Black Like Me

Dr. Gee starts his conversation with faith leader and professional musician Marquis Hunt by talking about addressing young Black men to understand that they do have voice that can matter. Marquis wrote a letter to a “Black Brother” as “a call to every Black man who’s ever felt overlooked, undervalued, or trapped in a system that wasn’t built for us.” They discuss why there is a need to call young Black men to create a greater narrative than the one that society is telling them. 

Before the recent election, Dr. Gee and Marquis look deeply into the environment around the Black vote in the 2024 election, especially for Black men. Also, don't miss an extra fun Black Ice Breakers session.

Marquis Hunt is a Spiritual Director, Interfaith Leader, professional musician and author of The New Human: When People We Love, Love The People We Love. From Little Rock, Arkansas, Hunt is the founder and developer of The FloW, a community-based practice that integrates music, philosophy, and strategic discourse. Marquis has worked on a national and international level helping thousands of individuals reach higher levels of human potential.

Read the Black Brother Article: https://marquishunt.org/2024/08/black-brother/

Learn more and listen to Marquis Hunt’s music: https://marquishunt.org

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Dr. Alex Gee has a special episode to talk through and process the recent election from his perspective. He is joined by Black Like Me producer Jeremy Holiday for a raw conversation that seeks to break down first thoughts on how community and justice minded people look ahead in our current landscape. They share their raw feelings and reflections in this challenging moment. As always, Dr. Gee brings his wide-ranging experience as a Black man in a majority white community who is also a visionary community and faith leader.

RSVP for The Center for Black Excellence and Culture Public Update

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Hear about how spiritual leader and author David Gibbons felt that he wrote his memoir as a way to process his life and his experience, calling the book The Shape of My Eyes. In an honest conversation, Dr. Gee and David break down what “model minority” means for Asian Americans and African Americans. They consider how this concept also worked toward putting the two racial communities in opposition to one another by weaponizing the term.

They continue Dr. Gee’s awareness around how the unity between Asian American and Black communities can be perpetuated. Also, hear how David tries to get Dr. Gee to go white water rafting.

Read Dave Gibbons new book, The Shape of My Eyes: A Memoir of Race, Faith, and Finding Myself

Dave Gibbons was born in Seoul, Korea yet culturally raised in America. He works in both for profit and not for profit organizations. Dave is an Advisor, Speaker and Spiritual leader. Dave founded an influential church known for diversity, innovation and social impact. At the same time, he launched or worked with social impact organizations such as World Vision and Fuller Seminary. He loves working with creators and innovators in entertainment, sports, government, finance, and non-profits. Dave lives in California and Seoul, Korea, with his wife, Becca. He has four adult children and two grand-dogs.

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Dr. Gee hosts a special episode recorded live with an audience and a young jazz group in summer 2024 at Cafe Coda in Madison, WI. The night was a celebration of the 10th season of Black Like Me and Dr. Gee brought together Black podcast hosts to talk about their unique position. 

Bianca Martin hosts the City Cast Madison podcast. She is skilled in audio journalism and multi platform storytelling. Bianca has produced a wide range of radio and podcast programs, including for National Geographic, NPR, and Chicago Public Media. You can hear Bianca every weekday on the City Cast Madison podcast at madison.citycast.fm

Rev. Lilada Gee is a dynamic voice on behalf of Black girls and women throughout the African Diaspora who carry the heavy burden of generations of sexual trauma, as well as their own—Lilada Gee has committed her life to the defending of Black girlhood and the healing of Black women. She is the host of the Defending Black Girlhood podcast.

Their conversation covers the specifically Black space that podcasting facilitates compared to other traditional media systems. In light of the current cultural and political environment they discuss the role that Black women play in the recent elections and culture in general.

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Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolence and Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary.” Dr. Gee discuss how in her book, We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson urges us to move past this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women. Dr. Carter Jackson explains the dismissal of “Black violence” as an illegitimate form of resistance is itself a manifestation of white supremacy, a distraction from the insidious, unrelenting violence of structural racism.

Dr. Gee and Dr. Carter Jackson also explore the fact that Black men are being killed in the streets but Black women are being killed in the private space of their own homes. Hear about how “Black flight" is connected to joy in that Black folks needs space to get away from regular white supremacist life. Finally, Dr. Carter Jackson also shows her enthusiasm for dolls, and especially Black dolls with their unique cultural significance.

Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise ‘68 Associate Professor of Africana Studies and the Chair of the Africana Studies Department Wellesley College. She is the author We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance (Seal Press) and of the award winning book, Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence . Force and Freedom was a finalist for the Frederick Douglass Book Prize, a winner of the James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize, and a finalist for the Museum of African American History (MAAH) Stone Book Prize Award for 2019. The Washington Post listed Force and Freedom as one of 13 books to read on African American history. Her interview, “A History of Violent Protest” on Slate’s What’s Next podcast was listed as one of the best of 2020. She has also given a Tedx talk on “Why Black Abolitionists Matter.”

Her essays have been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, the Boston Globe, CNN, and a host of other outlets. She has been featured in numerous documentaries for Netflix (African Queens: Njinga and Stamped From the Beginning), PBS, MSNBC, CNN, and AppleTV’s “Lincoln’s Dilemma.” She has also been interviewed on Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, MSNBC, Democracy Now, SkyNews (UK) Time, Vox, The Huff Post, the BBC, Boston Public Radio, Al Jazeera International, Slate, and countless podcasts.

Carter Jackson loves a good podcast and her Radiotopia family! She is Executive Producer and Host of the award winning “You Get a Podcast! The Study of the Queen of Talk,” formerly known as “Oprahdemics” with co-host Leah Wright Rigueur and a co-host on the podcast, “This Day in Political Esoteric History” with Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer.

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Dr. Gee talks to Michelle Behnke about how she is motivated by the commitment of the The American Bar Association (ABA) to make the nation and their community better. Michelle is inspired by the ABA's mission of defending liberty and pursuing justice through professional development throughout the nation.

They discuss how to encourage Black people to stay in Madison by creating the community for them and how to be the change they want to see. In their experience, to be successful in the local community they have had to be “Bilingual” by knowing how to interact with both the Black community and the white professional community. Listen in to hear about what Michelle calls the “Multiple Realities.”

Michelle joined Boardman Clark in 2024 after being elected the 2025 – 2026 president of the American Bar Association (ABA). Outside of her role with the ABA, Michelle has a broad practice, including business and commercial real estate. She is also active in her community and has served on a number of boards including SSM Healthcare of Wisconsin and Dean Health Plan, Inc.

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Hear the inside story on the transition from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate from Ben Wikler, Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Ben considers how Harris has been active as the Vice President and making energetic appearances but the broader media has chosen not to report on this angle of Harris until her presidential candidacy. 

They also discuss this year’s Democratic National Convention and how it felt more joyful and stood out. Ben also explains the use of “weird” comments in the election process.

Dr. Gee and Ben also explore the role of Black women in the 2024 election and the impact of their engagement. Can Harris inspire other women of color to participate in politics?

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Dr. Gee has an in-depth conversation with University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on what the university is doing to improve the sense of belonging for students of color. Their discussion covers Dr. Gee's participation in a committee working to recognize the universities history with students of color and what can be done moving forward. The committee will be releasing a report soon with their findings and recommendations. Chancellor Mnookin shares about her plans and initiatives in this role at the university and how she sees that they are developing so far.

Jennifer L. Mnookin is the 30th leader in the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s 175-year history, and one of the nation’s top legal scholars.

Chancellor Mnookin is dedicated to pushing boundaries to bring the university to new levels of excellence in research and education, and to energizing and expanding the Wisconsin Idea, UW–Madison’s commitment to innovating for the public good.

She recently launched the largest cross-campus initiative in the university’s history — called Wisconsin RISE (Research, Innovation, and Scholarly Excellence) — to expand educational opportunities and research at UW–Madison around significant, complex challenges affecting Wisconsin and the world.

Chancellor Mnookin is a nationally recognized scholar on the intersection of law and science, and recently co-chaired an expert report on facial recognition technologies for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

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Read more about Dr. Gee's Honorary Doctorate 

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Dr. Gee kicks off the new season with his signature mic check episode. Season 10 is going to be big and he is saying it loud! Hear Dr. Gee unfiltered and get a preview of the season.

The Black Like Me Podcast is also creating some new opportunities for listeners to connect and interact with the show and other listeners. You can Join the Black Like Me Community Facebook Group. If you are one of the Patreon Supporters watch for the opportunity to join an exclusive online forum for the podcast as well. You can check out becoming a Patron Supporter here.

Learn more about  The Center for Black Excellence and Culture

Read more about Dr. Gee's Honorary Doctorate 

Watch Verlene Gee Moment at Farmer's Market

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This is the second in a series on Alzheimer’s on both a personal and medical research level, focused on the impact on Black and Indigenous people. Hear about Dr. Gee’s collaboration with University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Alzheimer’s Research Department, including his guests Dr. Carey Gleason, MD and Dr. Fabu Carter.

Dr. Carey Gleason shares the science behind Alzheimer’s and the need for a diverse population of research participants. Dr. Fabu Carter discusses reaching out to the community and in particular the Black community.

Also, don't miss a special cross-cultural Black Ice Breakers segment with the week’s guests.

UW-Madison - Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) https://www.adrc.wisc.edu/about

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