The diverse and powerful group of people who gathered to say farewell to Percy Sutton today says a lot about the type of life he lived.

In case you didn't know, Sutton, who died Dec. 26, was a media mogul, a civil rights activist, Malcolm X's lawyer, one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen and New York's first serious black candidate for mayor. He fought to save the Apollo Theater, was an attorney for those arrested during civil rights protests in the South and was a pioneer of urban radio.

According to the Associated Press:

Among the dignitaries gathered at the church were Attorney General Eric Holder, Gov. David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Charles Schumer. Two of Malcolm X's daughters also attended. ...The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were among a group that escorted Sutton's relatives in to the church. In a chapel near the main sanctuary, Sutton lay in a coffin, dressed in a Navy blue suit, white shirt and a tie.

Holder may have best summarized Sutton's most important contribution when he said: "The opportunities given to my generation were paid for by his."

What excuse do young people have for not thriving when Sutton lived during a time when there were such limited expectations for African American men? How can we listen to rappers talk about getting money and being rich when Sutton showed that you could combine social activism with being an entrepreneur? What legacy do we want to leave behind for our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren?

Here's how Malcolm X's daughter, Attalah Shabazz, described Sutton: "Even when things weren't on his side, he was always on yours."

"He was part of a generation that transformed the nation. He was a Renaissance man." said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League.

Sutton's death is a chance to examine the type of life he led, the obstacles he overcame and the high expectations he set.

Bloomberg ordered city flags flown at half-staff and also named a school complex in Harlem after Sutton, a fitting tribute.

Bloomberg said:

I can't think of a better way to remember Percy. Harlem has been the epicenter of our public school reforms. In 2002, only 12 percent of eighth graders here were at proficiency level in math. Today it's 61 percent. Now of course that's not good enough, but it's progress which would surely gratify a man whose own father was a school principal, whose mother was a teacher and who worked so hard against so many odds to educate himself. And we owe it to Percy and his legacy to continue those bold reforms, not just here in Harlem but throughout the entire city so that we produce future trailblazers like Percy who will lead this city, as well as the world.

As former New York City Mayor David Dinkins said:

"Percy Ellis Sutton departed us paid in full. ...Let him not look down and find any of us in arrears."