William R. Laws Human Rights Award
The Human Rights Commission seeks nominations from the public for the William R. Laws Human Rights Award at the beginning of the year. The recipient will be a member, a group of members from the community, or a community organization who have made a substantial contribution to the community of Columbus in any area(s) of human equality.
Nomination Criteria
The nominees for the Award should have made a significant contribution by doing one or more of the following:
(1) improving relationships among all people;
(2) increasing the sensitivity of one group toward another group;
(3) educating people about the barriers or eliminating the barriers facing people of color, women, persons with disabilities, religious minorities, or others who have been treated unequally because of prejudice; and
(4) using existing means or creating new safeguards to protect the rights of others.
Laws Awards Nominations
The deadline for the 2021 Laws Award Nominations ends Friday, August 13th at 5:00 p.m.
For information, call the Human Rights Commission at 812-376-2532 or via email at humanrights@columbus.in.gov.
History
The William R. Laws Human Rights Award began in the early 1980s as the Human Rights Award. In 1986, William R. Laws received several nominations for his human rights achievements. After 1986, the Human Rights Award became known as the William R. Laws Human Rights Award.
The most recent award was presented to Fr. Clem Davis. Other Laws Award recipients include Sherry Stark, Larry Perkinson, Dr. Marwan Wafa, Ala’a Wafa, Arlette Cooper Tinsley, Lorraine Smith, Gil Palmer, Tom Harmon, Owen Hungerford, Bob Pitman, Tracy Souza, the Heritage Fund’s Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, Tim Solso and Joe Loughrey, Laura Leonard, Sondra Bolte, Benjamin “Mickey” King, and J. Irwin Miller.