Ozell Sutton, American civil rights activist, Died at 90

  Dead Famous

Ozell Sutton was born on December 13, 1925, and died on December 19, 2015.

He was among the first blacks to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Ozell was born just outside of the town of Gould, Lincoln County, Arkansas.

His family moved to Little Rock, Arkansas and he graduated from Dunbar High Scnool.

Ozell received his undergraduate degree in 1950 from Philander Smith College.

Ozell Sutton worked at the Little Rock Democrat newspaper.

In 1962, Ozell received an honorary doctorate from Philander Smith in recognition of his political activism in the civil rights movement.

He marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 in the historic March on Washington D.C., and in 1965 in the Selma to Montgomery marches.

Ozell worked for Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller as the director of the Governor’s Council on Human Resources.

He is a founding member of the executive board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Ozell moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked for the United States Department of Justice Community Relations Service.

Ozell was the 26th General President of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

As president, he was named one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony magazine.

In 2012, Ozell was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal from President Barack Obama for being among the first blacks to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Ozell Sutton passed away in Atlanta on December 19, 2015 at the age of 90.