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UC hosts memorial for Marian Spencer

A celebration of life for the activist and alumna takes place Saturday, Aug. 10, at UC’s Fifth Third Arena

headshot of Jacqueline Kern By Jacqueline Kern 5135561823
2 minute read August 5, 2019

Event Information (passed)

Date: - Location: UC's Fifth Third Arena

The University of Cincinnati will host a memorial for civil rights icon and alumna Marian Spencer 3-5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 10 at UC’s Fifth Third Arena. A reception will follow in the arena’s east concourse.

WLWT news anchor Courtis Fuller will serve as emcee. The program includes:

  • Ritual ceremonies by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and The Links, Incorporated

  • Invocation by Rev. David J. Brentley, associate pastor, New Vision United Methodist Church

  • Remarks by UC President Neville G. Pinto; Spencer’s sons Donald Spencer, Jr., and Edward Spencer; Robert S. Brown; Hon. Nathaniel R. Jones, Blank Rome LLP, retired circuit judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Roxanne Qualls, former aide to Spencer and former mayor, City of Cincinnati; Bleuzette Marshall, PhD, vice president for equity, inclusion & community impact, University of Cincinnati; Laura Mitchell, superintendent, Cincinnati Public Schools; Aliyana, Serenity, Janyia & Nakia, Winton Hills Montessori, authors and illustrators, “Marian Spencer, A Light in the Darkness”; and Hon. Cheryl D. Grant, retired judge and associate minister, Zion Baptist Church

  • Musical selections by the New Vision United Methodist Church Choir and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra String Quartet

  • Keynote address by Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., pastor emeritus, Mount Olive Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Benediction by Rev. Jeannine L. Walker, senior pastor, New Vision United Methodist Church

All are welcome to attend. Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Parking on UC’s campus will be free.

After 99 years of service to her community, Marian Spencer died on Tuesday, July 9, 2019. A civil rights pioneer, Spencer's name will be forever remembered on UC’s campus, a place she and her late husband, Donald Spencer, forever changed and meaningfully reshaped.

Read more about Spencer’s legacy at UC, across Cincinnati and beyond.

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