The one-mile Black History Walking Tour in downtown Madison is where community members will be able to see things like Madison’s first Black-owned grocery store and many of the buildings and neighborhoods shaped by Madison’s early Black community.
Part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County’s (BGCDC) MOVE ‘N’ GROOVE 4 BGC campaign, the Black History Walking Tour was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 22. Due to thunderstorms and rain throughout the day, the tour has been rescheduled and will now take place on Saturday, June 29, BGCDC confirmed on Wednesday.
This year’s Black History Walking Tour will be led by Alan Chancellor, secretary of Madison’s Prince Hall Masonic Temple. There will be comments from Millie Coby, the goddaughter of Wisconsin civil rights icon Vel Phillips, to start the tour.
The Madison Black History Walking Tour will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Wisconsin Historical Society on the Capitol Square (corner of Main and Carroll streets) where there will soon be a statue of Phillips, before moving eastward. In 1910, roughly half of Madison’s Black population lived in the East Dayton St. neighborhood just east of the Capitol.
The Black History Walking Tour is being organized and led by Steve Whayland, chair of the 50K Walk Team, and Peter Gray, chair of the MOVE ‘N’ GROOVE 4 BGC fundraising campaign, which is raising $625,000 for Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County to support its programs for different pathways to success for the youth in the greater Madison community.
“We appreciate the leadership of board member Peter Gray, for serving as the MOVE ‘N’ GROOVE 4 BGC fundraising chair and the entire Madison community for joining us to celebrate the MOVE ‘N’ GROOVE 4 BGC campaign. For over 20 years the community has rallied to support youth ages 2.5 to 24 years in our community to have amazing pathways to success,” said Michael Johnson, president & CEO of BGCDC, in a statement. “This event has grown from a bike ride to include walkers, runners, and now a live concert. We welcome everyone to join us and MOVE for Youth in this community.”
The Madison Black History Walking Tour will end at the Prince Hall Masonic Temple, 556 E Mifflin St, where people will hear comments from Chancellor and Johnson.
Walkers will continue to walk on the 50-kilometer walk, stopping at every Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County site before finishing at the McKenzie Family Boys & Girls Club; 232 Windsor St. in Sun Prairie, at approximately 8 p.m.
MOVE ‘N’ GROOVE 4 BGC (formerly MOVE4BGC and BIKE4BGC) will be held on Saturday, July 20, at McKee Farms Park, 2930 Chapel Valley Road in Fitchburg. The annual event will kick off at 7 a.m. with a 50-mile bike ride.
Anyone is welcome to join the 50K walk or 1-mile Black History Walking Tour. For more information, contact Peter Gray at [email protected] or 608-225-2074
[This story has been updated with rain-related postponement news for Saturday and will be updated in the future when a new date for the Black History Walking Tour is confirmed. —Ed.]
