The City of Cincinnati recently memorialized the late social justice advocate Rev. Rousseau O'Neal II with an honorary street renaming outside his church in Avondale. Vice Mayor Jan Michele Lemon Kearney read a proclamation declaring the renaming while family, council members and the mayor stood on.
Rev. O'Neal died in 2017. He was the pastor for 17 years at Rockdale Baptist Church and was a council member in Forest Park in the 90s. He was a champion for education, affordable housing and worker's rights.
He was remembered for helping the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency on its "Justice for Janitors" campaign and also worked with the Cincinnati NAACP in the fight to hire minorities and women for construction projects on the Banks.
Joining Cincinnati Edition to discuss the life and legacy of Rev. Rousseau O'Neal II are New Jerusalem Baptist Church Pastor Rev. Damon Lynch, Jr.; and Former Executive Secretary Treasurer with the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Doug Sizemore.
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