CINCINNATI — On a quarter acre of the Cincinnati riverfront, a series of concrete slopes and pillars are taking shape. The $8.5 million project to create the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame is due for completion in the summer.
Alicia Reece, Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame founder and president of the Hamilton County Commission, explained that the walk will be far more than an outdoor stroll. It will be interactive, filled with light shows, the latest technology and opportunities for people who have hearing and sight disabilities to participate.
"When you first come in," Reece said, "you'll be hit with different kiosks, and the kiosks and stars are spread out."
Renderings found on the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame website show bright displays including a way for visitors to interact and "play" with Cincinnati music legend Bootsy Collins. During a hard-hat tour of the walk of fame, Reece pointed out the now-empty box that will feature Collins.
"Bootsy will come out on the screen and say 'Hey guys, my band didn't show up. Can you help me out?' And there will be a place for you to stand ... and (you're) in with Bootsy Collins, playing with him," Reece said.
Cincinnati doesn't always have the best weather, but Reece said the outdoor displays will work during even the worst of winter.
"Oh, it's gonna work," Reece said. "They've got a camera that's never been seen before. So, again, we will be a leader in technology. We've got folks from the tech space coming to see how we're doing this. It's unbelievable."
Reece said she sees the walk of fame as an extension of sorts of the Cincinnati Music Festival, which draws people from all over the country to the city each summer and brings $100 million to the local economy. However, the county said no specific economic study as to how many people the walk of fame will draw has been conducted.
In June 2022, the founding members and first set of inductees were announced, including Collins, the group Midnight Star and Hi-Tek.
"So this is inclusion, it's equity, it's tourism," Reece said.
Adding to the excitement of the attraction is radio host Lincoln Ware, who serves as board chair for the walk. Ware said a walk of fame honoring Black musicians is sorely needed.
"I tell you, it's huge," Ware said. "We've got so many people that are famous, not just (to us) here in Cincinnati, but around the world, but they recognize them around the world, but not here in Cincinnati."
The total cost of the project is listed at $23 million, but $15 million of that is for the parking garage below and a slope built so the walkway can exist. Procter & Gamble has pledged $250,000 to pay for the stars on the walkway encased in granite.
Reece said the walk of fame is "the least expensive project in the history of The Banks." Additionally, she said all money being spent for it comes from the American Rescue Plan, or ARPA Funds. Those funds were given to the county during the COVID pandemic to be used in multiple ways, but one of them is listed on the government's website as to be used for things like, "important long-term assets that provide benefits over many years."
She said the project is a long-overdue tribute on the riverfront celebrating people of color.
"We lived here," Reece said. "There's not one Black-owned business. Billions have been spent. The garage costs more, the tailgating space (is) $30 million and this is not even $10 million."
Ware put a finer point on the need.
"We never did get our 40 acres and a mule," said Ware. "So give us this half acre for the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame. How about that?"
Reece said Monday that Louise Shropshire has been inducted into the walk of fame. The late Cincinnatian composed the hymn "If My Jesus Wills," which is believed to be the basis for "We Shall Overcome."
