CINCINNATI — It’s been one year since the Black Music Walk of Fame opened up in Cincinnati. The idea came to Hamilton County Commission president Alicia Reece, and it was several years in the making.
What You Need To Know
- The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame is celebrating its one-year anniversary
- The attraction was a vision of Hamilton County Commission president Alicia Reece
- The walk includes interactive exhibits that showcase the talent of Black musicians in Southwestern Ohio
- The one-year anniversary celebration will occur on Saturday, July 27 starting at noon
It started with a vision, then construction and now to the finished product.
The Black Music Walk of Fame is now very much an attraction in Cincinnati thanks to County Commission President Alicia Reece.
“I’m glad people get to see what was in my head," Reece said.
The interactive monument opened last July and is already getting accolades.
“To get the awards where others are recognizing, you know, this is just our first year and we're rated right there with the Motown Museum," Reece said. "We're rated with the Paisley Park Museum. I mean, that tells a lot about the history that we have, but also tells a lot about the design and the look and the feel.”
While Reece wanted the Walk to be free and accessible, she also wanted it to be a learning experience for people young and old.
“I’m having even adults saying I’m learning something I didn’t know," she said.
In just one year, over 22,000 people have visited the interactive attraction.
To celebrate the one-year anniversary, along with four new inductees, musicians like Bigg Robb will be honored as influencers at the Black Music Walk of Fame.
“I’m just humbled," Bigg Robb said. "All the glory goes to God. Just being a little kid who grew up up listening to these guys records and watching them, sneaking into the clubs to watch them dance and sing and to find myself in the same place with all my heroes is just a dream come true and a blessing.”
The Southern Soul icon will lead a parade of music greats through the Walk of Fame and start the celebrations.
“That’s my legacy is just to try to bring more love into the world, more positivity," he said.
With one year down, what’s next for Cincinnati’s newest tourism attraction? Commissioner Reece hopes it becomes a statewide project.
“If you bring those two together with the music all the way in between, no one has this in their state," Reece said. "And so we're looking to work together with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to bring that musical journey from all the way from the north to the south and the state of Ohio and everything in between.”
The celebrations begin at noon on Saturday July 27th- which is free to the public. The event will feature the unveiling of the 2024 inductee’s stars as well as musical performances.