The Hon. Percy Sutton was a life-long champion for the cause of justice and a loyal friend to the Israelite community. President Barack Obama described him as “a true hero to African-Americans in New York City and around the country.” He was the youngest of fifteen children who went on to become a Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, President of the New York branch of the NAACP, a civil rights lawyer who supported Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and was the personal attorney to Malcolm X.

As a black entrepreneur, Mr. Sutton founded Inner City Broadcasting which owns WLIB-AM, the first black-owned radio station in New York City and WBLS-FM. He was once a part owner of the Amsterdam News, he was instrumental in the creation of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and in the 1980s he saved the historic Apollo Theater from destruction.

Mr. Sutton’s long association with the Israelite community predates his celebrity.  In his touching tribute to Chief Rabbi W.A. Matthew, Mr. Sutton reminded us that Rabbi Matthew was not only the founder of our community, he was Harlem’s rabbi (see video below). Mr. Sutton affectionately recalled that when he first ran for office in 1954 he lost every race, year after year, until he was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1964.  During that difficult period Rabbi Matthew was there with him as a “master teacher” and “master organizer.”  As Mr. Sutton described it “with Rabbi Matthew I became a winner!”

In 1966 Mr. Sutton became Manhattan Borough President and served in this position until 1977. One of his official acts as Borough President was to issue a proclamation making June twenty-third “Chief Rabbi W.A. Matthew Day.” Mr. Sutton (and his protégés  Congressman Charles Rangel and the late Basil Paterson, father of New York Governor David Paterson) were frequent visitors to Commandment Keepers E.H. Congregation. In 1973 Mr. Sutton supported Abraham Beame for mayor against Herman Badillo, a popular Hispanic candidate. Many people felt that Sutton’s support of Beame was never properly appreciated or reciprocated. However, the support of black Jews for Sutton was unwavering and Sutton never forgot that we were there for him.

In 1977 Mr. Sutton ran for mayor of New York City, thereby paving the way for David Dinkins’s successful bid in 1990. Chief Rabbi Levi Ben Levy invited Percy Sutton to Beth Shalom in Brooklyn to speak at the ordination of the Israelite Rabbinical Academy Class of 1977. Percy Sutton came along with Dr. Yosef Ben Jochannan and Alma John (see picture). Mr Sutton affirmed his love and respect for the Israelite community. Twenty-three years later, Mr. Sutton attended a tribute to Israelite Ancestors at the Schomburg Center which celebrated the 75^th Anniversary of the Israelite Rabbinical Academy and the ordination of the Class of 2000. Mr. Sutton was always there for us.  We honored Mr. Sutton then and we will love, remember, and honor him forever. May his spirit find rest and peace under the tree of eternal life.