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Remaining "Gang Of Four" Members Discuss Percy Sutton
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 29, 2009
Modified Dec 29, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 29, 2009
Modified Dec 29, 2009
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On NY1's "Road to City Hall" last night, former Mayor David Dinkins, Rep. Charles Rangel and former NY Secretary of State Basil Paterson (yes, the Governor's dad), appeared to remember their friend and colleague Percy Sutton, the trailblazing lawyer turned politician turned media mogul who passed away last week. The four men, who became powerful in Harlem politics, were known as the "Gang of Four," and Dinkins, Rangel and Paterson credited Sutton. Dinkins said, "We three and others have always said everybody stands on somebody's shoulders. And we say that we stand on Percy's shoulders."
Rangel said that he didn't get along with Sutton when they first met, "He was a good friend of my brother's. He never was a good friend of mine. All I knew was that all I belonged to he was against it." Paterson added, "He called me once on behalf of a client and he was very fresh to me."
The Reverend Al Sharpton, who considered Sutton a mentor, posted an opinion piece about Sutton on his National Action Network website: "There are those in the generations behind me that may only know him by some remote mentioning of his name, but every time a Black person walks into an executive office, that’s Percy. Every time we walk into a Black radio station, that’s Percy. Every time we walk into a Black cable station, that’s Percy. And when the lights are on at the Apollo, that’s Percy."
Tagged
basil Paterson
david dinkins
Gang of Four
Percy Sutton
rep charles rangel
reverend al sharpton
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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