Black Freedom is Freedom for Everyone: You Better Get Some of this Black Joy!
June 19, 2026
Race and Disability – New Justified Anger Course
July 1, 2026Vision Siblings – Nehemiah and The Center Are Separate But Transformational
How is a church, a non-profit organization focused on social service, and a cultural center related to one another?
In 1977, a church was founded in South Madison, Union Tabernacle. Part of that church was a young Alexander Gee, Jr, who in 1983 became the Assistant Pastor and took over much of the preaching from Bishop Ford of Chicago. Later, Union Tabernacle changed its name to Fountain of Life.
As Senior Pastor, Alexander Gee, Jr found a home for his visionary talents. He, and others began to dream about making a greater impact on the community outside of the walls of the church. In 1992, after two years of planning and praying with church partners, the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership Development, was founded with Dr. Gee as the founder and President.
And most recently, the Center for Black Excellence and Culture was celebrated at its grand opening on May 6, 2026, where over 1500 people turned out to celebrate and tour the vision-made-reality.
Now, all three entities, separate organizations and nonprofits, occupy the same campus in South Madison, WI.
So how are they related?
Though they are not the same organization, I call them vision siblings. Each organization has the same visionary guidance or creative start. However, all of the organizations focus on a different part of the greater vision of community transformation that has captured the heart of Dr. Gee and other founders and contributors over the last four decades.
Three organizations.
Three separate boards.
Three separate missions.
One shared commitment to community transformation.
Nehemiah, the middle sibling, is focused on doing transformative work in the community. We envision a future where Black communities thrive!
At a time where political energies are spent to erase history and vilify diversity efforts, this is a bold statement. For more than 30 years, Nehemiah has helped people build the skills, relationships, and opportunities needed to thrive through youth leadership development, educational initiatives, reentry services, and community engagement.
Nehemiah is committed to empowering the Black community, redesigning unjust systems, and transforming the face of leadership! And we are happy to have strategic partners like Fountain of Life Covenant Church and the Center for Black Excellence as strategic partners in this work!
Harry Hawkins, MATL
President & CEO
This article was written and contributed by Harry Hawkins, Nehemiah President.
