By Melissa Perry – Wisconsin State Journal –
More than 30 years ago, the Rev. Alex Gee had a proposal for his friends, a group of young, Black recent and soon-to-be graduates of UW-Madison, as they each looked ahead to their respective futures.
Gee asked them to stay. He argued that they could forge a space for themselves and Black residents in Madison.
“I had this vision of creating something that could make Madison an exciting place for young Black professionals to hang out,” Gee recalled. “What I was noticing in Madison is that the Black population was growing, but the Black people were not at the table shaping what we needed in order to feel at home.”
Gee’s challenge to his friends morphed into what is now the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development, an expansive nonprofit dedicated to responding to the needs of Madison’s Black community.