COLUMBUS, Ind. — Howard “Bud” Herron had one reaction when told a few weeks ago he was chosen for the Columbus Human Rights Commission’s William R. Laws Human Rights Award: “They must think I am dead.”
The revelation drew laughter among a crowd of 360 people Thursday at the commission’s annual public meeting and dinner — the first held since 2019 before COVID-19.
Commission member Rich Gold, who introduced Herron, highlighted the reaction.
Both Herron and the Rev. Felipe Martinez, who also received the Laws Award Thursday, earned standing ovations for their work and their remarks of humility and gratitude during the presentations.
The honor is named after the late, former pastor and social justice leader Rev. William R. Laws at Columbus’ First Presbyterian Church from 1950 to 1976. The award is presented to those advocating for eliminating barriers facing people of color, women, persons with disabilities, religious minorities, or others who have been treated unequally because of prejudice; or those creating safeguards to protect the rights of others.
“They both represent the very best of what the Laws Award was created to do,” said Mayor Mary Ferdon, adding later that justice and equality for residents must “continue to be the very underpinning of all we do.”
The human rights commission, the first in the state in 1962, is especially significant in Columbus, with a well-publicized mix of ethnic, spiritual and cultural diversity in an age where tensions linked to all of those elements have played out nationwide in recent years. It also is important because international citizens moving here have said in at least a couple of Heritage Fund surveys since the early 2000s that they need ample ways to feel welcome in order to thrive here.
Herron, a Hope native and former publisher and columnist at The Republic and The Daily Journal in Franklin, was honored for his 10 years as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate for the nonprofit local Advocates For Children organization. CASA volunteers are trained to speak on behalf of children and youngsters linked to legal cases of abuse or neglect.
Herron did that volunteer work from 2008 to 2018, and also worked for about two years on the Advocate’s paid staff as a guardian ad litem, again protecting the interests of those unable to care for themselves. He still gets cards and letters from those he helped.
Martinez knew of Laws’ considerable legacy when he arrived in Columbus in 2015 to lead First Presbyterian. From the beginning of Martinez’s time in Columbus, he has been among the most visible and outspoken leaders for immigration reform, respect and equality for population segments such as LGBTQ residents, and racial and religious harmony.
He also was pivotal among area leaders for helping six Afghan families relocate here.
Martinez also was among the organizers and speakers for the recent inaugural Interfaith National Day of Prayer in Columbus alongside Muslims, Hindus, Unitarians and others. On immigration, the Mexican native has been a strong defender of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival students here and how they should be embraced.
But Laws’ legacy gave him pause initially.
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘How do I thrive under the shadow of such a huge figure, symbolically and literally,’” Martinez said, referring both to Laws community and physical stature.
Martinez said the award belongs to his entire congregation’s work, and represents “a signal that it is not the job of a single community member to fill Dr. Law’s shoes. It is for all of us to fill those shoes, to lean into the task of looking after the well-being of all of our neighbors, especially those who are struggling, especially those who are marginalized. And to do so with tenacity and compassion.”
Herron thanked his late wife Ann, his former newspaper colleagues and also the staff at Advocates For Children.
“They were and are beautiful people who never gave up on child,” Herron said. “They never quit looking for a rainbow, even when the storms of the child’s world seemed unending and unstoppable.”
For more coverage of this event, see Wednesday’s print edition of The Republic.
