BOSTON — Lillian Bonner Sutson, a little-known civil rights activist whose attempts to register as a voter in South Carolina set a precedent in the fight against segregation and voting discrimination in the South, has died in Massachusetts, her family announced Wednesday.
Sutson died of age-related causes Monday at a nursing home in Saugus. She was believed to be 99, said her grandson, Marcus Jones.
In 1940, Sutson, the granddaughter of a slave, went with her mother and two other African-American women to register as Democrats in Gaffney, S.C. They were denied, threatened and verbally abused, sparking a federal criminal case. Thurgood Marshall served as their attorney in the case during which the women endured death threats that sometimes warranted FBI protection.
They lost, but Marshall eventually used the experience in civil rights lawsuits that ultimately helped strike down voter discrimination and segregation.
Her efforts were cited in a letter from First Lady Michelle Obama shortly before the president's second inaugural, Jones said.
"Your example of service shows ... that each of us can make a difference for those around us," Obama wrote, according to Jones.
Two years earlier, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, the state's first black elected governor, paid tribute to Sutson, who lived there the last 50 years of her life.
"Your act of courage was uniquely American and uniquely human, a voice of reason rising above the din of ignorance and intolerance," Patrick said. "Like so many others who are humbled by your acts of heroism, I am grateful for your sacrifices. Your bravery made countless opportunities come alive for future generations."
