A who’s-who of Madison’s Black leadership, along with elected officials, philanthropists, journalists and dignitaries, packed the new Center for Black Excellence and Culture on Wednesday for the grand opening of the three-story, 37,000-square-foot building on Madison’s South Side, the culmination of years of community listening sessions, a $32 million debt-free capital campaign, and a vision that founder Rev. Dr. Alex Gee has carried since childhood.
“What a great day to be Black in Wisconsin. What a great day to be Black in America,” Gee told the crowd gathered outside the building on Badger Road, next door to his Fountain of Life Covenant Church and the Nehemiah Center for Leadership Development.
The ceremony drew Gov. Tony Evers, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Sun Prairie Mayor Jason Stocker, and many other local elected officials and dignitaries, as well as La Crosse’s first Black mayor, Shaundel Washington-Spivey, who organized a busload of roughly 25 community leaders from western Wisconsin for the occasion.
In an emotional address, Gee framed the Center as a direct response to a national moment in which Black history and culture are under threat.
“Black culture is not just what we celebrate. Black culture is what we survive with. Black culture is what we build with, and Black culture is what we pass down,” he said. “This center is not optional. This center is necessary. This center is overdue. This center is infrastructure for identity.”
He called the building “not a museum of what was” but “a blueprint for what is next,” and drew a connection to the current political climate: “Even when books disappear, we stand even taller. We need spaces like this more than ever before to let the world know we’re not going anywhere.”
Gee also paid tribute to his sister and co-founder, Lilada Gee, the Center’s Chief Cultural Officer, who he said stewarded the building’s art and design “in spite of a very serious medical diagnosis” and “showed up every day to work in the spirit of our mother and in the spirit of strong Black women everywhere.”
Gov. Evers, whose administration directed $5 million to the Center through the state’s Neighborhood Investment Fund, echoed the significance of the moment.
“At a time when there are those who would rather rewrite history than learn from it, I cannot think of a better mission to celebrate than this,” Evers said, calling the Center “one of a kind” and noting its place in a South Side renaissance along with the Black Business Hub, Centro Hispano, and Madison College’s Goodman South Campus.
Rep. Pocan said the Center is a rebuke to those who view diversity as a weakness. “This isn’t just a push back to that. This is a slam dunk toppling over of that idea, because we are stronger as a community, we are stronger as a state, and we are stronger as a nation because of this facility,” he said.
Deidre Garrett, who, along with husband Jerome, was among the Center’s earliest donors, told the crowd that their giving is rooted in faith and family. “It’s about building tables, not waiting for seats,” she said.
Edith Hilliard, a longtime Madison elder who can trace her family’s history in the city back more than 220 years, called the Center “a place of our own to tell our stories, to our children — stories of kings and queens.”
Kay Hawkins, a young professional who moved to Wisconsin from Georgia 13 years ago, said the Center has changed how she thinks about Madison. “I can now say that Madison is my home. I have a place where I can grow roots, a place I can feel proud of,” she said. “This is a place where Black people can feel seen, heard and welcomed.”
Her brother Harry Hawkins Jr., who leads the male responsibility program at the Nehemiah Center, offered a blunt summary: “This space is not only what our children have been missing, but what we’ve been missing for a long time, and to that, I say it’s about damn time.”
After the ribbon-cutting, hundreds streamed through the building to get their first glimpses of the spaces, artwork, and possibilities inside.
“I’m a little bit taken aback, in the best way,” said village of DeForest trustee Alicia Williams. “There’s just a sense of belonging. It’s a home feeling. Wow, this is for us.”
Washington-Spivey, who met Gee while both served on Gov. Evers’ council on equity and inclusion, said the Center has significance well beyond Madison. “I so wholeheartedly believe in his vision of making sure that we have a place in our state where Black people can go, grow, connect, acknowledge our history, learn about our culture, and just be present,” he said.
Architect Rafeeq Assad was a bit awed, as Wednesday was the first time he saw the building he designed filled with people. He said every detail in the building was deliberate. “The colors, the patterns, the textures, the materials, the furniture selections, the placement … there’s not an element of this building that is not intentionally designed,” he said.
Matthew Berry, a member of Fountain of Life Church who has known Gee since 2012, called the Center “a full-blossomed effect of Gee’s vision from the get-go.”
“I think it’s important to be seen. I think it’s important for Black people to be safe,” Berry said. “There’s a lot of things politically that are really weird, but these are the things that help us stay rooted within each other.”
The Center broke ground on Juneteenth 2024 and reached its capital campaign goal of $31 million by Juneteenth 2025, ultimately raising $32 million for a debt-free building.
Gee closed his remarks with a challenge to the city that has repeatedly been named one of America’s best places to live — a distinction the Black community has long questioned.
“The next time Madison is named as one of the best places to live, we don’t want to say ‘for who?'” he said. “We want to say, ‘You’re right. It’s one of the best places to live because we have found a home.'”
