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Ozell Sutton | Civil rights activist, 90

Ozell Sutton, 90, a longtime civil rights activist who was associated with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, his daughter said Sunday.

Ozell Sutton, 90, a longtime civil rights activist who was associated with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has died, his daughter said Sunday.

Alta Sutton told the Associated Press that her father died at St. Joseph Hospital in Atlanta on Saturday. She said the family had celebrated his birthday nearly a week ago.

Mr. Sutton marched for equal rights alongside King in Selma, Ala., in 1965 and was present at the Memphis hotel where King was assassinated in 1968.

In 2012, Mr. Sutton earned a Congressional Gold Medal as one of the first African Americans to serve in the Marine Corps. He also was director of the U.S. Justice Department's Community Relations Service in Atlanta until he retired in 2003.

Mr. Sutton also served as the general president of the national service fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha. He worked for Arkansas Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller and as the director of the Governor's Council on Human Resources. He was a journalist for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

He also played a role in helping to enroll nine African American students at Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock in 1957.

Alta Sutton said funeral arrangements are pending. - AP