She fought to desegregate Coney Island's Sunlite Pool. She would think its closure was justice.

Marian Spencer is not here to speak for herself, and no one can truly say they know what her thoughts on the demolition of Sunlite Pool might be. Still, I wanted to hear from those who knew her best.

Cincinnati Enquirer

Revered civil rights icon and former Cincinnati vice mayor Marian Spencer died at the age of 99 in 2019, less than a year shy of her 100th birthday. The irony wasn't lost on me that Coney Island's Sunlite Pool, the public swimming pool she fought tirelessly to desegregate in the 1950s, got demolished less than a year before its 100th anniversary. The two, it seems, were always destined to intertwine.

The thought crossed my mind more than a few times − as I'm sure it has with many Cincinnatians − what would Spencer have said about the closing of Coney Island and Sunlite Pool? Would she have fought as hard to save the iconic Cincinnati structure as she did to integrate it seven decades ago? Or, would she have been OK with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's plan to convert Coney Island's footprint into a new music venue?

Spencer is not here to speak for herself, and no one can truly say they know what her thoughts on the demolition of Sunlite Pool might be. Still, I wanted to hear from those who knew her best − one of her two sons and a grandson − to perhaps gain some insight. What I learned might surprise you.

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While Sunlite Pool holds fond memories for many throughout Greater Cincinnati, Black people's relationship with the pool is much more complex, especially if you're a child of the 1950s. Those Black residents remember when they weren't allowed to swim at Sunlite Pool during the era of Jim Crow, and those memories are painful to this day. Spencer successfully led the charge to reverse that injustice. However, it took several years and court cases even after Coney Island was integrated before the owners of Sunlite Pool finally relented and allowed Blacks to swim there.

"My mother's reaction would have been that it was fine to create a new venue," said her son, Edward Spencer of Richmond, Calif. "What was there before, the history is not something that Black people would be particularly interested in maintaining."

Edward Spencer, now 80 years old, acknowledged his mother was of two minds. She was a politician, and she was also the mother of two kids who were discriminated against.

"From a political sense, she would say everything must change; nothing stays the same," Edward Spencer said. "But also she would add that like Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'the moral arc over time bends toward justice,' and this is an arcing towards justice. She would probably add that there's no need for an apology around this position."

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Marian Spencer's views on the closing of Coney Island might also have been complicated by the fact that she and her husband, Donald, were huge supporters and regular patrons of the symphony. In fact, Donald Spencer served on the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's board.

"They had a lot of love for Music Hall," said their grandson, Oliver Spencer. "I don't know what my grandparents would have said, partially because of their relationship with the arts community and their desire to preserve Cincinnati history. I think there would have been an attempt to strike a balance between preserving history and trying to honor the symphony and the wonderful work it does in the community, not only in terms of opportunities to experience musical performance but in terms of music education."

Edward Spencer said his father was a very musical person and was even the founder of an organization for people of color at the University of Cincinnati in the 1940s that put on musicals with music he produced and conducted. It would seem the Spencers might have disagreed with me and others who contend Cincinnati doesn't need another music venue.

Still, both Edward and Oliver Spencer acknowledged Marian Spencer would have been very cognizant of the historical significance of the site.

"It would have meant a lot to my grandparents that the history of my grandmother's desegregation efforts be acknowledged and preserved," Oliver Spencer said.

The Spencers said how that history has been honored by various owners of Coney Island in the years since Sunlite Pool was integrated has been more than disappointing and not nearly enough. The lone acknowledgement being a small plaque near the lifeguard station.

"It was insulting to her and to the community," Edward Spencer said. "I felt as long as the owners were unwilling to make available something greater than a plaque on a lifeguard stand to honor my mother's public accommodation desegregation efforts, they could just tear it down as far as I was concerned."

While many have accused the symphony of being tone deaf to the pleas of the community to preserve Sunlite Pool, they at least appear to be listening to the Spencers about the importance of honoring and preserving Marian's legacy and the history of Sunlite Pool, a pivotal moment in American history and the struggle for civil rights. Edward Spencer confirmed the family was in talks with the CSO to create some type of memorial at the new music venue site, though he declined to speak about any specific details.

"The honoring of the historical significance is important," Edward Spencer said.

Oliver Spencer said, in addition to his grandmother, he'd like to see other local civil rights pioneers who were involved in the fight to desegregate Coney Island and Sunlite Pool honored as well.

"I think they would want to see the legacy of the civil rights pioneers, including them, upheld and that history continue to be taught and made public so that others can be made more aware of it," he said. "Integration of public accommodation is taken for granted, mainly because it's a non-issue for us today. We are the beneficiaries of their dedication and the success of their efforts.

"It's important for young people and Cincinnatians to stay aware of that history so that it's not repeated."

There are many things one can criticize about the way CSO and MEMI have handled the Coney Island/Sunlite Pool closure, but they have a chance to get this one right. Don't shortchange or take the cheap way out in honoring Marian Spencer and paying homage to the significant historical achievement of desegregating Coney Island. If you're going to go big with a $118 million music campus, then go big with the Spencer memorial, too. Marian Spencer was not only a Cincinnati civil rights icon, she was one of CSO's biggest supporters.

"There's no reason Cincinnati shouldn't have the best venue in the country," said MEMI president Mike Smith.

Ditto for memorializing Marian Spencer.

Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com. X, formerly known as Twitter: @kevaldrid.