Number
180127
Version
SUBSTITUTE 1
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. COGGS, BAUMAN, HAMILTON, KOVAC, JOHNSON, RAINEY, STAMPER, LEWIS, PEREZ, MURPHY, DONOVAN, BORKOWSKI, WITKOWSKI, BOHL AND ZIELINSKI
Title
A substitute ordinance renaming North 4th Street from West St. Paul Avenue to West Capitol Drive Vel R. Phillips Avenue.
Analysis
This ordinance renames 4th Street from West St. Paul Avenue to West Capitol Drive Vel R. Phillips Avenue.
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, Th...
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