[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 69 (Friday, April 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H3710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE LIFE OF VEL PHILLIPS

  (Ms. MOORE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of a 
phenomenal woman, Vel Phillips, who hails from my hometown, Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin.
  Vel Phillips passed away this month at the age of 95, but not before 
she led a phenomenal life. She was the first of so many things: the 
first African American and the first woman to become an alderman in the 
city of Milwaukee; the first African American to graduate from the 
University of Wisconsin-Madison; the first African-American judge in 
Milwaukee County; the first and only African American to win election 
statewide.
  Members may have heard of Father James Groppi, who led 200 days of 
marches for open housing. That was in support of Vel Phillips' open 
housing ordinance in the city of Milwaukee on the Common Council, where 
it was defeated, repeatedly, 18-1. That led to the signature of open 
housing legislation nationwide.
  She was the first Black person to serve on either the DNC or RNC.
  I hope the House will join me in honoring the great life of Vel 
Phillips

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