Justice Court Judge Larnzy Carpenter Jr. to give MLK Jr. Day Unity Breakfast keynote
Larnzy L. Carpenter Jr.
An Oktibbeha County Justice Court judge and pastor with extensive military and law enforcement experience will be keynote speaker for Mississippi State’s 23rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity Breakfast.
The Monday [Jan. 16] address by Larnzy L. Carpenter Jr. of First Baptist Church of Longview begins at 9 a.m. in The Mill at MSU Conference Center located at 600 Russell St. in Starkville.
The free, public celebration of King’s life and legacy as a Baptist minister, humanitarian and civil rights activist gets underway with an 8 a.m. breakfast.
Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserved tables are available through sponsorship. For details, contact Alicia Hu at 662-325-2493 or ahu@oidi.msstate.edu.
The MSU event is sponsored by the Office of the President, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, and Holmes Cultural Diversity Center. In addition to welcoming remarks by the university’s chief executive, the program will include a performance by the campus’s Black Voices Gospel Choir, as well as First Baptist Church of Longview’s New Horizons Praise Team.
Afterward, the university’s Maroon Volunteer Center will begin the MLK Jr. Day of Service activities. Volunteer opportunities are available at, among others, the Palmer Home for Children, Habitat for Humanity Resale Store, Camp Seminole, Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, Ms. Smith’s Tutoring, Christian World Missions, and the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum.
A 1980 Starkville High School graduate, Carpenter served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including duties in the Presidential Honor Guard during the administration of former President Ronald Reagan.
He holds an associate’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Slidell Baptist Seminary in Slidell, Louisiana.
In addition to working for the Washington, D.C.-based Department of Corrections, his extensive law enforcement experience includes 14 years with the Starkville Police Department and 12 years with the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department.
He has also instructed courses for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, Gang Resistance Education and Training program, defensive driving, and has served as Chief Bailiff for the Oktibbeha County Court System and a consultant and coordinator for the Starkville School District Family Resource Center.
Along with serving his 15th year as pastor of First Baptist Church of Longview, Carpenter is moderator of the Whitefield District Association. He also serves as Oktibbeha County District 2 Justice Court Judge.
He and his wife, Melita, have two sons, Larnzy and Landon, and one grandson, Eli Cole Carpenter.
For more information on MSU’s 2017 MLK Jr. Day observance, including volunteer service-day locations and projects, visit www.mlkdaystarkville.com. Meggan Franks, MSU assistant director of student leadership and community engagement, also may be contacted at 662-325-2208 or mfranks@saffairs.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Sasha Steinberg | Public Affairs
