In 1984, she became the first African American woman to become a full professor in an accredited architectural degree program while teaching at the University of Michigan.

[3][4] Sutton began taking piano lessons at age 5 from the organist at her mother's church at a time when colored people were barred from going to the swimming pool, skating rink, and movie theater in her segregated Cincinnati neighborhood.

She was introduced to the French horn at her college prep high school where all students had to study one of the arts alongside their academic courses.

[3] After earning a degree in 1963, Sutton worked as a professional musician in New York City, most notably for Sol Hurok Attractions and in the original cast of Man of La Mancha.

[3] Sutton's focus is community-based participatory research and design with a special emphasis on low-income and minority youth and other disenfranchised populations.

Sutton is author of When Ivory Towers Were Black: A Story about Race in America's Cities and Universities (2017);[7][8] Weaving a Tapestry of Resistance: The Places, Power and Poetry of a Sustainable Society (1996);[9] and Learning through the Built Environment (1985).

[10] Additionally, she is author of numerous book chapters and journal articles, and is co-editor of The Paradox of Urban Space: Inequality and Transformation in Marginalized Communities.