Thousands Gather to Remember Percy Sutton
New York, NY —
Thousands remembered the civil rights attorney and media mogul Percy Sutton today at his funeral at Riverside Church. Sutton died the day after Christmas at the age of 89.
Speaking at the service, the Reverend Jesse Jackson said Sutton's legacy transformed New York City and the nation.
"No one among us has done so much for so many for so long," Jackson said. "We are debtors, he is the creditor. Today Harlem weeps; the heavens rejoice."
Sutton was praised for his contributions as a civil rights attorney, a pioneer in black-owned media, and a politician.
Eleanor Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief of The New York Amsterdam News, says Sutton helped bring prominence to black media both through the paper and on the airwaves.
She says Sutton's two two radio stations -- WLIB and WBLS -- became national powerhouses and the flagship stations of black radio in the United States.
More than two dozen people spoke at the funeral, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced a Harlem education complex that houses three schools will be re-named in Sutton's honor. Those in attendance included U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the widow of baseball great Jackie Robinson, and Gov. David Paterson, who is scheduled later today to give his state of the state speech in Albany.
The Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy at today's service.
