Dr. Alex Gee

Rev. Dr. Alex Gee's personal website: articles, audio, Black Like Me Podcast and videos, Madison Wisconsin

Season 9

S9 E180: The World I Believed In Never Existed: Creating And Sustaining Justified Anger Change With Rev. Lilada Gee and Harry Hawkins

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What was it like to try to create systemic change after the release of Dr. Gee’s Justified Anger article? Hear how the article was encroaching on white people’s territory with pushback to maintain the system from guests Rev. Lilada Gee and Harry Hawkins. 

Mr. Hawkins provides perspective on the release of the Justified Anger article from someone who had just moved to Madison and was seeing the environment with fresh eyes. They also discuss how language matters in race relations because it frames the issues and who has the power. Dr. Gee breaks down why he got labeled a “Black” leader and not just a community or civic leader. 

Read Justified Anger’s Our Madison Plan

The Center for Black Excellence and Culture

Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme

S9 E179: The Ripple Effect: Justified Anger’s Innovative Ways Of Measuring Change With Dr. Karen Reece

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Dr. Karen Reece explains Justified Anger’s  innovative research and strategic approach to Justice centered systems change work. As Justified Anger took off as a movement, Dr. Reece gives insight into the funding of Black-led organizations and the struggle to create long term solutions and change. 

Dr. Reece clarifies the difference between quantitative vs qualitative analysis for the kind of work that Justified Anger does. Though it can be harder capture the data, qualitative data gives a deeper understanding of the change that is accomplished. 

Dr. Reece explains how she considers Ripple Effects as a way to show the impact of Justified Anger’s work. Ripple Effects looks at how people who are learning and being changed by contact with the Justified Anger initiative are enacting change in their spheres of influence, whether it is at the interpersonal, business, or community level.

Learn more:

Justified Voices: What we’ve learned about racial justice in Madison

Justified Anger’s Our Madison Plan

Article: Disparities in Funding for Leaders of Color Leave Impact on the Table

Collection of reports on racial equity in philanthropy

NCRP Report: Too Many Local Community Foundations Still Underinvesting in Black Communities

Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme

S9 E178: Black Like Mama: A Look At Life After My Mom’s Recent Passing

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On this special episode, Dr. Alex Gee and his sister Lilada Gee reflect on the passing of their mother, Ms. Verline Gee. They celebrate her memory with stories and insights from her life. For decades, Ms. Verline created a profound impact in the Madison community as a mentor to young leaders, social worker, poet, published author, family therapist, faith community leader, and, above all, a cherished mother and grandmother.

Through their mother’s experiences, Dr. Gee and Rev. Lilada are able to explore historical and racial conditions in the period of her life. They reflect on the strength of her character and the lessons they learned, as well as her great intellectual sense of humor. Don’t miss the heartfelt and honest conversation around the life of a powerful Black community mother.

Learn more about Ms. Verline Gee’s story

Dr. Gee and Rev. Lilada invite you to make a donation to The Center for Black Excellence and Culture, allowing us to share Verline Gee’s incredible story and continue her legacy of community building through a senior space and senior programming dedicated in her honor: https://givebutter.com/xieAH6

Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme

S9 E177: The Tip Of The Spear: Managing The Leading Edge Of Change With Kaleem Caire

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Dr. Gee is joined again by his friend Kaleem Caire to look at the atmosphere around Justified Anger in the early years and how the initiative has created change over the last 10 years. They reflect on having breakfast together on the day that the original Justified Anger article was released and talked about how the truth of the article would be recieved in the community. The two thought leaders in the Madison community consider what it is like to speak boldly and be visionaries for racial justice. Kaleem is a champion of educational change that needs to happen to address disparities.

Kaleem Caire is the founder and CEO of One City Schools, the operator of One City Preschool and One City Elementary School. Both schools are focused on getting young children ready for school success. Prior to One City, Kaleem was the President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison in Madison, WI and chair of the National Urban League’s Education Committee. 

In 2001, Kaleem commissioned the nation’s first comprehensive study of high school graduation rates in the United States, which resulted in graduation rates being embedded in the nation’s No Child Left Behind law and forever becoming a measurement of the productivity of American education. In 2002, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige to serve on the Independent Rules Panel that advises the U.S. Congress on the evaluation and implementation of Title I (then referred to as No Child Left Behind). From 2002-2004, he led a coalition of education, business, philanthropy and community leaders in Washington, DC to secure the passage of landmark legislation that created the nation’s first federally funded school voucher program and has since provided more then $900 million net new federal funding for school reform efforts encompassing DC’s traditional public, public charter and private schools. In 2009, he was appointed by the administration of President Barack Obama to serve as an expert reviewer for his signature “”Race to the Top”” national education reform initiative.

Photo of Black Leaders at Justified Anger Event

Read Justified Anger’s Our Madison Plan

Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme

S9 E176: “We Haven’t Arrived Yet”: Reflecting On The Reception Of Justified Anger Ten Years Later With Renee Moe and Joe Parisi

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Dr. Gee welcomes Renee Moe (President & CEO at United Way of Dane County) and Joe Parisi (Dane County Executive) to dicsuss how they experienced the release of the Justified Anger article and aftermath. They reflect on how the original article caused a stir in some of the civic and community arenas, displaying the racial disparity alive in these systems. Dr. Gee contemplates the cost of stepping into certain civic spheres and often feels like the desire gets quenched by his experience as a Black man.

Hear how the Justified Anger article gave a human face to the statistics of Race to Equity report that made people face the reality in their community. Together the group explore how we continue to address the racial justice present in their county.

Read the original Justified Anger article.

Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme

S9 E175: What I Remember Of My Twenties Was Losing My Mentors: Dr. Gee’s Reflections On Life at 60 With Life-Long Friend Pastor David Smith

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Dr. Gee considers his career, relationships, and community impact as he reaches the age of 60. His life-long friend David Smith joins the conversations as they recall stories of their youth, beginning as community leaders, and how the world has changed in their shared 60 years. You can be sure that they bring plenty of stories, funny anecdotes, and real talk about their life experiences.

Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme