A Life Of Firsts: The Legacy Of Vel Phillips

Before the catalytic 200 nights of fair housing marches in Milwaukee and before Lyndon B. Johnson’s federal fair housing legislation, there was Vel Phillips. Phillips passed away on Tuesday this week. Phillips began pushing for fair housing legislation to her white, male colleagues five years before the housing marches in Milwaukee began and six years before a federal fair housing bill was passed. She reminded her council members, “You are aware, gentlemen, that the eyes of the nation — indeed, the eyes of the world — are upon Milwaukee.” Today we celebrate the life and legacy of the first black female graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, the first black judge in Wisconsin, the first black and first female alderman on the Milwaukee City Council, he first black judge in Wisconsin, and the the first black and first female to be elected to statewide executive office in the United States: Vel Phillips.