{"id":2425,"date":"2021-11-01T21:50:52","date_gmt":"2021-11-01T21:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2425"},"modified":"2021-11-01T21:50:52","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T21:50:52","slug":"historic-civil-rights-recognition-happening-in-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2425","title":{"rendered":"Historic Civil Rights Recognition Happening in Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"

MADISON, Wis.<\/span>,\u00a0Nov. 1, 2021<\/span>\u00a0\/PRNewswire\/ — Madison\u2026 There is history in the making. The first statue on the grounds of a State Capitol of an African American woman will be in\u00a0Madison, Wisconsin<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Wisconsin State Capitol and Executive Residence Board voted\u00a0Monday, November 1<\/span>st<\/sup>\u00a0in favor of the historic designation for a statue honoring\u00a0Vel Phillips<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Velvalea “Vel”\u00a0Hortense Rodgers Phillips<\/span>, served in many roles during her life. Her various positions as lawyer, judge, politician and Civil Rights activist make her one of the most prominent and accomplished figures of Milwaukee<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0Wisconsin’s<\/span>\u00a0African American community.<\/p>\n

“The achievements of\u00a0Vel Phillip<\/span>\u00a0will be displayed for generations to come. Kids will come to the Capitol and learn about her incredible life,”\u00a0Michael Johnson<\/span>, President, and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County<\/span>\u00a0stated.<\/p>\n

Vel Phillips<\/span>\u00a0was known for many firsts, including the following historic designations:\u00a0First\u00a0<\/i>African American woman to graduate from the\u00a0University of Wisconsin-Madison<\/span>\u00a0Law School,\u00a0First\u00a0<\/i>female and first African American elected to the Milwaukee Common Council,\u00a0First\u00a0<\/i>African American judge in the\u00a0State of Wisconsin<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0First<\/i>\u00a0African American woman to be elected to a statewide office in\u00a0Wisconsin<\/span>\u00a0and<\/u>\u00a0<\/i>the entire nation.<\/p>\n

Johnson went on to say, “So many businesses and community leaders helped to make this happen. They turned a dream into a reality. People donated money and their time.\u00a0 An amazing accomplishment so fitting of this great woman.”<\/p>\n

Mike Phillips<\/span>, son of\u00a0Vel Phillips<\/span>, stated, “My mom’s legacy lives on. But there is more work to be done. We must honor her legacy by investing in our kids. We must help kids find their own ‘firsts’. Together we can support our future leaders.”<\/p>\n

The Vel Phillips Educational Fund was recently launched by the Boys and Girls Club of\u00a0Dane County<\/span>\u00a0to support educational opportunities for youth in\u00a0Wisconsin<\/span>. To learn more or to donate go to\u00a0Donate to Vel Phillips Statue Fundraiser (classy.org)<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

ABOUT THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF\u00a0DANE COUNTY<\/span>\u00a0We are a local not-for-profit youth development organization serving over 6,600 youths in eleven locations, including eight school-based sites and three traditional Club sites. The Clubs fuel kids with the inspiration to dream and teach them the skills to achieve when they’re most impressionable through quality programs in five core areas: Character & Leadership Development; Education & Career Development; Health & Life Skills; The Arts; and Sports, Fitness & Recreation. See the impact we make in the life of each Club member here:\u00a0www.bgcdc.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter:\u00a0@bgcdc<\/a><\/p>\n

More Information Contact:<\/b>
<\/b>Steve Lyons Phone: 608-220-7478 Email:\u00a0slyons@thesjlgroup.com<\/a>
Jake Brown Phone: 608-628-2653 Email:\u00a0jbrown@bgcdc.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: PR Newswire<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MADISON, Wis.,\u00a0Nov. 1, 2021\u00a0\/PRNewswire\/ — Madison\u2026 There is history in the making. The first statue on the grounds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-outreach","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t