Who Is Corey Marionneaux and Why Do I Keep Seeing His Name?
By Sherry Reames
If MOSES members haven’t yet heard about Corey Marionneaux and his ambitious projects, trust me – this is a young community leader to watch. Marionneaux is founder and CEO of Black Men Coalition of Dane County, a nonprofit established in 2020 “to foster and develop a safe and inclusive environment for Black men and other vulnerable populations in Dane County through community involvement, mentorship, education, and employment skills.” The “vulnerable populations” at the heart of its mission are men who already have lived experience with the criminal-legal system, as Marionneaux himself does, and youth at risk of going that way.
Marionneaux has been in the Madison media this summer primarily because of his play, “The Kernel of Truth,” which had two performances at the Overture Center on June 15. He devised this powerful play, based in part on his own incarceration story, to raise public awareness of the human costs of the current system, both for the individuals locked up and for their families and communities. To increase its impact, he hired seasoned professionals to write, direct, and act in the play instead of trying to pull it all together himself. See Katie Mulligan’s review for an account of the final results.
As with the play, so with other projects of the Black Men Coalition (BMC): Marionneaux’s strategy is to recruit experienced, reliable partners to advance the various aspects of his vision. Among his partners at this point are Jerome Dillard of EXPO, who chairs BMC’s board; Diane Ballweg, who has provided seed money to get things started; Summit Credit Union, which works with BMC to provide a financial literacy program for vulnerable youth; the Boys and Girls Club, Urban Triage, the Madison Black Chamber of Commerce, the Madison Area Builders Association, and a growing list of local employers. Marionneaux’s coalition tries to think of everything – not just matching job-seekers with potential employers, but bolstering their odds of success with “wrap-around support” that includes job-readiness skills, reliable transportation to work, any required clothing and tools, weekly contact with mentors, and referrals to appropriate community resources. The BMC even provides a free youth baseball league for kids ages 4-12.
The missing component so far is what Marionneaux calls “Supported Employment Housing.” He is hoping to break ground before the end of 2024 on an affordable housing development in Sun Prairie that will offer a range of supported options – four-bedroom shared units, efficiency singles, and one-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents ranging from $600-$900 – for participants in BMC’s programs who face barriers to housing as well as employment. More information on this project, which would include onsite facilities for exercise, learning, and other necessities, can be found on the BMC website: bmcdc.org/employment-housing.
Dane County clearly needs a lot more of what Marionneaux describes as “housing that creates a path from entry-level employment toward home ownership.” How can MOSES help to bring this promising vision into being? At present the chief impediment, he says, is NIMBY opposition from some Sun Prairie residents who haven’t grasped the difference between BMC’s wrap-around plan and the kinds of housing projects that just throw low-income people together and hope for the best. Advocacy from groups like MOSES at the local and county level could make a difference.