Nominations are due November 15 and must include:

 

-- A narrative describing how an action or event by the nominee improved human and race relations at work or in the community. 

 

-- The nominator's relationship to nominee. 

 

-- Supporting documents from colleagues, community leaders, etc. 

 

"The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day program would not be complete without the presentation of the John R. Larkins award," Governor Pat McCrory said in a statement. "The award serves not only to honor some of our best and most valuable state employees, but also to keep alive the legacy of Dr. Larkins’ pioneering work and groundbreaking contributions to our state." 

 

Larkins was born December 24, 1913 in Wilmington, where he attended public school and graduated from Williston High School. He worked paving roads and in the garment industry in New York City. He was a welfare worker in Warren County and, in 1942, became a consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Welfare (later named the Department of Human Resources), a position he held until 1962, when he became the coordinator of the Department. From 1963 to 1973, he served as associate director of the State Probation Commission; as the director of youth development at the Department of Corrections from 1973-74; and was appointed special assistant to the governor for minority affairs in 1977, serving until his death in 1980.   

 

He was the author of several articles that explore race, community, leadership and sociology. He taught part-time at St. Augustine’s College and Shaw University, served on several sociological associations, and received numerous honors for his contributions to our state and nation through human and race relations and the understanding of sociology. 

 

Nominations should be submitted at http://www.governor.state.nc.us/john-r-larkins-nomination-2015