natchez.

Mr. Jackson, Sr.’s remaining family members and everyone else involved in the reinvestigation of the case feel Mr. Jackson’s ascension to a position that was previously held for whites only was the “reason” for his murder. Wharlest Jackson, Jr., age 9 at the time of his father’s death.  Forty-four years later, almost to the day of his father’s death (February 27), Wharlest Jr., now a civil rights activist, participated on the panel following the screening.
The two other surviving Jackson siblings were also in attendance for the docu-series.

Eldest daughter Debra Jackson Sylvester seemed pleased with the final cut of the episode detailing her father’s murder. She states, “Beauchamp and Investigation Discovery put love (into the effort).”  It is not “thrown together,”  she told us,  as if it were a “Hollywood” movie.

The murder of Wharlest Jackson, Sr. launched one of the biggest FBI cases in the civil rights era. NAACP President Hazel Dukes spoke highly of Jackson’s determination, stating,  “Here we are today in 2011 still crying out for justice for those who gave their lives to be treated and just to be (respected) as human beings.”

Mrs. Sylvester told this reporter, “The FBI dropped the ball in the 60’s; they really let us down by closing their investigation and turning the case back over to the local authorities.”
With the agency’s Civil Rights-Era Cold Case File Initiative packed with 110 mysteries, the FBI is now hoping the series will draw out new leads on racists who danced with the devil from onlookers, witnesses and even their relatives and children.

FBI Unit Chief Cynthia M. Deitle, a consultant on the show stated, “I understand the disappointment the Jackson family must feel for the FBI for dropping the ball back when the investigation first began.”   The agency’s promotional materials are poignant.  In one sepia-toned image, Beaucham sits in front of what could be an old country courthouse with a clock against the wall.  In another, it looks as though he could be in prison.  Both are reminders of a past that haunts and tethers us to an American tragedy and acts of domestic terrorism.
The cards and flyers read: “110 unsolved civil rights murders; 110 grieving families’. 110 reasons to keep looking for justice.”   Deitle and Beauchamp acknowledge that these cases are the tip of the iceberg of “secrets” frozen in time and hidden in towns across the nation, including Brooklyn, New York, where Beauchamp is a Fort Greene resident.

Wharlest Jackson, Jr., the victim’s only son stated, “Keith, CBS and Investigation Discovery did an honorable job with the show.” He also concurred that Mr. Beauchamp, ID and CBS put heart, soul and dedication into the project, a memorial to his father. Henry Schleiff, President and CEO of Investigation Discovery said, “Even though (these tragedies occurred more than 40 years ago), we will not forget.”   He also spoke very highly of the Jackson family, calling them  “courageous.”

The series, now presented in three parts, may turn out to be the Civil Rights America’s Most Wanted – something undoubtedly Investigation Discovery would like to see.  But its importance to all Americans can not be understated.  And the producer’s decision to screen the docu-series not only in the heart of Black America, but in the towns where these tragedies took place reveal, too, how far we’ve come in this technological and visual world, where entertainment can impact reality.

Wharlest Jackson, Jr. and his siblings are strong in their conviction that the series and their work in telling their father’s story will spark interest nationwide in bringing forth new evidence in the Cold Case Initiative so that families of these victims can gain closure.

For Wharlest Jackson, Sr., time has not passed; there will be no peace if there’s no justice.  For Wharlest, Jr., too much time has passed, but the faith in the story will always be told.
So Beauchamp is to be applauded for having a screening at Harlem’s Schomburg venue, the institution that holds the largest collection of African-American and African Diaspora information in the world.
The second episode in The Injustice Files series airs tomorrow night, February 25, on Time-Warner channel 23 in New York City.  The third will be broadcast next Friday, March 4.  Episode descriptions are below:

Episode Guide

The Ghosts of Bogalusa – Friday, February 25 at 9PM ET
The first two African-American police officers in Bogalusa, Louisiana were gunned down while on patrol. Deputy Sheriff Oneal Moore died instantly, but Deputy Sheriff David Creed Rogers was able to call in a description of the pick-up truck used in the drive-by shooting.

He Walked Alone – Friday, March 4 at 9PM ET
William Lewis Moore was an activist who planned a peaceful protest — a solo Freedom Walk from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi to hand deliver a letter to the Governor of Mississippi urging for full human rights to African Americans. Despite friends, family and law enforcement warning him about the dangers of the journey, Moore started his walk, which ended when his body was found on the side of a road in Alabama.
(Photojournalist Beverly Terry’s work can be seen in the new group-show, “Harlem Views, Diasporan Visions: The New Harlem Renaissance Photographers,” currently on exhibition at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture through June 30. She also is the underground reporter for examiner.com, and a recurring contributor to Our Time Press.)

Kevin Powell: Ascent of a Political Activist

Two years ago, when community activist and writer Kevin Powell campaigned for the 10th Congressional seat currently held by Ed Towns, he knew he would have to run again. “We always knew it would be at least a two campaign race,” said Powell. “When you are challenging an entrenched incumbent, it often takes two races.”
A lot has happened since then.
Powell has continued his monthly male development meetings, a grassroots attempt to nudge males to do what he has done: “re-think everything I know about manhood.” He was asked to assist several vacationing families in a sustained effort for justice in the Antigua and Barbuda. He wrote his 10th book, Open Letters to America. He testified before the United Nations regarding gender violence. And, as further evidence of his maturation, there have been no salacious headlines.
So far this year, Powell’s campaign has raised more money, from more people, than during his entire 2008 campaign. Most donations are small, coming from 40 states across the nation. More Brooklyn people have donated. Big names, such as Marlon Wayans, have contributed big bucks. Powell’s new campaign manager, communications and field directors are operating “scientifically,” down to the smallest election district. The one thing Powell was proudest of in his 2008 campaign, has carried over to this year: no behind the scenes drama.
Kevin Powell is happy, and looks content. Campaigning is an opportunity to do what he does – serve others. His 18 hour days start at 5:30 am with Facebook and Twitter posts. From Boerum Hill to Canarsie, East Williamsburg to East New York, Powell hits the streets, delivering constituent services, such as GED, housing, or criminal justice referrals. “We spend as much time as necessary talking to each voter,” Powell said. “We want to demonstrate while we are campaigning the kind of services we will provide, once we got into Congress.”
Spending a few minutes on www.KevinPowell.net, one can find a listing of all the diverse neighborhoods in the district, ethnic, gender, and income data. There is even a history of Brooklyn. “We want to make this an educational process,” he said. Most important for Powell, the complete Campaign Platform can be found on the site, everything from health care, criminal justice, seniors, and net neutrality to violence prevention, immigration, education, and worker rights.
“Bridge to the Future” is Kevin Powell’s campaign theme. At 44-years-old, Powell stands firmly in the post-Civil Rights generation. In 1984, he was introduced to politics through the Jesse Jackson Presidential campaign and the anti-apartheid movement. “During the last 26 years, there has been a perpetual generation divide in the Black community. You see it in electoral politics grassroots activism,. You see it in the literary/ journalism world. You see it in the artistic community, in the business world, You see it in church. You see it in our Civil Rights organizations.” said Powell. “I am no longer a person who points fingers at the Civil Rights generation. I do see a resistance to supporting young people.”
Powell explained, “But, I think that younger people – myself and folks in the generation behind me – have got to do what many of us have been doing. Do your own thing. Don’t wait for someone to pass you a baton. There is never going to be a baton passed. For me, I started writing professionally when I was 20. People I organized with – Ras Baraka, Sista Soulja – we were in our early 20’s. We didn’t wait for permission to organize around Howard Beach or Bensonhurst back then. We just did it. We could lament on the generational divide. Or, do what I recommend: identify people in the various generations who are progressive and want practical solutions for our communities, and work together.”
While campaigning on the streets, Powell said, “I barely hear anyone talk about Civil Rights issues. What people say they need are jobs, affordable housing, quality education, recreational/ community centers for young people, safe streets for seniors, foreclosure. It’s really basic. How do we deal with stop-and-frisk? In one housing project in ENY, just the other day, several tenants who didn’t know each other said the same thing to us: the police in this area are constantly stopping our young men, throwing them on the ground and frisking them. Checking their shoes, their socks, their underwear. A man in his 50’s, a grown man, a grandfather said the police did that to him. People are talking about quality of life issues.”
This is a new day, we need new terms. Civil rights is a term that belongs in the 20th century. We are in the 21st century. We need a new terminology, and it is definitely coming.
We have got to develop our communities in six basic ways: spiritually, politically, culturally, economically, and two areas we don’t talk about – physical health and mental wellness. It is about holistic development of our communities.
We got the Civil Rights bill and the Voting Rights Act. On a basic level, we have citizenship. The thing we missed, that Dr. King talked about at the end of his life, is economic justice.
It is not enough to have back elected officials if they are not doing their jobs. I am not voting for someone anymore just because they are Black. That is unacceptable. This is what I am hearing throughout the community, from young and older people. Jewish folks in Boerum Hill said this to me. Black and Latino people in East New York said this to me. It is unacceptable to have elected officials who we do not see on a regular basis, or their representatives, who are not accessible, who we feel don’t have the volume loud enough on issues of importance to us.
In response to a question about the replication of poverty every 15 years by young girls being impregnated and abandoned by adults, Powell said “The worst gap that exists in Black America since the 1969’s is the class gap.” He recalled his young mother, with a grade school education and his father who was in his 30’s when he got her pregnant. “He didn’t even show up at the hospital when I was born. There is no record of my father being anywhere around. Powell is my mother’s last name. Here I am, left to be raised on welfare, food stamps, government cheese, in tenement dwellings where it was normal to have not mice, but rats running everywhere. It was normal to have roaches everywhere, even inside the refrigerator, which was often broken so you couldn’t close it all the way. A lot of people don’t understand that kind of life, and what it does to you.”
Powell has been there. With gratitude, he said, “But for the grace of God and my mother’s vision for her child, which is me, and not accepting this is what we are destined to – a life of misery and doom. Unfortunately, what happens to a lot of us, particularly if we have low self-esteem, is we get stuck there.” Powell described an all too common situation in Black and brown communities, “If you are a young woman of color in a world where you are dealing with racism, and sexism, and classism, if you are 14-years-old, you have already been told you are nothing, and the only thing that is valuable about you is from your neck down. Then some man or older boy comes along. Next thing you know you are pregnant, or have an STD or one of the 92% of new cases NYC of Black and Latino women carrying the HIV virus. That is what happens. It becomes what Malcolm X called a vicious cycle not only in Brooklyn, but in Harlem, Oakland, New Orleans, Houston, all over the country. I travel to the Caribbean. It’s in Jamaica.”
According to Powell, “Unfortunately, we in this country confused Civil Rights and integration with progress for the entire community. That wasn’t the case. I don’t blame the young women or the young men. Many don’t know any better. They are carrying profound self hatred; when you hate yourself as a Black person, you will not only destroy yourself, you move to destroy other people who look like you.”
“The solution is simple, but complex,” Powell said. “We need more men like Kevin Powell, like Quentin Walcott, and Byron Hurt, to speak out loudly against all forms of sexism.” Powell said he used to be one of those men; only because of God and counseling, he has evolved.
Of all the issues Powell would like to address if and when he is elected to Congress, economic development is paramount. He said he went to Head Start pre-school. There was a free breakfast and lunch program at school, went to an after school program at the Y. His first summer job was a CETA job. During college, he got help from EOP. His mother got help with housing through voucher programs, like Section 8. “Those were all created by the government to give people a hand – not because we were lazy, shiftless, or intellectually inferior,” said Powell, “but because we were poor.”
Kevin Powell said quality of life issues require “a 21st century approach. The issues are what people say they need – jobs and job training.” If elected, Powell would like to serve on education, health, and economic development committees. He suggests small business incubators. “Most of the U.S. population is under 45 and technologically savvy. We al have a hand held device and email. We have to create some jobs and business opportunities that are about technology and the green economy, Powell said. “I look at all these abandoned buildings, including factories, here in the 10th congressional district. Imagine if some of those were turned into technology help centers. Those are low skill jobs that could be for people in this country, right here in Brooklyn. That is the type of issue I will be fighting for.”

TWO FRIENDS, TWO JOURNEYS, ONE BIRTHDATE

1925 was a very good year for milestones: The Harlem Renaissance was in swing; Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington produced their first recordings; the first working television was invented;  Civil Rights icons Malcolm X and Medgar Evers were born; the first potato chip factory opened, thanks to African-American pre-Civil War chef George Crum; A. Philip Randolph organized the Brotherhood of Pullman Sleeping Car Porters; the popular song “Sweet Georgia Brown” was composed; and on December 16 of that year,  in Cairo, Georgia, “City of Hospitality,” Grace and Arch Weatherspoon gave birth to Jane Lee Weatherspoon (“Janilee”) and, in Asheville, N.C., “Land of the Sky,” Macon and Gertrude Roseboro welcomed Alma Roseboro.

Infants Alma and Janie shared more than a birthdate.  They were destined to marry jazz lovers, Joe “Bebop” Carroll (Alma) and Daniel Cal Green (Janie); live within two blocks of each other; help shape Central Brooklyn’s antipoverty programs of the ’60s; and become outspoken Bedford-Stuyvesant community organizers and education activists. 
At 84, they are still determined and fighting.  Pictured inside this issue  are Ms. Alma Carroll at her rousing afternoon birthday celebration with Jitu Weusi, the nationally known educator, community organizer and founder of Brooklyn Jazz Consortium, inside Herbert Von King Park’s Cultural Arts Center. (at left).

And Mrs. Janie Green regales guests at a family-hosted Sunday church buffet and dancing birthday celebration, with U.S. Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns  (NY-10), chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and his wife, educator Gwendolyn Forbes Towns  at Eleanor Roosevelt Houses’ 400 Hart Street Community Center. 
Currently, Mrs. Carroll, working with community organizer Sydney Moshette Jr. of the Oldtimers Foundation, is committed to naming the amphitheater in Herbert Von King Park after the late educator Almira Coursey, who was instrumental in introducing Mrs. Green to Mrs. Carroll in 1965 at the then-newborn Bedford-Stuyvesant Youth-in-Action program. These pioneers were longtime board members of Community Board #3.  

Also, their late husbands Joe, the jazz great, and Danny, the jazz buff and collector, were close – if not best -  friends.
There was another milestone in 1925: Countee Cullen, sometimes quoted by  Mrs. Green, published Color, his first volume of verse.  That year, he wrote the following excerpted from I Have a Rendezvous with Life.
.
I have a rendezvous with Life,
In days I hope will come,
Ere youth has sped, and strength of mind,
Ere voices sweet grow dumb.
I have a rendezvous with Life,
When Spring’s first heralds hum.
    Birthday well-wishers to both women included Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, Councilman Al Vann, Hon. Jim Sullivan, Rev. Taharka Robinson, Sydney Moshette Jr. and scores of other friends and community leaders.
  -Bernice Elizabeth Green

Comments on Passing of Percy Sutton (In Formation)

Barack Obama on the Passing of Percy Sutton:

Percy Sutton was a true hero to African Americans in New York City and around the country. We will remember him for his service to the country as a Tuskegee Airman, to New York State as a state assemblyman, to New York City as Manhattan Borough President, and to the community of Harlem in leading the effort to revitalize the world renowned Apollo Theater. His life-long dedication to the fight for civil rights and his career as an entrepreneur and public servant made the rise of countless young African Americans possible. Michelle and I extend our deepest condolences to his family on this sad day.

12.26.09 Governor Paterson released the following statement on the passing of Percy Sutton:
“Tonight, we say farewell to one of New York’s and this nation’s most influential African-American leaders – a man whom I am proud to have called a friend and mentor throughout my entire career.
“Percy Sutton was a trailblazer. He began his career as a prominent lawyer for Malcolm X and then took Harlem by storm as a leader of the Harlem Clubhouse where he launched not only his own successful political career but, as a member of the Gang of Four, spawned the successful careers of so many other African-American leaders. It was Percy Sutton who talked me into running for office and who has continued to serve as one of my most valued advisors ever since.
“The youngest of fifteen children, Percy dreamt big and exceeded even the highest of expectations. His success did not end simply with legal triumph or elective office – both of which he attained. Beyond those achievements, it was his entrepreneurial spirit that led to some of his greatest accomplishments – the rebirth of the Apollo Theater, the stewardship of a growing media empire and more.
“Percy was fiercely loyal, compassionate and a truly kind soul. He will be missed but his legacy lives on through the next generations of African-Americans he inspired to pursue and fulfill their own dreams and ambitions.
“Thank you, Percy, for your friendship and for all that you have contributed to our State and our Nation. On behalf of Michelle, the Paterson Family and all New Yorkers, our prayers are with your family.”

STATEMENT FROM SENATE MAJORITY
CONFERENCE LEADER JOHN L. SAMPSON

“Yesterday, New York lost a giant of a man, and I lost a dear friend and valued mentor.

“Percy Sutton was a defining figure in the African American community for over half a century. As leader of the Harlem Clubhouse, ground-breaking civil rights attorney, former Manhattan Borough President, and business entrepreneur, Percy forever changed the political, social and economic landscape of New York. Savior to the famed Apollo Theater and member of the celebrated Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, our state and nation owe him a debt of gratitude that can only be truly honored by a commitment to follow in his trailblazing footsteps.

“Percy’s steady influence and fearless leadership touched the lives of countless New Yorkers and paved the way for future generations of elected officials and community activist. He fought to make New York a better place and leaves behind a legacy of success and burning torch for others to carry in his absence.

“Percy Sutton led a life of great distinction and will be sorely missed by friends and strangers alike. I would like to thank him one more time for his kindness, his leadership and his guidance.”

Congresswoman Maxine Waters Mourns Passing of Percy Sutton
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) released the following statement today on the passing of political and civil rights leader Percy Sutton:
“I am saddened to learn of the death of my old friend Percy Sutton.
Percy emerged as one of the great civil rights lawyers and leaders of the United States, with courage and legal talent that served him well as he represented some of the highly visible community and civil rights leaders in New York and throughout the country. And he was well prepared to do so, volunteering with the N.A.A.C.P as a young man, serving our country with distinction as a Tuskegee Airman in World War II and in the Air Force during the Korean War, and attending Columbia Law School and graduating from Brooklyn Law School.
It is well known that he represented Malcolm X, but more than that, he became a great friend to his wife Betty and their children following Malcolm’s tragic and untimely death.
Percy loved Harlem, and he invested tremendous time and energy in its economic development, most notably his work to revitalize and save the iconic Apollo Theatre.
He was instrumental in helping to elect David Dinkins the first African American Mayor of New York City, and not only helped to shape Dinkins’ career but the careers of other leaders such as former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson, Congressman Charlie Rangel and New York Governor David Paterson. Percy was a committed public servant himself, serving in the New York State Assembly and as Manhattan Borough President for over a decade.
Percy was also an advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson during his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns. From my role on both of those campaigns I can speak firsthand to the impact he had on Rev. Jackson and the tone of those groundbreaking races.
Percy Sutton will not only be remembered for his legal talent, political acumen, and community development leadership but also for cofounding the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, which afforded the African American community the kind of communications network that truly focused on news and interests of concern to us. His boldness in establishing New York’s first African American-owned radio station is especially salient during this time of shrinking and disappearing minority, small, local and other media outlets throughout the country.
Many of us who witnessed his dedication to, commitment to, and love for his people and his community will forever be inspired by all that he accomplished, and we are dedicated to continuing his legacy.
My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Leatrice, his children and grandchildren, his family and friends, and the countless people in Harlem and the United States who knew and who were influenced by Percy Sutton.”
###

Percy E. Sutton: A Titan Worthy of Emulation (1920-2009)
Activist, lawyer, politician and business leader lived a life “full to overflowing,”
says Black Enterprise Founder & Publisher Earl G. Graves Sr.
Credit: www.BlackEnterprise.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article and Black Enterprise magazine image of Percy E. Sutton (circa April 1989)
(New York, NY) December 28, 2009-Percy E. Sutton never met a challenge too great for his boundless energy and intrepid spirit. The founder of Inner City Broadcasting Corp. (which operated the first African American-owned radio station), a Tuskegee Airman, and lawyer, Sutton’s shrewd business sense and iron will made him a force to be reckoned with. The pioneering figure died Saturday. He was 89.
Although he was a San Antonio, Texas native, it was in New York City where Sutton sowed seeds of success cultivated with integrity and indomitable will. The youngest son of a former slave, Sutton made his way to New York before joining the Tuskegee Airmen as an intelligence officer in World War II after being rejected by white Southern recruiters in his hometown. Following a stint in the Air Force, Sutton and his brother Oliver opened a Harlem law office in 1953. His firm represented slain activist Malcolm X, his wife, Betty Shabazz, and the Black Panthers, among others.
“At a time when few African Americans went into the law, Sutton opened up his own practice that aggressively defended civil and human rights activists in New York and elsewhere around the country,” says friend, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel.
But it was his business acumen and foray into New York City politics that burnished Sutton’s legacy. In 1972, he and his brother founded New York-based Inner City Broadcasting Corp. (ICBC) (No. 80 Black Enterprise Industrial/Service 100 with revenues of $50.6 million), which began with a single radio station, WLIB-AM. With 50 original shareholders, including Jesse Jackson, future New York City Mayor David Dinkins, and Betty Shabazz, the group purchased the station for $1.9 million, with the Suttons owning more than 51% of the company. It eventually went on to add WBLS-FM, one of New York City’s top ranked radio stations, along with stations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Antonio.
“The people who initially invested in Inner City Broadcasting really did not expect us to make money on an AM daytime radio station in Harlem, but they were really interested in getting a piece of the media that had impact on the community,” Sutton’s son, Pierre told Black Enterprise magazine in 1989. Pierre assumed chairmanship of ICBC in 1991.
In the 1970s, Sutton, who served in the New York State Assembly, was a member a group of black politicians from Harlem dubbed the “Gang of Four,” which included Rep. Rangel; Gov. David Paterson’s father Basil, who became New York’s secretary of state; and Dinkins. He was the longest serving Manhattan borough president holding the position from 1966 to 1977.
Despite a failed 1976 failed bid for a mayoral seat, Sutton still exercised influence in local politics and business.
“As Borough President, Sutton advocated for and implemented programs that specifically targeted the City’s most vulnerable populations,” said Arva Rice, president and CEO of the New York Urban League.
A fixture on the legendary 125th St. as a young man, Sutton was able to give back to the community that helped shape him when he purchased a financially beleaguered Apollo theater for $250,000 in 1981. With the acquisition, ICBC also acquired or launched a magazine, record and publishing companies, an artist management company, and several other related entities, including a syndicated television show, “Showtime at the Apollo.” Along with the purchase Sutton secured investors for an $18 million renovation of the theater.
In addition to his radio holdings, Sutton also headed a group that owned The Amsterdam News, the second largest black weekly newspaper in the country. The paper was later sold.
“[Sutton's] life-long dedication to the fight for civil rights and his career as an entrepreneur and public servant made the rise of countless young African Americans possible,” remarked President Barack Obama.  Sutton’s achievements mark a staunch dedication to education instilled in him and his siblings by his father, Samuel, who was born into slavery just before the Civil War. Samuel went on to become a high school principal. Sutton, the youngest of 15 children, was born in San Antonio on Nov. 24, 1920. Samuel made sure that 12 of his surviving children all went on to attend college.
Black Enterprise recognized Sutton with the Arthur G. Gaston Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, one of many awards, including the 1987 NAACP Spingarn Medal, to his credit. Also in 2000, Black Enterprise readers named Sutton one of the “10 Most Important Black Business Luminaries” of the 20th century.
“Tuskegee Airman. Civil-rights activist. Attorney for the family of Malcolm X. First black (and longest-serving) Manhattan Borough President. BE 100s CEO and founder of Inner City Broadcasting Corp., one of America’s largest black-owned companies. Key strategist for the ground-breaking presidential campaigns of Rev. Jesse Jackson. Any one of these designations would make Percy L. Sutton, the youngest son of a former slave, a giant among men,” says Black Enterprise Publisher Earl Graves. “The combination of these, only a sampling of his achievements, stamps Sutton as a true titan. He lived a life full to overflowing, setting a standard truly worthy of emulation, and I am blessed and proud to have been his friend.”
Sutton is survived by his wife, Leatrice; his son Pierre, and daughter Cheryl.
By Renita Burns with Alfred Edmond for BlackEnterprise.com.