Local leaders gathered Saturday for a special radio tribute for the late civil rights pioneer Percy Sutton.

Manhattan Congressman Charles Rangel, City Comptroller John Liu and other city and state officials joined the Reverend Al Sharpton in the morning for a special live memorial broadcast on WLIB 1190 AM, a station that was owned by Sutton.

"Without him leading the way, blazing countless trails, someone like me could never have gotten the chance to take the Oval Office," said Liu.

Percy Sutton, who died last Saturday at the age of 89, moved to New York following his service with the famed Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. He went on to open a Harlem law office, where he represented Malcolm X and his family.

Sutton, who served one term as a state assemblyman, was Manhattan's longest-serving borough president from 1966 to 1977, and was at that time considered the state's highest-ranking black elected official.

Sutton also helped save Harlem's Apollo Theater by purchasing and renovating it for a quarter-million dollars in 1981.

Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at Sutton's funeral on Wednesday.