20 Facts About Vel Phillips

Velvalea Hortense Rodgers "Vel" Phillips was an American attorney, politician, jurist, and civil rights activist, who served as an alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and as secretary of state of Wisconsin.

Vel Phillips was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School; the first African American, as well as the first woman, elected Alderwoman to the Milwaukee Common Council; and the first African American, as well as the first woman, to serve as a jurist in Wisconsin.

Vel Phillips was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 18,1924, to Thelma and Russel Rodgers and had two siblings.

Vel Phillips's father owned a restaurant for a few years and was a cook.

Vel Phillips's mother had three rules for her children, they could not smoke, drink, or talk loudly.

In 1953, Phillips ran for a seat on the school board of the Milwaukee Public Schools, and was the first black candidate to make it past the non-partisan citywide primary election, though she lost the runoff.

In 1955, Phillips legally changed her first name from Velvalea to Vel.

In 1956, Vel Phillips became the first woman and the first African-American member of the Common Council in Milwaukee; since Common Council members were called "Alderman," she was given the title "Madam Alderman" by local officials.

Vel Phillips would remain the only woman and only black member of that body for many years to come.

Vel Phillips frequently participated in nonviolent civil rights protests against discrimination in housing, education, and employment during the 1960s.

Vel Phillips first proposed an ordinance in 1962 to outlaw housing discrimination.

Vel Phillips was arrested at a rally following the firebombing of an NAACP office, the only city official to be arrested during the "long hot summer" of 1967, bringing further national media attention to the city.

Vel Phillips mentored baseball player Hank Aaron about civil rights and how he could contribute to the civil rights movement during Aaron's time playing for the Milwaukee Braves.

Vel Phillips resigned from the Common Council in 1971 when appointed to the judiciary becoming the first female judge in Milwaukee County and the first African American judge in Wisconsin.

Vel Phillips lost her bid for reelection to the bench to a white candidate who made an issue of her involvement in protests and civil rights activities.

In 1978, Phillips made history as the first woman and first non-white elected Secretary of State in Wisconsin.

In 2002, Vel Phillips was appointed "Distinguished Professor of Law" at the Marquette University School of Law, where she is reported to be producing a first-person memoir of Milwaukee's civil rights movement.

Vel Phillips chaired the successful congressional campaign of Gwen Moore, Wisconsin's first African-American and Milwaukee's first female member of the United States House of Representatives.

In March 2014, the Wisconsin Alumni Association awarded Vel Phillips its Distinguished Alumni Award.

Vel Phillips died at 95 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on April 17,2018.