Governor McCrory Pleased by Progress for African American Monument at State Capitol | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Raleigh, N.C.     Governor Pat McCrory said he is pleased work has begun to place a monument honoring African Americans at the State Capitol.

    "It's only fitting that as we celebrate the birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are finally seeing concrete steps toward building a monument honoring the contributions of African Americans to North Carolina's history," Governor McCrory said.

    Last week, a planning committee made up of members from the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission and the North Carolina Historical Commission held their first meeting in the Governor's Conference Room at the State Capitol.

    The committee set a goal of holding a series of public meetings throughout the state to gain feedback on the project. The goal is to hold these meetings during the spring.

    Also on the committee's to-do list is to identify an artist and a landscape architect to guide the project.

    On Monday, Governor McCrory will honor Dr. King by attending a MLK Day Breakfast Celebration in Alamance County.

    On Friday, the governor attended the annual State Employee Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at First Baptist Church in downtown Raleigh.

    At that celebration, Governor McCrory honored North Carolina A&T students Angelica Willis, Paul Hammond and Zanetta Tyler for earning the prestigious Apple/HBCU Scholarship. The scholarship includes a three-month internship at Apple's Cupertino, California headquarters and $25,000 to be applied toward their education expenses.

    The governor also honored two North Carolina families that were pioneers for civil rights in our state.

    Governor McCrory presented the Order of the Long Leaf Pine posthumously to John and Selelia Griffith of Yancey County. The Griffiths sued the Yancey County School Board in federal court in 1959 to enforce integration provisions of the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education decision. Accepting the state's highest award on behalf of their parents were Patricia Griffith Watkins and John Griffith, Jr.

    Also honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine was longtime Hamlin Drug Company owner John M. Johnson. The award was accepted by Michelle Corbin, Johnson's daughter.

    The Hamlin Drug Company first opened its doors in downtown Raleigh in 1904 and Johnson, a pharmacist by trade, bought the drug store with a partner in 1957. The governor noted that Hamlin Drug has always welcomed customers through the front door and praised Johnson for his dedication for looking out for the health of his customers for more than five decades.

    Stanley C. Melvin, Center Director at Pitt Regional Juvenile Detention Center, was awarded the John R. Larkins award, the highest civil rights honor that can be won by a state employee. The award was presented by the Secretary of Administration and Human Relations.

• Contact: Crystal Feldman
•     govpress@nc.gov