Pioneering civil rights attorney, Percy Sutton, died only recently. He is known as the one who represented Malcolm X. He went on to become a successful political power broker and media mogul. He was 90 years old.

Spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson, Marissa Shorenstein, confirmed that Sutton died. The cause of death was unknown. Sutton’s daughter, Cheryl, refused to comment Saturday when reporters tried to call her on her New York City home.

Sutton is a son of a former slave. He became a fixture on 125th Street in Harlem after he moved to New York City and served with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. His Harlem law office represented Malcolm X and his family for decades.

Sutton became the highest-ranking black elected official in the state. But prior to that he served in the New York State Assembly and took over as Manhattan borough president in 1966.

Rev. Jesse Jackson remembers Sutton. “He never stopped building bridges and laying the groundwork. We are very glad to be the beneficiaries of his work.”

(via Yahoo News)