Our final spotlight of Black History Month is a well-known figure in Cincinnati’s history of civil rights and activism, Marian Spencer. Born in Gallipolis, Ohio in 1920, Marian Alexander was a graduate of Gallia Academy and went on to study English literature at the University of Cincinnati. During her time at the university, she was involved in campus life and was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. While here, she also met her husband, Donald Spencer. After college, the couple settled down and had two sons, Donald and Edward.
Spencer’s sons were actually what sparked her passion for civil rights and equality. When the boys were young, they wanted to go to an event at Coney Island Amusement Park but were disappointed when they showed up and were escorted out because it was a segregated event. Spencer, along with 28 other witnesses filed a lawsuit and won the case to desegregate the park.
Following this event, Spencer dedicated herself to fighting for civil rights and equality in the Cincinnati area. She spent time as the NAACP Cincinnati Chapter president, served on Cincinnati’s City Council and was a representative of Ohio’s Democratic Party at a national level. Even more than this, Spencer was passionate about equality in education and played a pivotal role in the 1974 Bronson case, which was a catalyst in desegregating Cincinnati Public Schools. Other organizations Spencer worked with include Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Planned Parenthood, Cincinnati Human Services Task Force and the U.S. Civil Rights Commission Ohio Advisory Board.
You might recognize Marian Spencer’s name by the street that’s named after her downtown, the dormitory that’s named after her or perhaps by her well-known scholarship here at UC. To learn more about Marian Spencer’s life and work, visit the digital exhibit:
Our second Black History Month spotlight goes to a pioneer of medicine in the Cincinnati area, Lucy Oxley – the first African American to graduate from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Lucy Oxley was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1912. During her childhood, her family moved to Cincinnati, as her father was named rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. As a young girl, Oxley looked up to three of her uncles who became doctors and knew early on that she wanted to be one too. She graduated early from Woodward High School and joined the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine’s six-year undergraduate and medical program.
During her time at UC, Oxley excelled, working hard to earn her spot in the group of top fifteen students who would have the chance to intern at General Hospital (UC Medical Center). However, she was refused an internship spot. When she questioned Dr. Alfred Friedlander about why she wasn’t given an internship, he said to her, “Lucy, you are a negro, and we don’t want you.” Oxley replied, “Well Dr. Friedlander, I wouldn’t change that for anything.” Rising above the prejudice, she went on to complete her internship at Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, DC, and returned to Cincinnati to join her classmates for graduation on June 5, 1936.
After graduation, Oxley became a medical director for student wellness at Bennett College in North Carolina, and then Wilberforce College here in Ohio. Following that, she had a daughter, Francine, and returned to Cincinnati where she started her general practice. In 1945 she began working in cancer research alongside fellow UC grad, George Sperti. A few years later she returned to full-time practice in family medicine where she cared for thousands of patients and families.
Later in life, Oxley was diagnosed with lung cancer but continued to treat patients up until her passing in 1991. She is remembered today for her dedication to those she cared for and for paving the way for young African Americans who aim to make a difference in the medical field just as she did.
Join the University of Cincinnati Libraries and the Elliston Poetry Room for a hands-on discussion & workshop about creating visual cento poetry.
Dior Stephens, poet and PhD graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, will kick things off with an introduction of the cento form. Katie Foran-Mulcahy, librarian and head of the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services Library, will provide an overview of library collections and how to navigate the stacks before sending participants to explore and collect lines and possible visual elements from various texts. D.J. Trischler, assistant professor of communication design at UC’s Ullman School of Design in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning will then talk about found art as the canvas and give tips on how to use text and images to express meaning.
This will culminate in participants creating their own cento poetry – no prior experience required.
UC Clermont Library maintains several book displays across the UC Clermont campus: one that features new materials in the library and three other throughout campus that pertain to timely issues. We feature all of the materials available in these physical displays on our digital display website and on our New Books Blog so that you can explore what is on our physical display shelves from the comfort of your home, access electronic materials, and request items from each display. Our display topics for the month of February 2025 are Black History Month, the Great Backyard Bird Count, and World Day of Social Justice.
In celebration of Black History Month, we are highlighting African American figures who were influential in their efforts to further civil rights, education and leadership in the city of Cincinnati and America.
Our first spotlight is Theodore Berry. A native of the area, Berry was born in Maysville, Kentucky in 1905. As a young adult, he attended the University of Cincinnati where he received his BA and Law degree, and later in life, his Doctor of Laws.
After his time at UC, Berry served as president for the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP, served as morale officer in the Office of War Information, acted as lead defense attorney for the Tuskegee Airmen and served four terms on Cincinnati’s City Council. After an unsuccessful campaign for a fifth City Council term, Berry became a representative for future president John F. Kennedy. Once Kennedy was in office, Berry continued to pioneer civil rights by bringing the NAACP into the White House and serving on its National Board of Directors.
In 1963 Berry was elected for a fifth term on City Council and ended his time there when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him director of Federal Community Action Programs and assistant director of the Office of Economic Opportunity. Nine years later, Berry was sworn in as the first African American Mayor of Cincinnati. Berry retired from political life in 1975 and passed away 25 years later in 2000.
Through his life and work, it’s easy to see that Theodore Berry was a figure who was revered, trusted and that he made a big impact on Cincinnati and beyond. We are proud to honor him this month and always.
His papers, including correspondence, photographs, news clippings, reports, studies and minutes of meetings are located in the Archives and Rare Books Library. To learn more about Theodore Berry, visit the digital exhibit:
The University of Cincinnati libraries has chosen not to renew its subscription to RefWorks due to low usage and increasing costs. Access to the citation manager will end at the end of May 2025.
It is highly recommended that users switch to a new citation manager before beginning any new projects that may extend past May 2025 and prior to the May 2025 deadline. Those with questions or who need assistance with switching to a new citation manager should contact a subject librarian or review the Switching Citation Manager help page.
UC Libraries is continuing to provide support for Zotero and EndNote. More information can be found on the Citation Manager Research Guide.
Last November, the University of Cincinnati Libraries announced the award of an Archives Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission to the Libraries’ Archives and Rare Books Library (ARB). This grant supports the archival processing of records related to the lawsuit Bronson v. Board of Education of the City School District of the City of Cincinnati maintained by the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and donated to the University of Cincinnati in the 1980s.
For the continuing blog series on this project, project archivist Julianna Witt provides a timeline of events from the filing of the case in 1974 to its settlement nearly a decade later.
May 29, 1974
Bronson v. Board of Education of the City of Cincinnati is filed on behalf of Mona Bronson, and other school children by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to address racial isolation in Cincinnati’s public schools. The lawsuit is filed against the Cincinnati Board of Education, Ohio State Board of Education, State Superintendent, Attorney General, and Governor.
January 30, 1975
The affirmative defense opinion by Judge David S. Porter of the District Court is declared. Judge Porter raises the question whether the decision in the earlier Cincinnati desegregation case Deal v. Board of Education is still viable in the 10 years since the decision and if the same matters can be re-litigated. Judge Porter finds that the decision in Deal v. Board is still acceptable, and the doctrine of res judicata is acknowledged. This doctrine prevents the plaintiffs from relitigating arguments prior to the July 1965 Deal v. Board decision.
April 23, 1975
The plaintiffs file an appeal that transferred the case to the Sixth Circuit Court. Judge C.J. Lively and Judge Harry Phillips find that res judicata does not apply and instead collateral estoppel, which is the least strict of the two re-litigation doctrines. They introduce the fact that this does not prevent the plaintiffs from bringing forth post-July1965 evidence that occurred after Deal v. Board. Pre-Deal v. Board evidence can also be offered, however, only if the evidence is introduced on behalf of children born or not of school age as of July 1965 as long as it does not contradict earlier arguments. A rehearing of the appeal is denied, and the case is returned to the District Court.
June 27, 1980
Judge Porter retires and the case is transferred to Judge Walter H. Rice. Judge Rice issues “Entry Setting Forth This Court’s Interpretation of Sixth Circuit Opinion in Bronson v. Board of Education” which asserts Judge Porter’s affirmative defense opinion.
October 14, 1980
The plaintiffs file a response memorandum with the court that introduces the dual school system theory which was argued in two United States Supreme Court cases, Dayton Board of Education v. Brinkman and Columbus Board of Education v. Penick. Both cases ended in 1979 and evidence in both found that in the Cincinnati schools, dual school systems were existent in May 1954, the date of the Brown v. Board decision. Since this was not discussed in Deal v. Board, the plaintiffs maintain that the case does not have to follow collateral estoppel completely.
February 11, 1982
Judge Rice decides collateral estoppel is still in effect as there is not sufficient evidence to suggest that Cincinnati schools had a dual school system but enough reasoning to consider if evidence is brought forth. The plaintiffs cannot relitigate the exact arguments that were discussed in Deal v. Board. However, they do not have any restrictions when it comes to pre- or post-July 1965 evidence that was declared in 1975 and 1980.
December 19, 1983
Judge Rice accepts the suburban school districts’ motion for summary judgement and dismisses them from the case. In the court pleadings, Judge Rice explains the reason for dismissal as the plaintiffs were unable to produce sufficient evidence to find the suburban school districts guilty of unlawful segregation. Cincinnati Board of Education and the State defendants have not been excused.
April 6, 1984
A settlement is reached and agreed by both sides without going to trial. This does not include the suburban school district defendants, as they were dismissed. The matters of the settlement include:
The Cincinnati Board of Education has seven years to reduce the current Taeuber Index of Dissimilarity score by 17 points. This index measures racial composition within a school compared to the district.
The Board can decide how they will reduce racial isolation. However, they must claim responsibility to achieve the target Taeuber Index score.
The State will provide financial assistance for efforts in reducing racial isolation with some restrictions.
A committee will meet yearly to review the district’s progress.
This project has been made possible in part by grant RH-104772-24 from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this blog post do not necessarily represent those of the NHPRC.
At the next event, scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 4:30pm, three poets will read their original work:
Aditi Machado is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Material Witness from Nightboat; a novel translation from the French; and several pamphlets of nonfiction prose and poetry. Soon-to-be published works include a book-length translation of Swiss poet Baptiste Gaillard’s In the Realm of Motes and the collaborative mistranslation project Ancient Algorithms headed by Katrine Øgaard Jensen. Machado is an Associate Professor at UC and an Advisory Poetry Editor at The Paris Review.
Abigail Rudibaugh is a writer and teacher. Her writing has been published in Pensworth Literary Journal, Noble Pursuit Magazine, and Fathom Magazine. Abigail holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching through the Ohio Writing Project at Miami University as well as a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry through Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University. She calls Cincinnati, Ohio home with her husband and two daughters.
Whitney Hendrix is an undergraduate senior at the University of Cincinnati. Raised in a small conservative town in Northeast Ohio, she much enjoys the Cincinnati student lifestyle. She will graduate this Spring with degrees in English Creative Writing and Film and Media Studies. Whitney mainly writes poetry but is inspired by all genres and forms of storytelling. Her work explores themes of identity, the mundane every day, memory, and childhood. Most of Whitney’s literary inspiration comes from her dream journal and her favorite fiction novelist Ottessa Moshfegh.
The University of Cincinnati Libraries will be closed Monday, Jan. 20 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Libraries will resume normal hours on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Martin Luther King, Jr. from LIFE Magazine
This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we invite you to join the Libraries Racial Equity, Support & Programming to Educate the Community Team (RESPECT) in commemorating this civil rights legend by checking out these library resources. In addition, just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about Martin Luther King, Jr., History.com has compiled a list of 10 surprising facts that you probably didn’t know. For example, Martin Luther King, entered Morehouse College at the tender age of only 15!
