Walking into the newly built Center for Black Excellence and Culture in Madison feels like stepping into a vivid, Pan-African dream of what has long been needed in Wisconsin.
The 37,000-square-foot building at 655 W. Badger Road, nestled in the heart of the south side, is designed to feel Afrocentric before any interactions take place, said its founder, the Rev. Alex Gee, during a tour last month with a Cap Times reporter and photographer. The goal isn’t just to see Black culture, but rather to feel and experience it for yourself.
The center broke ground in June 2024 and — with a grand opening Wednesday — joins the Black Business Hub, Madison College’s Goodman South Campus and Centro Hispano’s new building Calli as projects led by people of color that have reinvigorated the south side…