Vel Phillips statue going on Madison’s Capitol grounds 

Governor Tony Evers announced that the State Capitol and Executive Residence Board granted final approval for the installation of a sculpture to honor and memorialize the life and legacy of Wisconsin trailblazer Vel R. Phillips. 

When unveiled in June 2024, the sculpture of Phillips, commissioned by artist Radcliffe Bailey, will be the first of a person of color to be honored on the Wisconsin State Capitol Grounds. The stature will be placed at the South Hamilton Street entrance of the Capitol. 

“Vel Phillips was a true treasure and Wisconsin icon who became the first of many before her, inspiring generations and defining the trajectory of our state,” said Gov. Evers in a press release. “It is so important to me and to the countless Wisconsinites for whom she paved the way that she receives permanent recognition at the Wisconsin State Capitol,” he added. 

Phillips has a long legacy of firsts:

• The first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1951. 
• The first Black person and woman elected to the Milwaukee Common Council 
• The first Black judge in Wisconsin, she served in Milwaukee County in 1971
• The first Black person and woman elected to serve in statewide office as Secretary of State in 1978 

Additionally, to being the first, Phillips’ legacy is not devoid of civil rights leadership. While on the Common Council, beginning in 1962, Phillips introduced an open housing ordinances that would outlaw housing discrimination to her peers. She introduced the legislation every 90 days for seven years. The measure eventually passed in March 1968, after 200 consecutive nights of marching and protesting.  

The effort to have a sculpture of Phillips installed at the Capitol began more than four years ago. Vel Phillips’ son, attorney Mike Phillips, said, “This sculpture is more than a monument to my mother’s legacy; it is a beacon of hope and a call to action.” 

The Vel Phillips Legacy Initiative raised over $500,000 to commission and donate the sculpture to the State of Wisconsin. The statute will also include a quote from Phillips: “What have you done, today, that’s good?”

This year marks what would have been Vel Phillips’ 100^th birthday. She passed away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in April 2018 at 95 years old.