I was like, man, will you relax?
Merle, give me a quick audio check.
Okay, testing one, two, testing,
one, two, mic test, testing.
One, two. I know that's the worst
mic test to give.
They really want you to say
something that's more.
That's good.
Appropriate of what you're going to
say when you actually talk,
but there I go.
Let me get these off.
Just in case I need them.
Does that mean you're ready?
I'm just trying to get my cheeks to
be rosy. There you go, relax it out.
Woosah, woosah. Woos-ah.
Ah.
All right, you guys all set?
OK.
Alex C, good to see you again.
It's good to you too Murr.
By the time this airs, we
know that little clock on your
website will have been ticking,
ticking, ticking, and it will hit
zero.
Yes, it will.
What has it been like and how long
has that clock been ticking to make
all this happen?
Oh man, this clock's been ticking my
whole life in some ways Merv, more
specifically probably the last
decade as we started thinking
about putting together a project
team, a campaign team.
We have to slow things down because
of COVID.
So we started fundraising in
2021, so it's
been a five years plus
countdown in terms of
seriously being able to see the
finish line.
And I hate to do the old,
what does it feel like that
reporters tend to do, but what does
it feel, like Alex, after all this?
It feels like a dream that's
come true.
It's one of those things that's been
in the back of my mind for probably
most of my life. It's why I chose to
stay in Madison, because I had my
sights on doing something in South
Madison where we grew up, where we
spent time in a
community that's given so much to
me.
But to be here and to realize that I
stand on the shoulders of so many
people who rubbed my head and
pinched my cheeks and said,
you're gonna do something, young
man. Keep going to school.
Give back to the community,
keep your faith, to stand
on their shoulders and to realize
that they saw something in me and
they encouraged me to stay here and
make the community better if I
could. And so I feel really honored
to be chosen to do this
and pull our community together the
way I've been able to.
Yeah, and as I was looking at your
website I saw a line there,
it says this is going to be
a sanctuary for healing,
a catalyst for growth,
where we bring black culture,
creativity, leadership, research,
innovation, all under the same
roof. That's right.
How the heck do we do that, Alex?
Oh, with
lots of partners and lots of
thought.
You know, when we talk about health
and health disparities with
African-Americans, typically the
assumption is many of us don't have
health care. We don't take advantage
of the health care that we want.
But research through schools of
medicine and public policy are
showing that many of our
degenerative diseases are
stress-related.
And so I can pick up a magazine and
read 15 different ways you and I die
more readily than our white
counterparts. But what you don't
read is, how do you mitigate that?
So if stress is the culprit, what do
we do to reduce it?
And so in our community,
historically it's dance, it's swag,
it's food, it' hanging out, it's
playing the dozens, it
intergenerational programming,
it's checkers, it watching TV, it's
watching old 70s movies,
but it's spending time together
where we don't have to code switch
or feel that we have to be someone
other than who we really are.
And so the role here is to use all
of those things that you have said
to reduce the stress.
But the benefit of this, my
great desire, is that black
people live longer and healthier
lives.
I haven't raised all this money, so
black people can have fancy places
to have dances.
And when you say all this money,
people should know 31 million
problem plus.
Oh, 32, sir.
32. I'm just saying.
I don't want to go too short.
You're right, for a debt-free
facility, for a completely debt-
free facility.
I'd love for you to paint a quick
picture, Alex, of just what
really is going to go on here.
I mean, yeah, we talked about
the mission statement
kind of thing there, but paint a
picture for us.
Sure, well, some of the,
like we're sitting right here in our
senior space. So this is one of the
programs that's ready to go because
so many of our seniors, once they've
retired, they just seem to
disappear.
We don't see them anymore.
So we want them to come out and have
a place to hang out right next
door to our children's library where
they can help young readers.
We have a program that's for
entrepreneurs, innovators
and folks that are ready to start
their own businesses.
We're going to work on leadership
development, business strategy
development.
Helping to raise money to launch
those businesses and then helping
to introduce those people into
our social networks so that you
don't have a business that's ready
to go and no place to carry
it out.
We have two
films that will be showing real soon
in our theater.
We're doing a couple of weddings
here, graduation parties,
but the special thing that I want
people to know, Merv, is that we're
only designing about 25 to 30
percent of the of the programs here
because we want the community to
come in and say.
You know what we need?
Like someone came in here the other
day who's
newer to their job and they said, we
need an NABJ, like National
Association of Black Journalists.
There's one in Milwaukee there.
I'm sure you're familiar with it.
I am. But because there's a space to
host it, someone said, we had to do
a Madison version.
That's the beauty of this space.
Like, that's not my job to do that.
A journalist came in and said
that. Others have come in and says,
you know, we need a doula program.
Can we do that here?
We need self-defense programs for.
Black women and moms do we have can
we do that here?
So for me the beauty the program is
when we have space to come in
together and say let's create an
Association or let's do something
to bring all the Greek organizations
together.
So the sororities
and the fraternities together So
that we can create a regional office
of working together.
The beauty of this is I
built it I've worked to fund
it, but the community is going to
have to fill it
Yeah and we thank you for that Alex
and there's a lot more to talk about
so this will be continued and
we appreciate you for
joining us on here now.
I'm so sorry.
I forgot not to turn
around when I heard that.
Well, we can do the, if you want,
I can do that
last little part over and then close
it out just like within a minute.
Is that okay?
I think we probably should, yeah.
OK. I'm so sorry.
So where were we?
So we're, um...
That makes me think, do
the rest of you guys have your
phones like on silent mode?
I do.
Mine is.
Who am I supposed to be?
Well, the alarm, it probably is,
but the alarm is still going to go
off.
I know what I'll do, Alex, I'll
just...
And I like that answer.
What was the question?
What's going to go on here, but I
think that probably about how the
community is going to do it, those
examples, if we can use
any of that before we get to that,
just know.
That's really helpful for me.
Should I just ask
that question over again?
I think so just to keep it capsized.
I mean it's okay if it you
know it like I said we're
trying to hit five you know you know
that five minute mark.
It's not life or death if we go five
fifteen five thirty or whatever but
uh but yeah I just
sure so maybe what I'll do is I just
say I have I've got time for one
more uh I'd love for you to
paint a picture of kind of what goes
on here.
I'll do it that way.
Okay.
You guys set?
Okay.
Alex, we've got time for one more.
I'd just love to...
We've got for one question.
I just want you to paint a broad
picture kind of of what really is
going to go on here.
Initially we're going to have...
Let me get that over.
I didn't like the way I said that.
See, when I have to think about it,
it gets all funky for me.
All right, I've got time for...
Don't even start it that way.
Just start the question.
Well, I have to start that way, I'm
sorry.
So, pass the picture.
I'm getting there, Cynthia, just
give me a second to get there and
I'll go, I'll promise.
I think I can do it.
You better.
Yeah, right.
In the next two minutes.
So we use all those words to
describe what goes on here, but I
want you to, if you can,
just paint a real clear picture of
kind of how you see what's gonna
happen here.
A number of things will take place
right away. The intergenerational
programming is very important.
We're sitting here in senior space
right now.
And we purposely put this room
right next door to the children's
library so that we can have that
grandparent and grandchild kind of
interaction.
We have space that's about to
launch training
for innovators and for entrepreneurs
with leadership training.
Funding training, actually plugging
them into funding sources to
launch their businesses.
We have legal services provided to
help them to structure their
businesses, and then performances.
We have two theaters, and so we have
a couple of film debuts
that are going to be showing there,
plus lots of events that community
organizations want to have, like
weddings and retirement gatherings.
I think the special part of this
space is that we're only designing
about 25 percent of it ourselves,
programming ourselves.
The rest of the community is going
to come in and say.
You know, we need a
sort of a karaoke night,
or we need line dancing night, or
we need, I'm going to show my age
by saying star search, but
America's got talent.
So there are so many things that we
can do out of here that center
around performance, lectures,
comedians, meals
together.
But the beauty is that we've
designed a small part of it, but the
community gets to determine what
this looks like when it's finished.
I didn't like the way I answered
that question.
And I know I shouldn't have done
that.
Now we're all
into ourselves now.
This could take days at this point.
I do, I'm just wondering how much of
the first one can we keep?
I wonder if we can, because it
seemed like that was an easy flow.
Well, what happened, the only thing
is the phone rang and then you
turned around.
I mean, I don't know, can it be
salvaged?
No, no, no. I shouldn't have turned.
I just, that's because...
Yeah, we'll blame you.
I mean, we could do some flash
edits, right?
I wonder if there's a way to just...
Mix it together.
I wonder if there's just a way to
close it out and
take that answer and then I just say
And I think that's a question a
lot of people are wondering, so
that's why I'm trying to answer it
succinctly.
We need to do it over.
I think between the two of
them, we can definitely make
this work.
Mike doesn't trust us. The first one
was good.
I just... Because there's...
Because it's natural, yeah, no
thinking involved.
So then maybe I just close
it out, and we'll
figure out a way to get it where we
need to get.
And if we have to use it and we hear
the ringing in the back around, I've
got two cameras I can cut to MIRV.
I like that.
And you'll cut out the part where I
looked around?
I need to make sure it wasn't my
phone. What's going on in there?
I know, that was just a reaction.
I know because I thought that was a
countdown, so.
No, no, no. It's no problem.
No, I just turned it around because
I was being nosy.
But if you think we can really work
that out, if you're not comfortable
with that, though, I'll
do it again. I'm leaning to you.
I personally think we can I think
we could put a white flesh in there.
We just need the closer from her
Sure. Yes.
So now it's back on me.
Back on you. You're the
quintessential professional.
Alexi, we appreciate you joining us
for this. Wait, I don't like that
either.
Hehehehe.
Thank you, Johnny.
Okay, I got it.
Okay.
All right, Alex, a lot, sorry.
I won't make any faces at you.
Please don't.
And Cynthia, leave me alone.
I can feel it, I can
just feel it. I can feel you doing
your thing over there.
All right, Dr. Alex Shi, we'll have
to leave it there.
This conversation will be continued
because there's so much more we can
talk. That's way too much.
Sorry. All right. I got it.
You can just say bye.
Yeah, bye.
You know, Baron, it wasn't that
funny. Wasn't that fun?
Everybody's turning. I don't know about that.
Everybody's turning, everybody's
turning on me.
No worry, we got you buddy, we've
got you.
You wanna ask me if there's anything else
I wanna say? No, no.
PBS Groupers.
Because you weren't looking at me
like you were ready.
All right, Alex, we'll have to leave
it there. We appreciate you joining
us.
Thank you, it's been great being
here.
And the full dismount.
All right, then we can do this other
one.