Cincinnati will honor the life and work of Marian Spencer this weekend, with a celebration at the University of Cincinnati. The civil rights activist died last month at the age of 99. She was the first African American woman elected to Cincinnati council, and the first woman to lead the local chapter of the NAACP.
Her biographer and friend Dot Christenson says it will be a busy day honoring an important Cincinnatian. "One of her mottos was be smart, be polite and keep on fighting and get things done. I think one of her great assets was her civility. The fact she got so much done (was) because she was pleasant about it. She could argue with you very effectively, but she always had a smile on her face and she didn't get angry."
Teresa Reed is coordinating the planning committee for the celebration, and says while Spencer opened doors, her greatest legacy is her heart and her selflessness. "When it came to tackling big issues, they didn't feel like they were big issues. They felt like they were tackling a wrong that just needed to be righted, and it wasn't personal at all. It's just what needed to happen, and that was the approach that she took."
Spencer's youngest son, Edward, says there's a school, a dormitory and a street named for her, but says her capacity for love is her legacy. "She grokked situations really fully through the compassion of her heart and the light of her heart. And she inspired other people to respond in kind," he says.
Spencer says his mother was about interconnectedness and opposed to separation caused by fear. "She was a great counter to the sort of darkness we're experiencing as a culture right now."
Spencer says her light has inspired and will continue to inspire others.
The celebration of Marion Spencer's life begins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The doors to Fifth Third Arena open at 1:30 p.m.
