That is the first statue of a real woman in Cincinnati. A surprising fact since Cincinnati is Ohio’s largest metropolitan area, the nation’s 29th-largest, its first settlers arrived in 1788, and the city is home to hundreds of statues of men.
The Woman’s City Club of Greater Cincinnati initiated the project to commemorate Spencer’s legacy and contribution with a statue. They managed the committee, the fundraising efforts and chose the artists- Gina Erardi and Tom Tsuchiya to create it. The statue was dedicated on Sunday, June 27th, 2021, on what would have been her 101st birthday.
Marian Spencer (1920-2019) was a civil rights activist, a politician, the Vice Mayor of the Cincinnati City Council, who throughout her life contributed to the development of Cincinnati.
Spencer was born and lived in Ohio her whole life. She arrived at Cincinnati to study at the University of Cincinnati and stayed, married, and had 2 sons. Since her arrival to the city, she worked to end segregation and discrimination against black people. Because of her work, desegregation happened in Coney Island, YWCA summer camps, and pools nationwide. Her activism work got her the nickname “Ms. Civil Rights.” Besides having her statue becoming the first in the city to honor a real woman, and especially an African American woman, she was the first African American woman elected to the City Council, the first African American president of the Woman’s City Club, and more.
The life-size bronze statue depicts Spencer greeting a boy and a girl. Her right hand holds the girl’s, while her left hand invites the visitor to connect and hold her hand. On the ground, a formal invitation reads “Hold Hands and Unite.”
Her quote on a bench behind the statue reads- “Be Smart, Be polite, Vote and Keep on Fighting.”
This post is also available in:
Español
This post is also available in:
Español
