A national travel trade publication has highlighted Madison as an emerging destination for Black culture, pointing to the city’s new institutions and its decades-old Juneteenth tradition.
In a June 10 article by Kayla Brock, Travel Weekly described Wisconsin’s fastest-growing major city as a place where community members are intentionally building spaces for Black excellence, ownership and celebration. The piece framed Madison as a city that is no longer just a pass-through stop but one that honors its history while building its future.
The article centered on two recently opened South Madison institutions. The Center for Black Excellence and Culture, founded by Rev. Dr. Alex Gee, opened May 6 following a $32 million debt-free capital campaign. The three-story facility houses space for visual and performing arts, a senior center, a library and an innovation center for Black entrepreneurs, and drew more than 1,500 people to its grand opening. The article also profiled the Urban League of Greater Madison’s Black Business Hub, an 80,000-square-foot, $25.5 million entrepreneurial campus that supports Black-owned businesses through retail space, coworking areas and mentorship, and pays tribute to Tulsa’s historic Greenwood District.
Jason Fields, chief strategy officer of the Center for Black Excellence and Culture, told Travel Weekly that the center serves as a model for other communities. He said seeing underserved demographics being led by people of color makes it a blueprint for other places nationally and globally.
(Photo by A. David Dahmer)
The article traced Madison’s Juneteenth tradition to 1990, when local leaders Annie Weatherby-Flowers and Mona Adams Winston organized the city’s first official celebration at Penn Park. Now in its 37th year and run in partnership with the Kujichagulia Madison Center for Self-Determination, the celebration takes place June 20 following a parade, under this year’s theme “Black Resilience: Celebrating Our History and Presence,” marking the 160th anniversary of Juneteenth. Wisconsin recognized Juneteenth as a state holiday in 2009.
The coverage also recommended Black-owned food and music venues including Les Delices de Awa, a West African restaurant on Atwood Avenue, and Cafe Coda, a jazz club owned by flutist and saxophonist Hanah Jon Taylor.
