King award to go to Scarbrough

The U.S. Department of Education will honor Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission Executive Director DuShun Scarbrough on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Scarbrough will receive the MLK Jr. Drum Major Innovation Service Award, given to volunteers who “perform extraordinary everyday acts of service focusing on innovative approaches to serving our students,” the department said.

Tuesday is the 50th anniversary of King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, which was given in Memphis on the eve of his assassination.

The department’s Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, working with the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for African-Americans, informed Scarbrough that he’d been selected.

In a news release, Scarbrough called the honor “really an amazing accomplishment.”

“This speaks volumes about the work we do here at the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission and how this state agency is relevant and our work is significantly making strides and gaining national attention,” he said. “I look forward to accepting the award and continuing to inspire communities in the spirit of Dr. King.”

In July, Scarbrough was a finalist for the NextGen Silent Hero Award, which recognizes “a public service leader who has operated behind the scenes, silently working in a dedicated and committed fashion, without the limelight, who has laid the foundation for stellar public service results and community change.”

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