Number
180350
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
COMMON COUNCIL
Title
Substitute motion naming the Milwaukee Common Council Ante Chamber as the Vel R. Phillips Memorial Ante Chamber.
Analysis
This motion names the Milwaukee Common Council Ante Chamber as the Vel R. Phillips Memorial Ante Chamber.
Body
Whereas, Vel R. Phillips was a spirited and distinguished political leader and fighter who served the community with unparalleled distinction and excellence; and
Whereas, Vel R. Phillips was born on February 18, 1924 on the South Side of Milwaukee, attended Howard University for her undergraduate degree and then went to the University of Wisconsin Law School, from which she was the first African-American woman to graduate; and
Whereas, In 1956, Vel R. Phillips became the first woman and the first African-American to be elected as a member of the Milwaukee Common Council, on which she served until 1971, and was an advocate for the African-American community and women, and instrumental in outlawing housing discrimination; and
Whereas, Continuing throughout her career to exhibit a fearless, pioneering spirit, Vel R. Phillips was also appointed a judge in Milwaukee County Children’s Court in 1971, becoming the first female judge in Milwaukee and the first African-American judge in Wisconsin, and was elected as Wisconsin’s first non-white Secretary of State in 1978; and
Whereas, Vel R. Phillips was always a leader in the African-American community and an advocate for women throughout Wisconsin, playing an active role in the NAACP and the civil rights movement, and was also the highest-ranking woman to win a state office in Wisconsin in the 20th century and the first African-American to be elected as a member of a political party’s national committee when she was elected to the Democratic National Committee; and
Whereas, Through her foundation, Vel R. Phillips continued her work to better her community, with a mission “to serve as an economic hand of justice that seeks to eliminate invisible barriers between disadvantaged people and their goals, clearing the path for educational, occupational, social and political parity”; and
Whereas, By naming the Common Council Ante Chamber as the Vel R. Phillips Memorial Ante Chamber, the City can recognize Vel R. Phillips’ historic contributions to Milwaukee; now, therefore
It is moved, By the Common Council of the City Of Milwaukee, that the Milwaukee Common Council Ante Chamber shall be named the Vel R. Phillips Memorial Ante Chamber, and, be it
Further moved, That a suitable plaque shall be affixed in the Common Council Ante Chamber in recognition of this honor bestowed upon Vel R. Phillips.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB171462-2
Teodros W. Medhin
6/6/2018