An Open Letter To the Honorable Percy Ellis SuttonAn Open Letter To the Honorable Percy Ellis Sutton
By Ilyasah Shabazz
What a purposeful and inspirational life you lived! We, the public and specifically your fellow New Yorkers, will beam with great pride whenever we walk past your office or by the Apollo Theater in Harlem, across 125th Street. We will be inspired to be, to do, and to give our very best as we tune in to WBLS, WLIB or any of your networks across the nation via Inner City Broadcasting Service. We will salute you, Sir, as we teach the next generation of your purpose-driven life, of your passion for politics, of your compassion for humanity and your commitment to social injustice. We will teach future leaders of your self-determination.
We will ensure that your legacy lives on in each of us as you pioneered as a Tuskegee Airman in the 1940’s against seemingly insurmountable odds of bigotry and racism. That the Tuskegee Airmen challenged America's racist attitudes with the willingness to give your lives to a country not willing to serve you or in the very least acknowledge you as “Men”. That the Tuskegee Airmen "Red Tails" carried the dream of equality for themselves and for their thirteen million African American countrymen into battle—emerging from combat as legends, continuing the fight for equality long after the tour of duty ended. And today, I am filled with pride as I recall that evening in 2006 when Mayor Ernest D. Davis and the City of Mount Vernon paid tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, and I stood to receive the Award in your honor.
We will preserve your legacy, Sir, as you were no less fearlessly committed to the cause of equality arrested as a freedom rider in the 1960’s’ in your continued fight for freedom and justice; that you persevered to become the longest-serving Manhattan borough president on behalf of the people of New York City. That you mentored and supported countless political candidates as well as young men and women in the community who would go on to give invaluable service to others; that you, Sir, were integral to the revitalization of the Harlem community. And sir, all the while, that you built a Media Empire that gave voice to the African American community—via Hal Jackson, Ken Spider Web, Dr. Betty Shabazz, Wendy Williams and countless others.
Sir, I am forever grateful that you so proudly sought out and served as attorney for my father, Al Hajj Malik Shabazz, Malcolm X, when he, just a young man himself, hoisted humanity upon his shoulders and challenged a government that had been historically unjust. You recognized Malcolm X to be a man of principle and impeccable integrity that you became a staunch supporter and a loyal friend to the Shabazz Family when it wasn’t popular to be such; and you remained an invaluable member of our family.
The Shabazz Family will always cherish our special moments with you, Sir—your dignity, eloquence, foresight and boundless generosity. I am indeed grateful that our mother, during times of loneliness and despair, was comforted by her faith in God and her solace in your counsel to nurture herself and six daughters and “those” in need of empowerment after our father’s martyrdom in 1965, which spanned the next four decades until the time of her own transition in 1997. And your counsel continued, Sir, on behalf of my sisters and me, and our extended families. Your appearances in support of the Shabazz Center mission touched me so dearly as you commanded the presence of your distinguished brothers, Congressman Charlie Rangel, Mayor David Dinkins, Mayor Ed Koch, Reverend Al Sharpton, Reverend Calvin O. Butts, Reverend Franklyn Richardson, Governor David Paterson, Dick Gregory and countless other activists who were also dear friends to our mother. I will cherish the times we shared in ‘those good ole days;’ and I will remember the times you telephoned me personally after Mom passed away to say, “I’m proud of you, Ilyasah”; “Keep up the good work”; or “Try it this way”. You in particular assured my sisters and me that as long as you breathed life, we were not alone.
Now it’s time for you! . . . We will rejoice that you made it to the place of all good-willed mortals. You left us with a powerful legacy of perseverance, service and triumph . . . to be our best, to do our best, and to give our best. And on behalf of many around and abroad this great country, I humbly salute and thank you, Sir. And I would also like to thank your lovely wife, Sister Leatrice, Oliver, Chuck, Pierre, Cheryl and the entire Sutton Family for sharing you with us. You are gone physically, but never will you be forgotten.
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