Milwaukee native Kesha Wilkinson has carried her faith to Madison, and lived it out primarily through her involvement in on-campus Christian movements. She serves as advisor to the UW-Madison Gospel Choir and the UW-Madison Christian Student Multicultural Council, an organization she founded in 2014. She also works as an ambassador for the Wisconsin chapter of The Impact Movement, a campus Christian organization for people of color.
Rank your Top 5 MCs
- Andy Mineo
- Lecrae
- Common
- Queen Latifah
- Kanye West (The Jesus Walks Kanye West)
Which motivates you more: doubters or supporters? Supporters. I am a very independent and motivated person. I don’t allow doubters to stop me but there are moments when hope begins to fade and that’s when I need supporters. People that have my back. That are praying for and with me. That would encourage me and give me that extra push I need.
What does it mean to be black in Madison? It means that creativity is your best friend! You can’t come to Madison and expect it to provide everything you need. In many cases, it has to be created. Being black in Madison means being willing to be a part of creating a city and community you want. That’s what I see happening. People like Pastor Alex Gee, Sabrina Madison, Kaleem and Lisa Caire, and many more creating the programs, events, etc. that would over time turn this city into the place we all hope to see in the future.
What three leaders in Madison under 50 have impressed you the most?
Catrina Sparkman
Jasmine Zapata
Sabrina (HeyMissProgress) Madison
What’s the biggest stumbling block in Madison to turning the corner on our racial disparities? I feel like Madison is in a place where things are changing. It’s definitely not perfect and it’s not going as fast as I would want but there is some progress. We just can’t lose momentum. We need to keep pushing forward towards the place we seek to be.
What are your top three priorities at this point in your life?
- Reflect Christ
- Seek opportunities to grow and learn.
- Die Empty. I am still pretty young, especially to be thinking about death, but the reality is we don’t know how much time we have on this earth. I once heard Myles Monroe say “the richest place on earth is the cemetery. There buried are books never written, songs never song, businesses never started, wisdom never given and dreams never fulfilled.” I want to die empty, with every gift, purpose, and dream fulfilled. My priority is to live everyday giving and doing everything I am called to do so that when my time comes I have had given all that I was to give.
You’re the campus coach for the faith-based organization Impact at UW-Madison. It’s a similar organization to Intervarsity and Cru, but focused on people of color. Cru and Intervarsity have a lot of students on staff. You are the only staff for Impact, which is mostly volunteer-run. Why do you think you have so many challenges fundraising when the other Christian organizations are thriving on Campus? Has that impacted reaching people of color on campus? The challenges lie in the differences in culture. In the black church, a black missionary is not really heard of. In many cases, what you do for God is in the church and in the surrounding community. You don’t give to Para-Church ministries like The Impact Movement. You give to the church and only the church. So when I enter these spaces, many times I am faced with a lot a push back instead of support.
Although this idea of giving towards missions in the white church is more common, I am still faced with a lot of push back. When I seek funds from white Christians I am faced with people that don’t understand the importance of a ministry that is specifically for students of African Descent. Ministries like Cru and Intervarsity are very white culture focused. When black students of the Christian faith enter a predominantly white university they are faced with the struggle of deciding to be a part of the Christian community that is mostly white or the black community. In many cases, black students choose the black community. Impact is the only place where students can fully be themselves, Black Christian students.
White Christians don’t always understand this struggle and the importance of having a ministry like Impact. Many times I am faced with questions like Why just black students? Hasn’t God called us all to be in fellowship and community? And Yes, God has called us to be in community with all but unfortunately the spaces that are created for all students doesn’t have students of color, including students of African descent, in mind when developing programming to reach students for Christ. When the only option is Cru or Intervarsity, black students miss out on a great opportunity to grow and encounter Christ.
What have you learned from working with Pastor Alex Gee? I have to say that the one thing that I have learned from him that have dramatically impacted my life is actually from before I started working with him. Around 4 or 5 years ago before I became a member of Fountain of Life(FOL), I visited FOL with some friends from college. Pastor Gee spoke about keeping stones based off of the story of Joshua leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. Each tribe took a stone from the center of the river Jordan to remember what God had done for them. Pastor Gee talked about the importance of keeping stones, remembering what God has already done in and for you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t remember that sermon but it’s a word that I continuously go back to as new hard situations and circumstances come my way. Remembering that He provided a way before and He will provide now.
Being from Milwaukee, give me two ways Madison and Milwaukee are different and two ways they’re the same. Unlike Madison, Milwaukee has many opportunities for Black people. There are more job opportunities, resources, communities, etc. Although Madison doesn’t have as many opportunities as Milwaukee, the thing that I have learned to love about Madison is that the size allows for more connection, which creates a greater opportunity to impact the city in a greater way.
Both cities have major racial disparities as well as people that seek to be a part of the change that needs to happen.
As a black woman, do you find it hard to date in Madison? Yes! Especially if you seek to date a black man. Black women outnumber the amount of black men. This is not even taking into consideration faith and educational background. Educational background is less important than faith, but even with that the pool of options is a lot smaller than I would like.
Who is more influential Oprah or Michelle Obama? Both are influential but if I had to choose one I would choose Michelle Obama.
Name your favorite 3 movies and why?
- The Matrix. Just because of that one scene when Neo begins to believe in his abilities and stopped the bullets with his mind. A good reminder that we all of a call and destiny in our lives. If we believe in what God has placed in us, you can end up doing things you never thought or imagined you would do.]
- The Lion King. Simba is separated from his family but remembers that he is to be king and takes back his kingdom. This reminds me to not allow my present circumstances to allow me to forget who I am.
- Beyond the Lights. I just love a good love story but also this movie is full of deeper meaning. Noni, through her relationship with Kaz, let goes of what her mother made her to be and fought to do and be who she really is. This is a great reminder to not allow people including your family to keep you from being who you really are.
