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Home • News

Vel Phillips, Pioneering Judge And Civil Rights Leader, Has Died At Age 94

Vel Phillips, Pioneering Judge And Civil Rights Leader, Has Died At Age 94
Joe Kennedy/Getty Images
By Britni Danielle · Updated October 24, 2020

Velvalea Rodgers “Vel” Phillips, one of Milwaukee’s pioneering civil rights icons, has passed away.

She was 94.

Born in Milwaukee on February 18, 1924, Phillips spent her life fighting for social justice and civil rights in Wisconsin. In a 1955 speech, Phillips argued, “America is not the land of opportunity it is purported to be—not while discrimination and segregation exist, and where those belonging to the Negro race can secure only second class citizenship with definite limitations.”

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A graduate of Howard University and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta and the NAACP, Phillips was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin–Madison Law School. She went on to rack up even more historic feats when she became the first woman and the first African-American person elected to Milwaukee’s Common Council in 1956, where she would advocate against segregation and the mistreatment of the city’s Black residents.

https://twitter.com/Sifill_LDF/status/986565219240595464

In 2014, when she turned 90, @columnboy asked Vel Phillips how she wants to be remembered. Here’s what she said: pic.twitter.com/4TP8Q9aCeR

— Ashley Luthern Ⓜ️ (@aluthern) April 18, 2018

In 1971 Phillips resigned from the Common Council when she was appointed to the bench, making her the first female judge in Milwaukee County and the first African American judge in the state of Wisconsin. Though she lost her re-election campaign to a white candidate who used her participation in peaceful anti-racism protests against her, Phillips continued to press on. After teaching at UW–Milwaukee, Phillips returned to politics in 1978 when she became the first woman to be elected as Wisconsin’s Secretary of State.

After retiring from politics, Phillips spent her life working on several causes, including supporting America’s Black Holocaust Museum in her hometown. In 2005, Phillips served as the chairperson of Gwen Moore’s congressional campaign. Under Phillips’ guidance, Moore would go on to become both Wisconsin’s first female and first African-American member of Congress.

After hearing of her passing, Moore praised Phillips’ “unbreakable spirit” and unwavering support.

Vel Phillips was my friend & champion. She cheered me on through every victory in my life & taught me to always keep the faith. In these times of division, I draw strength from her unshakable spirit. Vel will live on forever in my heart & her beloved city, Milwaukee. #RestInPower pic.twitter.com/ES5lCDwEzV

— Rep. Gwen Moore (@RepGwenMoore) April 18, 2018

 

“She cheered me on through every victory in my life & taught me to always keep the faith,” Moore wrote on Twitter. “In these times of division, I draw strength from her unshakable spirit. Vel will live on forever in my heart & her beloved city, Milwaukee.”

 

In 2015, Wisconsin Public Television produced a documentary about Phillips’ amazing life, titled, “Vel Phillips: Dream Big Dreams,” ensuring her life and legacy will live on forever.