By Associated Press - Saturday, March 18, 2017

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina civil rights pioneer has received one of the state’s highest honors in a formal ceremony in Greensboro.

Clarence Henderson received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award Friday at the old Guilford County Courthouse, according to the Greensboro News & Record (https://bit.ly/2n97jJ0 ).

The recipients are chosen by the governor to honor their service to the state. The society’s website indicates that Henderson’s selection was made in 2016.



Henderson was a sit-in participant about 60 years ago at a segregated North Carolina lunch counter.

He was an 18-year-old student at North Carolina A&T State University when he joined four lunch counter protesters on the second day of their protest. They were arrested but they added momentum to a wave of nonviolent protests against racist policies.

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