As Black History Month winds down, we recognize Valvalea "Vel" R. Phillips, an attorney, politician, jurist, and Civil Rights Activist who served as an alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She also served as Secretary of State of Wisconsin from 1979-1983, often as the first woman and/or African-American in her position. She was the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School, the first African American, as well as first woman elected Alderwoman to the Milwaukee Common Council; and the first African American, as well as first woman to serve as a jurist in Wisconsin.
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