Ashburn Youth Center honors Columbus Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr. at annual fundraiser

Let’s Be More Like George W. Bush. Seriously.

Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman

Demagoguery has always flourished during times of national unease. And so it is not surprising that while Americans grapple with the consequences of war and recession, media personalities and future presidential hopefuls are preying on their fears.

For the past several weeks, talk radio and cable news has been abuzz with the controversy regarding the proposed Islamic center in lower Manhattan, not far from the site of the 2001 terrorist attacks that killed thousands of people and destroyed the World Trade Center.

Because of the hyperbole with which this topic has been discussed in the media, it is understandable—though regrettable—that many Americans have a negative reaction to the proposal. It is extremely unfortunate, however, that some of our would-be leaders are using this moment to fan the flames of division and intolerance.

The question of whether Muslims in New York have the right to build an Islamic Center near Ground Zero isn’t really a question at all: Of course they do; this is America. Religious freedom is one of the foundations upon which this nation was built. Every American has the right to worship how and where they see fit.

This principle, enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution, is one of many that make me proud to be an American. But others apparently think it should be revisited. For example, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich recently suggested that when it comes to religious freedom, America should follow the lead of Saudi Arabia.

“There should be no mosque near Ground Zero in New York so long as there are no churches or synagogues in Saudi Arabia,” Gingrich said.

Gingrich is clearly hoping to ride this issue all the way to the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, though I don’t know that suggesting that America take its cues from an Islamic theocracy is the best strategy.

Not all opponents of the New York mosque are making as radical a case as the former House speaker. Some have acknowledged that Muslims have the right to build a mosque in lower Manhattan, but say they should have the decency to refrain from exercising that right because of the attacks of nine years ago.

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Ashburn Youth Center honors Columbus Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr. at annual fundraiser

By Felix Hoover

For Your News Columbus

Oct. 14, 2010

A West Side youth center and the honoree at its annual Speaker’s Award Banquet gave the audience a glimpse of milestones coming in 2012.

For the J. Ashburn Jr. Youth Center, that year will celebrate its golden anniversary serving youths and families on the Hilltop. For Columbus Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr., it will mark 35 years with the Division of Fire, including 10 years as chief.

Youths were represented on the dais and in the audience. Jalen Hopkins, a junior at the Arts and College Preparatory Academy, demonstrated why she’s in demand as a singer at many local events, such as the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Breakfast.

Pettus, a 1969 graduated of Linden McKinley High School, directed part of his talk to the young people in attendance, telling them about many of the opportunities available to firefighters and encouraging them to prepare for a life of service.

He said that the division will lose most of its diversity in 2011, when many African-Americans are scheduled to retire Many of the blacks who joined the fire division in the 1970s, including Pettus, did so because of a court-ordered recruitment program that required the city to hire minorities for half of its openings. Without special recruitment efforts, loss of diversity is expected in fire forces throughout the country, he said.

Pettus said he hopes local programs, possibly in conjunction with Columbus City Schools, will ensure that African-Americans are part of the city’s future fire force.

Right after his speech, Pettus received this year’s Jacob Julian Ashburn Community Leadership Award, which is presented to someone who has demonstrated outstanding leadership locally, regionally or nationally. It was the vision of board member Rachel Ashburn Mallory and is named in honor of her father, the late Rev. Jacob Julian Ashburn.

Mallory was unable to attend Thursday program, so Elder Jennifer Ann Ashburn and other family members presented the award to Pettus.

Mallory’s father, the center’s founder and first executive director, began programs for youths at the old Oakley Baptist Church, where he was pastor. He named the center after his father, the Rev. Jacob Ashburn Jr.

Jaymes Saunders, the center’s second director, attended the banquet and received praise from current Executive Director Keith J. Neal. He thanked her for keeping the Ashburn Center alive and for orchestrating the construction of its current building on Clarendon Avenue.

Before delivering the benediction, Overseer Jonathan McReynolds, senior pastor at Oakley Baptist, promised renewed help from the church in support of the youth center.’s 2012 campaign.