BOOTSY COLLINS CELEBRATES THE CINCINNATI BLACK MUSIC WALK OF FAME WITH FOUNDER ALICIA REECE.
In some ways, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are similar. They both are more than 200 years old, have roughly the same population (300,000), are filled with hills, its residents love their professional sports teams like the Bengals and Steelers, Reds and Pirates…
The cities have a popular university named after it, in Pitt and “UC” (University of Cincinnati). And miraculously, the Ohio River cuts right through Cincinnati, with the river actually originating…that’s right, in Pittsburgh.
Both cities have longstanding African American heritage. Pittsburgh has the August Wilson African American Cultural Center; Cincinnati has the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, both Downtown.
But come Saturday, July 22, Cincinnati will have something that Pittsburgh doesn’t — a Black Music Walk of Fame.
Many Black Pittsburghers are familiar with the annual Cincinnati Music Festival, which brings more than 100,000 people to Cincinnati’s pro football stadium to hear numerous R&B acts each summer. The grand opening of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame will coincide with the festival weekend.
The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame will be an interactive outdoor technology park near the pro football stadium (Paycor Stadium) on the banks of the Ohio River. The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned it will feature the stars and stories of Black musicians of influence from the Cincinnati area, which is also known as the “Queen City.”
The Walk of Fame will also feature “augmented reality,” as people can dance to the beat of pulse drums, which will be synchronized with an illumination. Keep dancing (on beat), and one will receive a light show inside a nearby fountain. A person can also sing and perform virtually with some of that person’s favorite Walk of Fame inductees.
The grand opening on July 22 will also feature a live, in-person performance from the Ohio Players, who performed at Pittsburgh’s Juneteenth festival, June 19.
ALICIA REESE
“This new state-of-the-art interactive tourism attraction celebrating the rich culture of Black musical artists, producers, and songwriters will educate, entertain and attract tourists worldwide while bringing together multi-generations of families to enjoy at this free park,” said Alicia Reece, the Walk of Fame founder, in a statement obtained by the Courier. Reece is a Hamilton County Commissioner whose mother, Barbara Howard, was a vocalist. Howard’s album, “On The Rise,” was produced by Reece’s father, Steven Reece.
Pittsburghers who take the five-hour trip to Cincinnati for next weekend’s Cincinnati Music Festival will most likely be among the first Western Pennsylvania residents to experience the Black Music Walk of Fame firsthand. The ceremony begins at noon, located precisely next to the Andrew J. Brady Center, 25 Race St. It’s an “All White” clothing affair.
The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame was created in 2021, but did not have a physical location. Reece fought like the dickens to find the $24 million in funding for the project, as she first brought the proposal to the public during a press conference on April 26, 2021. She stood in Downtown Cincinnati, next to “an empty lot filled with gravel and rocks,” as Reece has said. She saw the vision for what the empty lot could become.
“From a gravel lot covered with rocks to becoming one of the greatest world-renowned outdoor Black music tourism attractions is historic,” Reece said in 2021. “Through the interactive elements and use of the latest technology, we will connect our rich Black music legacy as inspiration to the generations of future music legends to come.”
The first inductees into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame in 2021 were Bootsy Collins, the Isley Brothers, Dr. Charles Fold and Otis Williams. In 2022, the inductees were: Penny Ford, Midnight Star, Wilbert Longmire, and Hi-Tek. This year, 2023, the inductees will be: James Brown, Louise Shropshire, The Deele and Philippé Wynne.
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