UC, Coney Island plan tributes to honor civil rights icon Marian Spencer

Marian Spencer, who led the fight to integrate the Sunlite Pool at Cincinnati's Coney Island Amusement Park in the 1950s, will be remembered Saturday when park officials announce the dedication of a lifeguard chair to honor the civil rights leader, politician and educator.

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A memorial plaque will be affixed to a lifeguard chair at the pool next season, park officials said Friday.

There is a statue of her being planned as well, our news partner at wcpo.com reports. The location is still being determined.

The announcement about the Sunlite Pool honor will be made during a memorial celebration of Mrs. Spencer's life, which will be Saturday as well at Fifth Third Arena at the University of Cincinnati.

Mrs. Spencer was 99 at the time of her death on July 9.

Her legacy includes her being the first female president of the Cincinnati Banch NAACP, the first African-American woman on city council as well as the first female vice mayor.

Her work also was essential in the fight for equality at UC, where she and other black people were not allowed to live in the dormitories when she was a student there in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

In 2018, UC's Marian Spencer Hall was dedicated to pay homage to her work.

The celebration at the arena will feature singing, guest speakers, authors, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Spencer family and a reception following the free event that begins Saturday at 3 p.m. Arena doors open at 1 p.m.

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