[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 65 (Monday, April 23, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





         TRIBUTE TO VELVALEA ``VEL'' HORTENSE RODGERS PHILLIPS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GWEN MOORE

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2018

  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Vel Phillips a 
public servant, judge, civil rights activist, mentor, stateswoman and 
trailblazer. Vel Phillips was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 
and like me was a graduate of North Division High School. She graduated 
from Howard University and graduated from the University of Wisconsin--
Madison Law School. Vel Phillips passed away on April 17, 2018 at the 
age of 95 years.
  Vel Phillips' life has been a series of firsts: the first African 
American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin--Madison 
Law School; the first woman and African American to win a seat on the 
City of Milwaukee's Common Council; the first woman and African 
American to win statewide election by becoming Secretary of State of 
Wisconsin; the first woman and African American to become a judge in 
Milwaukee County. She was the first African American in the country 
elected to the National Committee of a major political party, and knew 
three presidents on a first-name basis: John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. 
Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. Vel realized all of these accomplishments at 
a time when many African Americans were not allowed to exercise their 
civil rights.
  Vel ran for elected office to improve the lives of people and in 
1956, she won a seat on the City of Milwaukee's Common Council. The 
heart of Vel's district was known as the Inner Core which consisted of 
poor housing stock, ill equipped schools, and few jobs. This was 
further exacerbated by several other facts: city leaders who refused to 
provide funds to repair roads and schools in the Inner Core; white 
landlords who would not rent to black people outside of the Inner Core; 
and Black families who were denied access to buy homes in other parts 
of the city. Vel knew something had to be done and introduced a Fair 
Housing Law in 1962 that would make it illegal not to rent to black 
people. It was not fair to tell people where they could and could not 
live, work and go to school because of the color of their skin and Vel 
began marching with Catholic priest, Father James Groppi to bring 
change. They led people, including me, on 200 consecutive nights of 
marching from the Inner Core across the 16th Street Viaduct to a 
destination on the Southside of Milwaukee. Angry white men and women 
lined the streets and swore and threw rocks and bottles at the 
marchers. Finally, in 1968, the Fair Housing Law that Vel had written 
six years earlier passed the city council.
  In addition to the positions previously mentioned, Vel taught at the 
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and was appointed ``Distinguished 
Professor of Law'' at Marquette University School of Law. In 2006, 
Phillips founded the Vel Phillips Foundation which supports the work of 
people who are engaged in projects of social justice and change 
including opposing voter ID and other attacks on voting rights.
  Vel was the beloved wife for 38 years of the late W. Dale Phillips 
and the loving mother of Michael Damon Phillips and of the late Dale 
Franklin Phillips. She was the proud grandmother of Elijah Thomas 
Phillips, Nathaniel Douglas Phillips, Rachael Velvalea Phillips and 
Robin Dale Phillips; great-grandmother of Tianna, Mya, and Phoenix and 
dear aunt of Shaune Maria Curry. She leaves a strong legacy of 
leadership for all people to model.
  Mr. Speaker, Vel was my friend, champion and mentor. She cheered me 
on through every victory in my life and taught me to always keep the 
faith. In fact, she chaired my successful congressional campaign in 
2004 at eighty years young. I draw strength from her unshakable spirit 
and she will live on forever in my heart. Vel is a Milwaukee and 
Wisconsin treasure and I not only valued her service to the 4th 
Congressional District but to the entire nation. I urge my colleagues 
in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in a salute to the late 
Velvalea ``Vel'' Hortense Rodgers Phillips, may she Rest in Power.

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