Lynn A. Westmoreland: “Today we honor Percy Sutton with the naming of a post office in his hometown neighborhood of Harlem, New York. Born in…”

“Today we honor Percy Sutton with the naming of a post office in his hometown neighborhood of Harlem, New York. Born in 1920 in San Antonio, Texas, he was the youngest of 15 children raised in a family with strong values in education. He found his niche at a young age with the Boy Scouts and rose to the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended Prairie View A&M University, Tuskegee Institute and Hampton Institute, and he earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School. As a teenager, he learned to fly small planes and worked as a stunt pilot at county fairs. Upon the U.S. involvement in World War II, he enlisted with the Army Air Corps but was rejected because of his race. Shortly after, he moved to New York where he was accepted into the Corps and flew with the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. His military service awarded him Combat Stars as an intelligence officer with the 332nd Fighter Group's Black 99th Pursuit Squadron. Percy Sutton gained national recognition during the 1950s and 1960s as a close friend and lawyer to civil rights leader Malcolm X.”