View Comments Marian Spencer, a civil rights activist with a "spine of steel" who led local desegregation efforts, will be honored this weekend with the city's first public sculpture modeled after a real woman. The sculpture, commissioned by the Women's City Club, will be unveiled at Smale Park on Sunday from 5 to 6 p.m. Spencer, who died in 2019, is most remembered for leading the charge to desegregate Coney Island and Cincinnati Public Schools. She had leadership roles on Cincinnati City Council, the NAACP, the University of Cincinnati and Women's City Club. She was also a co-founder of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.