An iconic Milwaukee and Wisconsin trailblazer is one step closer to getting her own day.
On Monday, Milwaukee’s Judiciary & Legislation Committee unanimously expressed its support for a state bill that would create a special Vel R. Phillips observance day in Wisconsin schools. Phillips, who died in 2018 at the age of 94, was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School, the first Black person and first woman to be elected to the Milwaukee Common Council, the first Black judge in Wisconsin, and the first Black person and first woman to serve as Secretary of State.
The special observance day would be on Phillips’ birthday, February 18.
State Representative Supreme Moore Omokunde and the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus introduced the bill earlier this year. (Milwaukee County approved a similar resolution last week.)
“Everybody knows what a giant Vel Phillips still is, and I think it’s opportune for the young people in the entire state of Wisconsin to know the same thing, not just us here in the City of Milwaukee,” Omokunde said at Monday’s committee meeting. “This [bill] was brought forth by a constituent who was saying, ‘Oh, we have all these white men that we stand up for, and we acknowledge their birthdays and we observe them. Who can I go to and present this?’
“It’s something that we supported when we did our Black History Month program this year,” Omokunde continued. “We talked about what a great idea Vel Phillips’ birthday being a special observance day would be, and how all young people in the state of Wisconsin need to know about it.”
Phillips has received several other honors in recent years. Twenty-twenty-four was dubbed the “Year of Vel Phillips,” and included the unveiling of a statue on the Wisconsin State Capitol grounds. Milwaukee, meanwhile, is putting the finishing touches on the Vel R. Phillips Plaza, located at 401 W. Wisconsin Avenue, between 5th Street and—you guessed it—Vel R. Phillips Avenue.
“I look forward to my children and so many others learning in the classroom about what a trailblazer the honorable Vel Phillips was, and hopefully it will inspire them,” Ald. Milele A. Coggs said at Monday’s meeting. “Sometimes people don’t get as much recognition in their own state or hometown as they should. I think this is one step towards us making sure that Wisconsin recognizes how great she was, and continues to be.”
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