The Urban League of Greater Madison hosted one of its signature events on Oct. 6, the Urban Cabaret, which returned after a three-year hiatus. The event took place in the main lobby area of the new Black Business Hub building on Madison’s South Side and kicked off with a pre-celebration on the roof of the Hub where attendees shared bourbon and cigars.
Dr. Ruben L. Anthony, Jr., president & CEO of the ULGM, opened the celebrations with a joyful announcement that people and businesses would soon be moving into the building come December with an expected formal opening in the first half of next year. Anthony continued on to thank those who worked on the Hub directly such as the architect and contractors, and also the community members who have supported the Hub’s development with both time and money.
“This is not the Urban League’s building, this is the community’s building,” Anthony assured. “This is your building, and we need your support. We have many early supporters to make this building happen. There’s so many people who believe in South Madison and the Urban League and helped us advance this project that I can’t name them all. I definitely want to point out [Madison] Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, she was a supporter from the start.”
County Executive Joe Parisi was also present as Anthony thanked him for his immediate and generous support when the Black Business Hub project was first imagined, presenting him with a Whitney Young Jr. Award for his efforts. Parisi will be retiring from his role as county executive in six months time, but was sure to leave attendees of the Cabaret with hopeful words given the news.
(Photo by Hedi Rudd)
“It’s been such an honor to serve this community and to work in partnership with so many people in this room, and to see the amazing things that have happened, particularly on the South Side, in the last decade,” said Parisi. “My hat’s off to my friend Ruben. What a partnership, what a friendship. Ruben has always had my back, I’ll never forget that. Ed Lee [senior vice president with the Urban League of Greater Madison] and all the rest of the team, I may not be the county executive in six months, but I’ll always be an Urban Leaguer.”
Developments in South Madison have certainly seen more engagement and interest in the area, and Anthony was sure to give credit to the move of Madison College to South Madison as a catalyst for renewed investment. Receiving the other Whitney Young Jr. award was Madison College President Dr. Jack E. Daniels III, who also recently announced his retirement from his role as the school’s president stating clearly that what they created by making the move will continue on into the future.
“South Madison is important to the economic development of Madison,” Daniels said. “It’s important to the community development of Madison. I’m glad that Madison College has been a part of that and will continue to be a part of that.”
Anthony also was sure to give credit and recognition to other organizations representing people of color in South Madison or the surrounding area such as Centro Hispano, One City Schools, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, and the Center for Black Excellence project being developed currently. It was made apparent that the Black Business Hub would be more than just a building to house stores and organizations, and will be a crucial part in aligning the economic development of South Madison with communities of color being included instead of pushed out through gentrification.
“We’re expecting many organizations to move in and to assist Black and small businesses,” said Anthony. “Each of these partners are ready to serve today. It’s all about wealth building. It has eluded the Black community and the brown community for so long. I want to emphasize to you today that this hub is going to be more than a building and more than a space. It’s going to be an economic support system that will help develop wealth in this community for many generations to come.”
Nick Mischler, an emeritus co-manager of Wisconsin Investment Partners, LLC and angel investor, closed the night’s speeches by reminding the audience of the impact the Hub has already had through business accelerator programs and offering space for entrepreneurs, but focused on where that work could potentially go. As the community is given opportunities to invest their stake into the Black Business Hub, highlighting how such investment benefits Madison as a whole lets people know they will certainly be making a difference.
“We have something very special and unique here, but it’s the impact on the community that really is going to make the difference,” Mischler said. “As Dr. Anthony said, we’ve had our accelerators started, we’ve given out grants, along with mentoring and coaching, so we’ve impacted scores soon to be hundreds, and it’s going to be 1000s over the years. Those of you supporting, this is your legacy. This is yours, this is ours, and this is our community. This legacy is only going to grow for generations, and for 1000s of Black and brown business people, entrepreneurs and their families, and the greater community.”
