Center for Black Excellence in Madison will celebrate Black culture in Wisconsin

Wisconsin shouldn’t and needn’t be the worst state in America for Black people to live. Milwaukee, and Madison, shouldn’t and needn’t be the worst cities in America for Black people to live.

Our national reputation, based on statistical data showing racial disparities in education, criminal justice and income is limiting our ability to attract and retain talent and grow our economy; in addition to being morally wrong. It’s destructive. It’s embarrassing. And it’s often met with the response/question, “What can I do?” The implication is that the problem is too big and thus the answer is “nothing.”

But we can do something, and we must. And in Madison we are. We are building the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, a Black-inspired, Black-designed and Black-led project that will help change Wisconsin’s image and reality.

The idea and motivation for the center is rooted in current Black life experiences and my own family history.

My mother moved to Madison from Chicago just over 50 years ago to pursue a college degree and provide a brighter future for my sister and me. The Gee family now consists of three generations of University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates. The university, and a small but thriving community of Black UW alumni, offered opportunities, resources and friendships that allowed us to create lives of unlimited promise, rooted in Black excellence and Black culture.

Plans call for the Center for Black Excellence and Culture to open in 2024. It will be situated on 3.5 acres on the 700 block of W. Badger Road in the historic Black neighborhood of S. Park St., in Madison.

Our focus on Blackness means celebrating the culture and history of those Wisconsinites who are African, Caribbean, Afro-Latino, and of course, African American. The Center for Black Excellence and Culture is a return on that investment, and an acknowledgement of the hundreds of Black respondents who, answering my question of what they needed most, said a place, for us, to gather, to celebrate our history and our contributions. Hundreds of people said they need a place to rescue, heal and reinforce themselves; a place to develop Black leaders and successful and creative children, a place to create economic independence and wealth, a place that promotes wellness, a space that is ours.

The center is that space. It is at once a national model created with input from Lord Cultural Resources, international consultants on projects including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well as a place for Black people in Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Viroqua and Eau Claire, and throughout Wisconsin to gather, reaffirm and celebrate.

In conjunction with the University of Wisconsin, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and Black medical professionals, researchers and scientists, the center will draw on the latest data on the impact of inequities and injustice on Black lives and how a physical place like the center can improve health outcomes for Black people.

More than any yard sign or T-shirt, changing the trajectory of Black health disparities is Black lives mattering in action. And that affirmation of results over rhetoric is resonating with the broader business community and a growing number of white allies. In the wake of the pandemic, as well as the racial justice demonstrations of 2020, business, nonprofits and local government officials have become more deliberate in seeking to support people of color.

Well-meaning white people providing what they think Black people need; remedial programs, training, “assistance,” is as ineffective as it is insulting. The support shown for the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, what Black people say they need, has been extraordinary. Business executives and CEOs collectively − not their companies, but personally − have contributed more than a million dollars.

In all, businesses, philanthropists and government, including state, national and global businesses like Summit Credit Union, American Family Insurance, CUNA Mutual Group, UW Health, as well as Gov. Tony Evers, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), and dozens more, have helped us reach more than half of our $36 million goal. The Green Bay Packers kicked in $250,000. Milwaukee Bucks president Peter Feigin is a member of our capital campaign team. We are grateful for support from throughout Wisconsin, and we welcome partners from everywhere in the state.

Of course, there are many benefits to statewide business and organizations. Black talent needs a community in which people can thrive and prosper. And Wisconsin must do a better job attracting and retaining Black talent for it to thrive and prosper. This project is life-changing. It isn’t simply being built for Black people, but by Black influencers.

The Center for Black Excellence and Culture is a place for Black people to welcome and entertain Black dignitaries, to enjoy and celebrate Black art, theater, music and performances. It is part of the “life after work” experience that Black people find lacking in Wisconsin cities, and why so many leave. And beyond that, it is a place of renewal and aspiration. Ultimately it is a place for everyone.

The Rev. Dr. Alex Gee is a lifelong Madison resident, pastor of Fountain of Life Church, founder/CEO of the nonprofit Nehemiah Center of Urban Leadership and host of the podcast Black Like Me. He is founder of the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, which is planned for Madison.

Acknowledging the tangible relevance of African diaspora history and contributions, we, Black, brown and white, will all benefit from making our state more welcoming, healthy and prosperous for everyone. Despite perceptions, Madison and Milwaukee have been partners in ensuring the vitality of our state. My family along with many others regularly traveled to Milwaukee for Black culture, food and entertainment.

The Center for Black Excellence and Culture in Madison will be a complementary, culturally affirming space to experience brilliance, greatness and innovation, Black brilliance, Black greatness and Black innovation.

Let’s be partners in creating this vision. Together, we can lead the way to changing the narrative of racially disparate Wisconsin to a national model of diversity and inclusion. This is our moment to make it happen. We welcome everyone in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin to join us.

The Rev. Dr. Alex Gee is founder of the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, which is planned on 3.5 acres on the 700 block of West Badger Road in the historic Black neighborhood of S. Park St., in Madison. Plans call for the center to open in 2024. Gee is a lifelong Madison resident, pastor of Fountain of Life Church, and founder/CEO of the nonprofit Nehemiah Center of Urban Leadership Development.

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