S11 E215: "Your Connection To Your Culture Can Be What Propels You Forward...Or Holds You Back": Joy Bailey-Bryant Holds Space With Dr. Gee
Release Date: 11/11/2025
S12 E220: A Space That Calls To Your Excellence: The Building Is Just The Beginning With Jason Fields and Janine Stephens Hale
Black Like Me
The Center for Black Excellence and Culture’s development is groundbreaking in so many ways and now the staff are inspired to build a movement of excellence. Jason Fields, Chief Strategy Officer, and Janine Stephens Hale, Chief Operating Officer, talk about infusing the Black space with the potential for Black excellence because of the empowering process and the intentionality of the space itself. Hear about the personal value of The Center and the value for the whole community. The visionary standard set by Dr. Gee has extended to the staff who experience the creative energy everyday...
info_outline
S12 Preview: Introducing The Black Center For Black Excellence And Culture Rises Series
Black Like Me
Dr. Alex Gee gives a preview of the new season of the Black Like Me podcast. It is the big moment as Dr. Gee’s vision of The Center for Black Excellence and Culture is revealed to the community. This season shares conversations with the key people that brought this innovative Black space to life. Not only do these conversations highlight the meaningful relationships in all spheres of the process but also show how this project has already inspired individuals involved personally. Hear about how this season will bring together those that invested in the Black aesthetic and culture of The...
info_outline
S12 E219: Blickity-Black: The Shapes, Colors, and Flavors Of The Black Aesthetic With Rev. Lilada Gee and Rafeeq Asad
Black Like Me
Dr. Alex Gee welcomes two of the most important creatives in the development of The Center of Black Excellence, Rev. Lilada Gee and Rafeeq Asad. They discuss their roles in the innovative design and aesthetic of the building. Rev. Lilada is the co-founder and interior decorator, and Rafeeq is the chief architect that worked to infuse a visceral Blackness into the building design. Hear about the deep cultural thought and feeling that went into the design, including the fight needed for keeping Blackness in the visual aesthetic. It was important to infuse the space with the Black...
info_outline
S11 E218: Season 11 Mic Drop with Producer Jeremy Holiday
Black Like Me
Dr. Gee ends Season 11 with his deep and thoughtful reflections on the season and the times we are living in, as a Black man. His mic drop episodes don't hold back but speak from an honest place, making sense of our world. This episode is a special conversation as Jeremy Holiday reflects on being a part of the show from the beginning as a producer and engineer. He discusses the evolution of the show alongside his own ongoing racial justice journey. Dr. Gee talks to Jeremy about the lessons he has learned from being involved in the show and who were the guests that stuck out to him...
info_outline
S11 E217: Finding Inspiration In Africa's Vibrant Cultures: Rev. Lilada Gee Leads Women With Profound Experiences
Black Like Me
Rev. Lilada Gee shares from a deep place of self-reflection about how to best spend her life as she faced cancer. She details the importance of travel and cultures in the last year. Lilada shares about her recent trip to South Africa in order to mentor other Black women, including Kay Hawkins, who also joins the show talk about her experience as a young woman. It was Kay’s first international trip and also her 21st birthday. Lilada is surely passing along a passion for travel, learning from African culture, and building a community of empowered women. Learn more about opportunities with Rev....
info_outline
S11 E216: “We Didn’t Sing To Get Freedom But Because We Believed In Freedom”: Dr. Charles Taylor Explains How Black History Will Always Be Inside Us
Black Like Me
Dr. Gee and Dr. Charles Taylor discuss the richness of African American history and understanding the wisdom of African heritage. Dr. Taylor considers how people around the country are still figuring out how to celebrate Juneteenth. It must be about history. One of Dr. Taylor’s recent endeavors is a documentary on The South Madison Renaissance, including Dr. Gee’s development of The Center for Black Excellence and Culture. Documentary Dr. Charles A. Taylor is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and consultant whose work has profoundly shaped the understanding and...
info_outline
S11 E215: "Your Connection To Your Culture Can Be What Propels You Forward...Or Holds You Back": Joy Bailey-Bryant Holds Space With Dr. Gee
Black Like Me
Joy Bailey-Bryant, Lord Cultural Resources President, returns to the show as The Center for Black Excellence and Culture building comes to completion. As an expert in cultural spaces and innovative museums, Baily-Bryant is involved in supporting the development of The Center for Black Excellence and Culture in Madison, WI. They connect over shared Black culture and tell stories of the power of preserving culture, demonstrating the resilient power of culture that has space to speak into itself. As leader of cultural planning at the largest cultural consultancy in the world, Joy works with city...
info_outline
S11 E214: Education That Breaks Down Walls: Dr. Emily Auerbach Talks Metaphors That Can Change Your Life
Black Like Me
Dr. Emily Auerbach is a great storyteller and cares deeply about helping make other people’s stories great. Hear the story of her work of leading the Odyssey Project and mentoring non-traditional students through literature and the humanities. Dr. Auerbach talks about their whole family approach that brings all generations into the learning opportunities. The hope is that the program is a launching pad into further education at UW-Madison. Dr. Gee and Dr. Auerbach share so many connections to graduates who have completed degrees and are active in the community. They also share the...
info_outline
S11 E214: Education That Breaks Down Walls: Dr. Emily Auerbach Talks Metaphors Can Change Your Life
Black Like Me
Dr. Emily Auerbach is a great storyteller and cares deeply about helping make other people’s stories great. Hear the story of her work of leading the Odyssey Project and mentoring non-traditional students through literature and the humanities. Dr. Auerbach talks about their whole family approach that brings all generations into the learning opportunities. The hope is that the program is a launching pad into further education at UW-Madison. Dr. Gee and Dr. Auerbach share so many connections to graduates who have completed degrees and are active in the community. They also share the...
info_outline
S11 E213: “We Are In A Moment Of Backlash:” Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara Explains How Black History Exposes The Shortcomings Of The Nation
Black Like Me
Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara brings some clarity to the recent political attacks on history that are attempting to erase multicultural aspects of our American past. Not just history but education and knowledge itself. This moment is similar to the time after Reconstruction with the response to Black people engaged in the political process and having power. Points to cultural backlash historically like Birth of the Nation and Gone with the Wind portraying a negative propaganda of African American contributions to the US. Also, hear about a program that Dr. Clark-Pujara has been a part of that...
info_outlineJoy Bailey-Bryant, Lord Cultural Resources President, returns to the show as The Center for Black Excellence and Culture building comes to completion. As an expert in cultural spaces and innovative museums, Baily-Bryant is involved in supporting the development of The Center for Black Excellence and Culture in Madison, WI. They connect over shared Black culture and tell stories of the power of preserving culture, demonstrating the resilient power of culture that has space to speak into itself.
As leader of cultural planning at the largest cultural consultancy in the world, Joy works with city officials, institutional leaders, and developers, in global municipalities like Chicago; New York; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Dharan, Saudi Arabia to creatively plan cities and bring people (life!) to public institutions. Joy led the teams for institutional and cultural planning on remarkable projects like the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., reaching more than 1,000 stakeholders across the country to learn their expectations for the new museum; the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, directing citywide engagement in locations as large as Chicago and small as Decatur, Georgia – speaking with thousands of individuals in meetings and on social media – to assess, project, and plan for their cultural needs; and planning and opening the expansion of the Albany Civil Rights Institute in Albany, Georgia—unearthing thousands of untold stories of the Southwest Georgia Civil Rights Movement.
A cultural planning specialist, certified interpretive planner, and outreach facilitator, Joy honed her specialized skill working in collaborative roles at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and notable cultural planning projects.
Support the Show: patreon.com/blacklikeme