Herron and Martínez to receive Laws Human Rights Award

The Columbus Human Rights Commission will be recognizing Bud Herron and the Rev. Felipe Martínez as the winners of this year’s William R. Laws Human Rights Award at the commission’s annual dinner and awards ceremony on June 27th.

Herron is a former journalist, serving as publisher of the Republic until 2007. After retirement, he became a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate with the Advocates for Children.

Martínez, originally from Mexico, became pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Columbus in 2016. He has led community conversations on racial injustice, welcoming and inclusive worship and housing disparities.

The dinner will also include the presentation of the winners of the Benjamin M. King Essay and the J. Irwin Miller Art contests. The theme for this year’s art and essay contests is “Living your authentic life.”

The featured speaker will be Amy Nelson, the executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana. The center serves 24 counties in central Indiana including Bartholomew County. The center’s mission is to eliminate housing discrimination through advocacy, enforcement, education, and outreach.

The event will start at 6:30 p.m. on June 27th at The Commons in downtown Columbus.

Tickets for the dinner are $30 per person and must be purchased in advance. They can be purchased at the Human Rights Commission office located in City Hall online at www.columbus.in.gov/human-rights/. and clicking on Human Rights

For further information, call (812) 376-2532 or e-mail
[email protected].