Once upon a time in Madison, the Black churches provided a cultural gathering space for members of the community. So did the South Madison Neighborhood Center and iconic bars and restaurants.
Over time, those anchors of the community went away or diminished in importance to a new generation. More Black folks moved into the city. What they found were no spaces where they could get a sense of their own culture, so they traveled to Milwaukee or Chicago, sometimes never ever spending a weekend in the city where they studied or worked.
Rev. Dr. Alex Gee, pastor of Fountain of Life Covenant Church on Madison’s South Side, is now leading an effort to create what he calls a “third space” that can become a cultural hub for the city in which he grew up.