Madison, Wis. – June 22, 2022 – In a powerful new opinion piece, Neil Heinen – former editorial director for WISC-TV and Madison Magazine – writes how the forthcoming Center for Black Excellence and Culture will be one of the defining projects in the history of Greater Madison and is the answer that hundreds of Black residents and the broader community have been longing for.

 

A 40+ year news veteran whose tenure spanned some of the most profound developments across the region, Neil highlights how the Black-led and -inspired Center is a “crucial building block of this city’s future.” In a time where racial equality is driving the conversation, The Center provides a tangible, deeply impactful way to step up in support.

 

WISC-TV and Madison Magazine Op-Ed: This is a Madison collaboration not seen since Monona Terrace

By: Neil Heinen

June 15, 2020

 

Key Excerpts:

  • The Center for Black Excellence and Culture, the Rev. Dr. Alex Gee’s visionary Black-inspired and -led $38 million dollar project on Madison’s booming south side, is a beautiful answer to the question: “What can I do?” It will change this city as it is changing the people supporting it.
  • The project was instantly embraced by the broader — no, broadest — Black community, of which many members endorsed the concept.
  • In a fashion both extraordinary and heartening, white advocates and partners have stepped up in support, forming a collaboration we’ve not seen since the building of Monona Terrace.
  • It is a transformational project that will change the Madison landscape, both physically and culturally. This is a big idea, on par with Monona Terrace, Overture Center for the Arts, the Capitol East District and other developments of the last 25 years that have come to define this place.

Read the full piece here.

 

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