Norton Expresses Condolences on the Passing of Percy Sutton, Pioneer and Friend (12/28/2009)
Norton Expresses Condolences on Passing of Percy Sutton, Pioneer and Friend
December 28, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC - I express my deepest sympathies to the family of Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, who died at 89. Percy was an unforgettable friend and a Renaissance politician and business and media mogul, who was well ahead of his time. He was one of a handful of men and women who paved the way for today's successful black entrepreneur and political class.
My family and I lived in Harlem when Percy was borough president. It was a wonder to see up close his personal charisma, his graciousness, and his strategic and intellectual skills. For all of his prominence, however, Percy never forgot his civil rights roots, acting on them as an activist to the point of arrest and as a lawyer. Percy did not always succeed, but he did not fear to venture and do what others did not dare try. There is no doubt that the name Percy Sutton will always be remembered in the annals of change-making Americans of the 20th Century.