LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the death of Percy Ellis Sutton, civil
rights activist, entrepreneur, distinguished attorney and former member
of the New York State Assembly

WHEREAS, It is with great sorrow and deep regret that this Legislative
Body records the passing of Percy Ellis Sutton, noting the significance
of his purposeful life and accomplishments; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton, a political pioneer from Harlem, New
York, died on Saturday, December 26, 2009, at the age of 89; and
WHEREAS, Born on November 24, 1920, in San Antonio, Texas, Percy Ellis
Sutton was the youngest child in a family of 15 of Samuel J. and Lillian
Smith Percy Sutton; his parents were both born into slavery and became
educators; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton attended Prairie View Agricultural and
Mechanical College in Texas, Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and Hampton
Institute in Virginia; during college, he learned to fly, earning money
as a stunt pilot at county fairs; and
WHEREAS, At the beginning of World War II, Percy Ellis Sutton moved to
New York City and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps; he
faithfully served his country as one of the famous Tuskegee Airmen and
won combat stars as an Intelligence Officer with the 332nd Fighter
Group's black 99th Pursuit Squadron in both the Italian Theatre and the
Mediterranean Theatre; and
WHEREAS, After being honorably discharged from the Air Corps as a
Captain, Percy Ellis Sutton entered the Columbia University School of
Law, before transferring to the Brooklyn College School of Law, where he
received his juris doctor degree in 1950; the following year, he passed
the New York State Bar Exam; and
WHEREAS, During the Korean War, Percy Ellis Sutton once again served
his country as an Air Force Intelligence Officer in Washington, D.C.; he
later became the first black Trial Judge Advocate for the United States
Air Force before leaving the service for the second time in 1953; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton opened a law practice in Harlem on 125th
Street in 1953 with his brother, Oliver C. Sutton; this partnership
lasted for more than 40 successful years; and
WHEREAS, In 1961 and again in 1962, Percy Ellis Sutton was elected
President of the New York Branch of the NAACP, after a succession of
prior positions; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton was elected to the New York State Assembly
in the November 1964 election and took his seat on January 1, 1965; upon
his selection as spokesperson for the black assemblymen and under his
leadership, black assemblymen became members of every major committee,
including one of them chosen as Majority Whip; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton was a major supporter of funding to build
the New York State Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in
Black Culture, as well as the Search for Education, Elevation, and Know-
ledge (SEEK) program which gave promising students from disadvantaged
backgrounds an opportunity to attend college; subsequently, he was voted
Assemblyman of the Year in 1966 by the Intercollegiate Legislative
Assembly; and
WHEREAS, In 1966, the New York City Council chose Percy Ellis Sutton
to fill the unexpired term as Manhattan Borough President; he held onto
the position for 11 years, becoming the highest elected African-American
official in the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, On December 10, 1972, Percy Ellis Sutton chaired a public
hearing on crime in Harlem, sponsored by the Haryou Act Community Corpo-
ration; he expressed his view that effective police and judicial work,

coupled with a cooperative effort by the City government to eliminate
problems on housing, unemployment, and drug trafficking, were required
to help solve the major crisis of urban crime; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton served as Chairman of Queens Inner Unity
Cable System, a cable television system in New York City; he was also
the major founder of both the Street Literacy Clinic, and the Magic of
Learning, a computer-based, interactive, multimedia learning system that
is used by teachers to help young people improve their basic skills in
reading, writing, and functioning in the language of their environment;
and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, Percy Ellis Sutton co-founded the Inner City
Broadcasting Corporation in 1971, with Oliver C. Sutton and Clarence
B. Jones; he also purchased WLIB-AM radio, the first black-owned station
in New York City; that same year, he formed AMNEWS, and purchased the
NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS, the second largest black weekly newspaper in
the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton left public office and retired in December
of 1977; in 1991, after becoming Chairman Emeritus for City Broadcast-
ing, he served as a guest lecturer on college campuses, discussing the
subjects of Communications, High Technology, Finance, Business Law, and
Politics at numerous institutions including City College of New York and
Princeton University; and
WHEREAS, In January of 1995, Percy Ellis Sutton became a member of a
delegation of leading American business people representing the United
States of America at the Group of Seven (G-7) Nations roundtable meeting
on Telecommunications and High Technology in Brussels, Belgium; he was
then selected by his European colleagues to attend follow-up discussions
in Brussels and Washington, D.C.; the following year, he served as a
United States delegate to both the G-7 and the developing nations Intel-
ligence Technology Conference, in Midrand, South Africa; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton received hundreds of national, interna-
tional and local awards honoring his contributions in the fields of
Communications and High Technology, Human Rights, Civil Rights, Business
and Philanthropy, including the prestigious Spingarn Medal, an award
presented annually by the NAACP for outstanding achievement by an Afri-
can-American; and
WHEREAS, Percy Ellis Sutton is survived by his wife, the former
Leatrice O'Farrell; his two children, Pierre and Cheryl Lynn; and one
sister, Essie Mae; as well as four grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic spirit, imbued with a sense of
compassion, and comforted by a loving family, Percy Ellis Sutton leaves
behind a legacy which will long endure the passage of time and will
remain as a comforting memory to all he served and befriended; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of Percy Ellis Sutton, civil rights activist, entrepre-
neur, distinguished attorney and former member of the New York State
Assembly; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of Percy Ellis Sutton.