- The following program
is a PBS Wisconsin original production.
Dream Big Dreams
Greater Milwaukee Foundation, is funded in part by the
Harriet V. Vick Fund, Harvey E. and
Evjue Foundation, Helen Bader Foundation,
of the Capital Times, the charitable arm
with funds from Wisconsin Humanities Council
for the Humanities, the National Endowment
Milwaukee Chapter Brewers Community Foundation,
and Friends of of The Links Incorporated,
Wisconsin Public Television.
and Friends of of The Links Incorporated, [dramatic music]
[conversations]
>> On an overcast day in August 1967
200 men, women, and children
marched across the 16th Street Viaduct
in Milwaukee. [shouting]
On the other side of the bridge, thousands of white residents
were waiting.
?
They shouted racist taunts, hurled firecrackers, rocks,
and bodily fluids. Although they were battered
and scared, the activists marched again the next night
and the next and the next.
The marchers demanded what they believed was a basic right:
the freedom to live in any neighborhood regardless of
the color of your skin. They called it Open Housing.
The public struggle for Open Housing in Milwaukee
had started five years earlier, when one woman decided it was
time for a change. >> You are aware gentlemen
that the eyes of nation, indeed, the eyes of the world,
are upon Milwaukee. >> Her name was Vel Phillips.
>> It was like, this is my work.
>> She did things that were unheard of for her time.
>> Vel Phillips was the first African American woman to
graduate from the University of Wisconsin
Law School. The first African American
and first female alderman in Milwaukee.
The first African American judge in Wisconsin.
The first African American and first female to be elected
to statewide executive office in Wisconsin
or anywhere in the United States.
>> This is huge. It's just remarkable.
She surprised a lot of people. >> But for a time, Phillips
nearly lost everything that she had worked a lifetime
to achieve. >> Big mistake.
It was not a wise thing to do.
>> Vel Phillips combined a fierce commitment
to her principles with an aristocratic grace.
And in the end, she forced her city
and her country to come closer to the ideals
that motivated her life. >> When we measure it all up
at the end of the day, Vel Phillips is a great hero.
>> My mother would always tell us, "If you really want it,
don't dream small dreams, dream big dreams."
>> My mother would always tell us, "If you?really want it,
Well, my name is Vel Phillips. And V-E-L is short for Velvalea.
I was named after my aunt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
>> Velvalea Hartence Rodgers many years ago.
into Milwaukee's small was born on February 18th, 1924
community. but growing African American
sisters and the daughter She was the middle of three
of Thelma and Russell Rodgers.
He also was a splendid cook and >> My father was very gifted.
>> They're fiercely proud we had a restaurant for years.
as African Americans and of who they are
African American history knowledgeable of
are not taught. in a time where those things
strong person.as a quiet,
He had to be strong to put up with my mother who was strong.
>> Vel's mother, Thelma, had three rules for her daughters.
>> She wanted us to be ladies. We couldn't smoke, we couldn't
drink, we couldn't talk loud. But she wanted us to be smart.
>> As a high school student, Vel entered a national
speaking contest and won. Her performance got her
a scholarship to the university of her choice.
She chose Howard University, the historically black college
in Washington, D.C. >> We had always lived
in neighborhoods where there weren't many blacks
and I was kind of proud of my heritage
and I figured that they would all be blacks
and all these wonderful, outstanding people.
Well, I was just enamored with everything about college.
I felt like I owned the world. >> But in 1943, Washington D.C.
>> A friend of mine said, was still racially segregated.
So we went on this Sunday and let's go to the Cherry Blossoms.
been there, there's nothing it's just, oh, if you never
to compare. And you just feel ethereal,
just magical, and close to God. And so we said, "Well, let's go
to church." The two of us went into
this church and I'll never forget the minister stopped
mid-sentence and asked the ushers to
usher us out of the church. >> And then they're
escorted out, which is crushing to her.
That's a white church. Here in the nation's capital?
The betrayal of those core American values that every kid
gets instilled in them growing up in America,
black or white. >> I just thought,
this is not as it should be. And that just sort of
lit a fire, you know? >> After graduating from Howard,
Vel returned home to Milwaukee and began volunteering
at the local branch of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People,
the NAACP. One night at a party,
she met a World War II veteran named Dale Phillips.
>> I was very attracted to him, because he seemed to be
a little streetwise, and I didn't know much.
He had a lot of buddiesound guy.
and they loved to party. >> And he came up to me and
said, "Gee, what's your name?" I told him right away.
And so he brought out a big thing of liquor.
>> Vel remembered her mother's three rules.
>> And I thought right then, uh oh!
What should I do? I don't want to be naive
and stuff. I just said no thank you.
Then he took out his cigarettes. I thought, oh God!
I had to refuse again. He'll never see me.
When I refused the liquor and the cigarettes,
I guess he decided, "This is it; this is the woman
who I'm going to marry." >> I think when he saw my mom
he saw "the one." So he reigned in all of
his rascalness. >> When I came home after just
seeing him for the first time and said, "I met a young
man, Mom, at the party, and I was just drawn to him.
If I got to know him, and he asked me to marry him,
I'd marry him." She sat right up, she was
fanning, "What do you mean? You just saw him one time!
>> They had a very brief Oh, Lord Jesus help me."
I think after three or four courtship.
the question. dates that he popped
Dale and Vel were married
at St. Mark's AME church in Milwaukee.
Soon, the newlyweds moved to Madison to attend
the University of Wisconsin Law School.
that period, late forties,
early fifties is that the legal that period, late forties,
We need more lawyers. route is the way to go.
It was just a wonderful
place to be.
>> They were assigned to a University housing facility
recently created for returning G.I.s and their families,
a group of pre-fabricated trailers called Badger Village.
>> I was so looking forward to going to Badger Village.
It would be the first time we would be by ourselves.
>> We went out to look at what it would be like,
but people saw us. >> One of their friends who's
wife is at a party and what he hears at the party
is, "Did you hear? The niggers are moving in."
So they put together a petition. >> And they passed off
this petition saying, we don't want any blacks
in Badger Village. And you have no idea
how that affected me. That was quite a shattering
experience and it spoiled it for me.
>> Badger Village residents shared a central communal
bathroom. >> So I said to my husband,
"When you go to the bathroom, do you go to the same toilet?"
Because I found them talking once, and one said to the other,
"She always uses that toilet, so don't go in there."
So I said, "Don't use the same one, just change it all around.
You know, don't go to the same one all the time."
That's when my husband said, "We gotta get out of here."
>> My father was a veteran from World War II.
It was a segregated military at the time.
He was a bit more street smart. >> He's worried about
the threat. In many places petition goes
to violence very quickly. So whites will try to intimidate
you or have a petition and that escalates to something on your
lawn, which escalates ultimately to the potential of violence.
>> Dale found university housing closer to campus,
also in prefabricated trailers, but more welcoming
to African Americans. And together, Dale and
Vel Phillips became the first African American couple
to graduate from the University of Wisconsin
Law School. >> I was the first black woman
to graduate from the law school. I just thought that was
the biggest thing that could happen to me.
>> After graduation, they returned to Milwaukee where they
opened up their law office, Phillips and Phillips, and were
ready to start a family. >> We'd been trying and trying
and trying. >> They had had a lot of
difficulty. They wanted a family,
and they'd almost given up. >> Life for the young couple
was busy. In addition to practicing law,
Vel Phillips volunteered in her community.
She joined the League of Women Voters to register her neighbors
to vote, and also went door-to-door in the nearby
neighborhood of Bronzeville. >> I had never seen
that kind of poverty. They would have the oven on
and the door open. That was the heat.
The rest of the house would be cold.
And then children would be running around,
and I thought that was dangerous, really.
>> What she saw, when you get behind the doors,
the broken down plumbing, the walls coming down,
the ceilings coming down, the conditions.
>> White supremacy dictates that white people are better
and you see that in material circumstances.
This is why physical space is really important,
whether it's marking separate schools or train cars
and things. They're not just separate,
>> The houses might have been but they're inferior.
weren't in disrepair. in disrepair, but the people
And they might have been poor, They were good people.
but they were human beings. >> These people are working,
these people are paying taxes.
It's good old taxation without representation.
>> The latest census had revealed a surge in Milwaukee's
African American population. With it, a new ward was created
and the possibility of an African American alderman
on the all-white, all-male Common Council.
>> The Common Council in Milwaukee is a very powerful
city council. >> And even when you are not
able to carry the day on a legislative measure,
you have a vocal platform, you're quoted in the paper,
so you can put black experience, black interest out there.
You can be on record, too. That was just not possible
before. >> 1956 would be the first
election to include the new ward.
>> Doyle Geter, who worked for the Journal,
I called him and I said, "Doyle, how many women had been
on the council?" He said, "Oh, you're thinking
about running?" And I said, "Yes."
He said, "Oh, Vel, I wouldn't do it.
You just wouldn't fit, you're just too dainty.
A lot of men, they smoke and drink."
I said, "Well, I don't have to drink to be a good
city council person." >> The new 2nd Ward included
both black and white neighborhoods.
>> Realistically, I think even if you got every
African American adult over 21, was the age then, to vote,
it wouldn't have been enough. You're going to need some
white votes. >> Phillips decided that if she
wanted to get elected, she would have to hide
that she was black, and that she was a woman.
Campaign literature listed her as "Vel" instead of her
given name, Velvalea. And in the white areas of the
2nd Ward, Phillips made sure that the campaign literature
included no photos of her. >> I mean, I see it as just
a savvy, political and strategic decision to win.
>> To help get her name out, she turned to Milwaukee's
>> Vel didn't have that white liberals.
between blacks and whites. artificial barrier in her head
with everybody. She was just able to get along
characteristic of hers. That was such an admirable
and half black. >> Her district was half white
and her little card had her name I was given the white district
and her background. But in the black district,
the cards had her picture. And so I was passing out cards
in the white area and some guy said, "How come you don't have
her picture on this card?" I said, "Well, we have many
different kinds of literature." [laughter]
>> One morning during the campaign, Vel got
a phone call from her doctor. >> The doctor called me and
said I had to come back. I said, "Oh, I'm too busy.
Why don't we wait until after the election?"
The doctor said that, "It's very important that you come in."
I told that to my mother and she started crying.
"It's the big C." So when I went in to the doctor
I was then convinced it was cancer, so I stood up.
He said, "Sit down, Mrs. Phillips."
I said, "No. When I'm getting bad news,
I like to stand up." He said, "Do you know
how to knit?" I said, "What does that have
to do with anything?" He said, "Because you're
pregnant." "You've got to be kidding!"
>> Stunned, Phillips walked back into the waiting room to Dale.
>> I said, "Honey, I'm pregnant."
He says, "Hug me. Oh, my God, baby,
what wonderful news!" But I was almost in tears,
because I said, "Now I'll never win."
I was so thrilled that I was pregnant, but I was
afraid that it would cost me the election.
And that really frightened me. >> You're talking,
the mid-1950s. Maybe you finally convince them
to vote for you as a woman and as an African American,
but you as a mother? >> Phillips decided to conceal
her pregnancy until after the election.
>> Right away I started wearing stuff that would hide it.
You know the artists wear those kind of coats?
I bought some of those and nobody knew I was pregnant.
And I would come home and I would just be worn out.
My husband would rub my feet. "Oh, honey, you're doing
a wonderful job."
>> Still campaigning on Election Day, the Phillips'
offered to drive fellow residents to the polls.
Vel asked one white couple whom they were planning to vote for.
>> The woman said, "We're voting for Vel Phillips."
And the man said, "Yes, we think he's very qualified.
We think he's a very good candidate."
I stopped like that, and my husband said, "Oh, good.
We think he's great. You're voting for
the right person." [laughter]
>> On April 3rd, 1956, Vel Phillips was elected as
Milwaukee's first female and first African American alderman.
>> Milwaukee was incorporated in 1846 and this was 1956.
So it took 110 years. And when I won,
the reporter talked to me. She said, "How does it feel
to be the first woman on the city council?"
I said, "Being on the council is a wonderful thing,
but I have something even more important and more
meaningful for me, because I'm with child.
They won't get just a woman, they'll get a woman and a half."
What do we call her? They had a big story about that
in the paper.
I said, "Oh, my God." And they decided that
I should be addressed as "Madame Alderman."
They hardly ever did it, number one, and I was glad!
I just wanted be an alder man. >> Phillips went to work
at City Hall, but her excitement over her historic win
was quickly tempered. >> She was treated like a dog
by her co-aldermen. >> Phillips was urged by
fellow Council members to join the Aldermen's Wives Club.
>> I went to the Alderman's Wives, the first meeting.
They just talked about baby formula and stuff like that.
It was just unbelievable. >> Milwaukee aldermen were
required to share offices. Council chairmen
Martin Schreiber called Phillips in to talk.
>> And then I caught it right away.
I said, "And no one wants to be with me."
Well, you can tell I wasn't that ugly.
He said, "They're afraid to be with you because you are
a woman and you're black." I said, "I want my own office.
Just put me by myself. If they don't want to be
with me, I sure as hell don't want to be with them."
But I talked real big about it but it hurt me really
deep down. I just thought, why did I even
try this? There were many nights when
I would let my husband know that I cried myself to sleep.
>> When she's treated this way right in front of the whole
city, you bet she wasn't involved in the back room
discussions. The business is done
in the back rooms, and she was not.
>> Dale was worried about his wife,
and her career. >> We must have some policy
about what happens here in the Common Council chambers.
I think that students coming down--
I was gonna be on television, and I was excited because
I had never been on the television before.
So soon as I got home I called my husband, "Did you watch it?"
First thing he said, "It was not a pretty picture.
You interrupted Schreiber three times,
you interrupted Mortier. They just didn't know how to
handle it, at all. And you took full advantage."
[laughter] But let me tell you,
it never happened again. I changed.
Talk less and do more. >> Dale was always there
to call it as it was. Just an understanding
of how things worked, a knowledge of
the political animal. >> A brilliant strategist.
Brilliant in knowing when to push just this much
and not that much more. >> Vel is energetic and
sometimes going in several directions at once,
so to have that counterbalance, that council that encourages
reflection or to take a moment to pause.
There's no doubt that he was central to her political career
and to her rise and her achievement, her success.
>> So she's figuring out, she's spending her time
as a good lawyer, reading the rules, how things are done.
>> I think I was a quiet force. ?
>> National political leaders began to notice
Phillips' talents.
In 1958, she was elected to the Democratic National Committee.
No black woman had ever served on the committee before.
>> This is the executive committee that runs the party
nationally, and she's the first African American woman.
It's just remarkable. >> By 1960, the Democratic
party is inching its way towards Civil Rights.
>> The battle for civil rights was becoming a national focus.
Earlier that year, college students had staged
sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters.
Americans watched as the activists were beaten
and arrested. >> Televisions are in almost
every American home. We start to see people sitting
at a lunch counter and just asking to be served.
We weren't supposed to be like that.
>> By 1960 the movement is in full swing, and it's becoming
an increasing problem for those in power and for the nation.
[crowd roars] >> The 1960 presidential
election was underway. Phillips went to Los Angeles
for the Democratic National Convention,
where the party was to nominate Massachusetts senator,
John F. Kennedy as its candidate.
>> Kennedy himself said, "We've got to get a black face
out there." She was the face of:
"We are going for the African American vote."
>> Northern liberals at the Democratic National
Convention demanded a strong civil rights plank.
>> Kennedy's in a political party that is dominated
by Southern, white Democrats who are segregationists,
and this is the split in the party.
>> --that what you're doing is, in our judgement, making it
practically impossible to carry ten states of the Southland in
the election of November. >> Senator Spessard Holland,
a segregationist from Florida, warned that taking the party
too far towards civil rights would doom the Democrats' chance
at winning the White House. >> And Democrats, whether
you're segregation or not, you want your party
to win the presidency 'cause it's power.
>> Phillips shot back at the Senator and declared,
"Winning isn't nearly so important as doing
the right thing." >> She surprised a lot of people
that made some people step back and go, whoa!
That tiny little woman just said that?
She just did that? Yes, she did.
Yes, you betcha. >> Two days later
the Democratic Party adopted a platform fully committed
to civil rights. >> I just felt that this
was what was due us and God had seen to it
that I was there to do my part. >> Ask not what your country can
do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
[cheers and applause] >> I think there is something
in my mom that was perfect for her time.
Isn't it what they say is true, that it's the times that make
that person? Just the right personality
for the moment.
that person? Just the right p?rsonality
to Milwaukee, she focused her energy on her city's own
civil right issues. >> It was pretty bad
in Milwaukee. Milwaukee was considered one of
the more segregated cities in the whole United States.
that we had to solve
and we had to do it and we had to do it right
the right way. >> Housing segregation kept
Milwaukee's growing African American community
confined inside the center city known as the Inner Core.
African American residents were barred from buying homes
in the city's more prosperous neighborhoods and suburbs.
>> We tried to move. You know, I had been told
flat out, several times, "Oh, you can't buy a house
in that area because you're a Negro."
in these public spheres,regation
But your home and work, school.
that's where a lot of the neighborhood around that,
>> I remember when the first white folks draw the line.
into Wauwatosa. black family moved
on the lawn. There was a cross burned
an insidious affair. >> Segregation is such
strike you every day, right? These are the things that
your senses. It's the things that assault
was in a position to devise
an Open Housing ordinance to combat Milwaukee's
segregation policies. But she knew that the chance
of it passing would be remote. >> She represents women, she
represents African Americans. The community doesn't have
the wealth, the power, the access, the media,
to have voice, to push back, to get a fair hearing.
And she's the only person in that formal position.
>> What's the right thing to do? That was really her focus.
>> And I could see how segregated we were.
It just wasn't the way it should be.
>> In 1962, Phillips submitted to the Milwaukee Common Council
a landmark ordinance.
"It is to be the policy of the City of Milwaukee to assure
equal opportunity to all persons to live in decent
housing facilities regardless of race, color,
or national origin." >> She introduced
the Fair Housing law and got one vote,
hers. >> Over five years, Phillips
introduced her Open Housing ordinance with the same result.
>> The committee has chosen, as it has done previously
to reject the ordinance unanimously.
With that-- >> I wanted to cry, really,
but I thought that would not work.
I was the alderman. >> At the same time,
her constituents fought other battles,
against job discrimination, segregated schools,
and whites-only clubs. But housing discrimination
was at the top of their list. Five years of trying to pass
Open Housing bills in the Common Council had failed,
and in 1967, Vel Phillips' constituents looked for
another strategy. [shouts and cheers]
>> And so we said, let's go to the belly of the beast.
That's when the issue really blew up.
[dramatic music]
>> In August 1967, 200 activists marched across the
16th Street Viaduct in Milwaukee demanding the right to live
in any neighborhood in the city. Among them
the NAACP Youth Council, Father James Groppi,
a Catholic priest, and the Commandos,
a self-defense group from the Inner Core.
and on the opposite side bridge
angry white people, there is a mass of white people,
in the wrong part of town at letting you know that you're
the wrong time of day. >> Residents hurled bricks,
bodily fluids, and racial slurs.
>> The size of the crowds is mind blowing.
And it's just so vicious and violent and ugly.
It's hard to minimize it. >> Police began throwing
tear gas and creating dense plumes of smoke.
It was just mayhem and pandemonium.
I thought to myself,
this is absolutely nuts. I thought to myself,
>> Vel Phillips was not among
the marchers. She watched the confrontation
from home on the nightly news. >> It was stunning.
It was horrible.
>> The next day, Milwaukee mayor, Henry Maier
tried to restore order. >> And I urge those who live in
the area of march to please stay off the streets.
>> I came home from city hall and I just sat down and
I just had a good cry. >> Vel needed the marchers.
She needed coverage to put pressure
on the Common Council to pass an ordinance.
>> With the ban on marches in place, Phillips was back to
where she began in 1962. >> We were so disillusioned.
>> She joined Father Groppi and other Open Housing activists
for a rally at St. Boniface Parish.
it probably sat 1,000 people.
And it was packed, it probably sat 1,000 people.
standing room only. >> Speaking to the crowd,
Father Groppi asked if they were ready to march.
The crowd shouted its approval. [whistles, cheers and applause]
But Phillips hesitated. She was a lawyer
and an officer of the court. If she marched in the face
of the ban, she would be in full defiance of the law.
>> Now, the line has been drawn. You either have to be
this side and support them, or you're not.
And it's very, very violent out there in the streets.
And being in her position of power, she's this official
member of the Common Council, she's a part of the middle class
black leadership, it would have been easy for her to not go down
into the street. It would have been defended
and justified by a whole lot of powerful people.
>> But I was fed up at that time.
>> Despite the fear and despite the counsel
from some very close to her, she makes a different choice.
Which shows that she has gone to a very different place
than many other black middle class leaders have.
>> Because it was for my fair housing,
I felt nothing was going to stop us.
>> Vel Phillips, Father Groppi, and the rest of the crowd
defied the mayor's edict and took to the street.
>> The decision was made to march.
St. Boniface was on 11th and Clark.
We got as far as 9th and North Avenue, so that's about
six blocks. And the police closed in
and started to arrest people.
Vel Phillips was one of the first arrested.
>> And they treated you like you weren't a real person.
Feeling all over you when they patted you down.
It was just demoralizing.
>> Phillips was released the next morning, but her
mother, Thelma, was not happy with her daughter's jail time.
>> Oh, gosh! She was embarrassed.
"What will I tell my friends?" I said, "Mom, just tell your
friends that your daughter is doing what she thinks is best
in her capacity as a member of the Milwaukee Common Council."
>> I think that's when she got >> She marched again that night.
very brave, and tough. a reputation for being
increasingly violent.y became
>> For the most part, there was a backlash.
"How dare they do this to our city."
>> Everyone in official power starts to say,
"This is not acceptable. We can't have this."
They're forced into that position because these images
are going, not just in Milwaukee but they're going
across the country. It's an embarrassment
to the city.
across the country. >> The Open Housing activists kept up the pressure.
was we're going to make young people, myself included,
[laughter] the world better.
We all looked after each other.
>> If you look at the pictures of the time and the look on
her face, you can see a sense of belonging.
>> She had fought this lonely crusade for a long time
and there was something that was welcome to her.
There's a sense of connectivity, a sense of being a part
of the struggle. >> I was trying to figure out
how I really felt. It was like, this is my work.
>> In September, after two weeks of daily marches,
the Common Council again voted 18-1 against
the Open Housing ordinance. Phillips had run out
of patience. >> It's quite apparent
to me that the members of this honorable body,
to put it in the terms of my Commando friends,
these cats are just too dumb, just too dumb to know when they
have something going for them. It's bad enough to have to deal
with a bigot, but when you got a dumb bigot--
[cheers] >> While Vel Phillips remained
on the front lines of the housing protests,
her husband Dale kept the home running,
cooking, cleaning, and raising their two boys.
>> My father, in some ways, was an early Mr. Mom.
>> He always did floors, whatever cooking,
He wasn't hung up on "roles." whatever was necessary.
He was just a solid Midwest guy. >> He was very secure.
He was a good lawyer. He didn't feel that
he was competing. He knew that I loved
what I was doing and he wanted me to be happy.
>> They're, I think, truly a team in a real sense.
A lot of these teams, the man is the person of power
and it's the supportive woman, you know, Coretta King
or Malcolm X's wife. And here we have the woman
being the one who's out front and achieving the power
and the position and things with a very supportive husband.
>> The growing media exposure brought unwanted attention
to Vel's home. There were phone calls.
>> This man, he would call and say, "I'm watching you.
I think black people like yourself should go back
to Africa were you came from." It was scary, you know,
and I wondered if we should get some guards or something.
>> She received hate-filled letters.
>> This letter said, "P.S. If you see a brown streaks
that's because I used this for toilet paper before
I sent it to you." I had it in my hand,
and I just dropped it like that. >> Then a shot was fired
into her kitchen. >> The bullet landed right
in the middle of the oven door. >> When a bullet comes through
a window in your home, she could have said, I'm done.
Who's gonna blame her? That's threatening
on a whole different level. You could become a crusading
leader and be willing to die for the cause
and nothing will deter you. But if we say we're gonna go
kill your kids, that's an act of terror that happened there.
>> Things were really dangerous. That's when I sent the children
to my mother. She was living in California
at the time. They'd say, Michael especially,
"Momma, why don't you come to California?"
Just such a sad time. >> The Open Housing marches
went on for 200 days, continuing into early 1968.
>> There was a core people who were there night after night.
>> To come everyday like clockwork,
like it was a job for over 200 days.
This little white man, he said, "I'm very confused.
What is it that you people want?"
I said, "Just say America is a big pie.
We want a piece of the pie. We want a piece of America."
He look stunned, and he said, "That's all?"
I said, "Well, that's a great deal if you don't have it."
>> On April 4th, 1968, the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
was assassinated.
Soon after, President Lyndon Johnson
and Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
It included legislation that for the first time specifically
outlawed housing segregation. >> Milwaukee is critically
important to the passage of that national civil rights act
of 1968, the Fair Housing Act. Walter Mondale cites from
the Senate floor, Milwaukee as an important case of
how important the issue is and the need for change.
>> In response to the new Federal law,
Milwaukee's Common Council approved a citywide
Open Housing ordinance. Six years after she first
introduced the ordinance, Alderman Phillips
had finally won. >> Of course, it was just
mind boggling and wonderful to know that we really had it.
>> These are heroes. Milwaukee heroes,
Wisconsin heroes, and American heroes,
that deserve their place in the national narrative.
If we care about justice and equality, all of us should
embrace Vel, Father Groppi, the youth council,
the Commandos, and everyone who came out to support that.
>> My mother would always tell us, "If you really want it,
don't dream small dreams. Dream big dreams."
>> In 1971, Vel Phillips got a call from
Governor Patrick Lucey.
I wanted to buildcted governor,
in the black community. as much support as I could
church and have Vel Phillipsack
with me, it really set the stage very nicely for my having
a favorable reception. >> Governor Lucey asked Phillips
if she would accept an appointment as
a children's court judge. >> Oh, yeah.
I was surprised. He called and he said,
"There's going to be an opening and I want you to be
the first black." >> In larger black communities
we had it was important to have a sitting judge who was black
and the fact that she was a woman was
an additional advantage. >> I just thought that I would
have a chance to help shape someone's life,
to really make a difference. >> Phillips left her seat
on the Milwaukee Common Council after 15 years of service
and became the first African American judge
in Wisconsin history. >> I shall remember,
for a very long time, this morning.
Because I am sure that there will be many times when
remembering your good faith, your confidence in my ability,
and your sincere wishes for my success, will be like water
to a thirsty traveler. [cheers and applause]
[Vel]: I loved being in children's court.
I loved it.
>> As a children's court judge, Phillips focused her attention
on the issues facing African American families.
>> A disproportionate number of African American kids
coming before her because they're disproportionately poor.
She knew the family was important.
>> On the bench, Phillips saw families torn apart by crisis.
In 1974, her family faced a crisis of its own,
when her eldest son, Dale Jr. was diagnosed
with schizophrenia. >> You say to yourself,
did I do something wrong? >> The truth of mental illness
in a family situation, it's a shattering.
He was a paranoid schizophrenic. He didn't trust.
That mistrust, it hit my father like a hammer blow.
>> My husband didn't really understand.
He thought that if we found out that Dale was having some mental
problems, we'd call the doctor, and we'd get his medication
and everything, and then he's okay.
And it wasn't quite like that, you know, and that was hard.
I cry when I think about it, because we didn't know
how to deal with it. Oh, it was a difficult time.
It was a difficult time. >> I think it separated
my parents a certain degree. I know that my father probably
dove into work more. My mom was, she's never
carried a lot of weight, but I think during this period,
she was even thinner. It was a very trying time.
It wouldn't surprise me if my mother looked to a job
in Madison as sort of break from some of that.
Vel Phillips,
and dedicated, a remarkable woman
servant for 30 years. experienced public
and dedicated, a remarkable woman ?
>> In 1978, Phillips decided to run for Wisconsin
Secretary of State. >> I think campaigning is hard.
Really hard. >> On September 12th, she beat
eight other primary candidates, winning by almost
double the votes of the nearest contender
and gaining the Democratic nomination.
>> I think it's endurance and able to stay positive.
>> In the general election, in an increasingly conservative
political environment, Phillips was forced to
outspend her opponents. >> My husband said, "Your daddy
is here to help you. What do you want your daddy
to do?" I said, "Money."
I would appreciate your vote on Tuesday, November 7th.
for Secretary of State.
[bell rings] >> On November 7th, 1978,
Vel Phillips was elected Wisconsin's Secretary of State,
becoming the first African American to be elected
to statewide office in Wisconsin and the first African American
woman to be elected to any statewide executive office
in American history. >> She was in succession
to fill in as governor. When she talks, it's just
hilarious, she giggles, about the time when the governor
and the lieutenant governor left the state, and she realized
"I'm acting governor." Somebody tipped off the media
to do a story on it. And as she says,
"The men came rushing back." The governor and
lieutenant governor said, "We can't let that happen."
>> When Ebony magazine asked her about a possible run
for governor Phillips responded, "No politician worth their salt
would close the door on that." As Secretary of State,
Phillips continued her work for civil rights
and women's equality. >> When people would say,
"What's hardest, being the first woman
or the first black?" When I really think about it,
very often there are times when they do forget that
I'm a black person, but they never forget
that I'm a woman. >> Community groups across
Wisconsin invited her to speak at their events.
Sometimes she would be paid to appear.
>> Before I became Secretary of State I would say,
how about $50 or $25. It would always be some
very minor thing, then I could give it a black church.
It was a pittance and I thought I was in the position
where I could demand more. >> As Secretary of State,
Phillips often requested speaking fees higher than
the state ethics board advised. In 1981, she was accused of
numerous ethics violations, and ultimately was required
to pay back more than $8,000. >> The question of accepting
honoraria, you can legally do it during
your term and deposit the money as campaign money.
that's something else.nal money,
for personal gain. You're using a public office
That got Vel into trouble. That's really the distinction.
>It was not a wise thing to do.
And of course, the papers blew it up.
>> Well, she's trying to rewrite state laws for her benefit.
It's pretty clear, but state laws are state laws.
They apply equally whether you're male, female,
black, white, Asian. We all have to abide by
the same laws.
>> But of course, there were people who didn't like me
for whatever I did. >> This time, Dale could not
help her. >> He thought if anything
that caused a furor that I should not do it,
it's not worth it. ?
I never liked to lose, but I understood.
>> She accepted the results with real sadness.
She just sort of pulled into herself.
>> Her political career in ruins, Phillips returned
to Milwaukee. >> In '82, my dad still
at the firm, but the family had really-- had sort of
scattered. >> Vel decided to focus more
attention on her family. >> We made a little pact
that one Sunday a month I wouldn't speak.
I wouldn't be at this church or this or that.
And we would just relax, have breakfast in bed
and just cool it. And those were
wonderful Sundays. >> There was some recovery
happening at the time. My brother, he had a doctor
and he was on medication. I'd just left the house, moved
out west, joined the military. Left my dad so he could spend
some time, play some golf, enjoy his wife who was
no longer working. It's sort of an awakening.
They were able to enjoy themselves.
When my first son was born in '84, my father and my mom
came out to visit. And it was the happiest that
I had seen my father maybe in ten years, you know?
He was just overjoyed, he couldn't get enough.
It was good to see him that way.
>> In 1988, a seat opened up in the U.S. House of
Representatives. Vel and Dale began to explore
the possibility of Vel running for Congress.
>> I was gonna run for the Congress.
I had a meeting at my house which several people were there.
My husband said, "Honey, you'd be perfect for it."
And I think I would've won, but then right before I got
into it, Dale died and I just--
>> On April 14th 1988, Dale suffered a sudden
heart attack.
>> I just fell apart. It was such a low time in my
life because we were very close. >> Unable to speak at
her husband's funeral, Vel expressed her grief
in writing. "Dale, you have been so many
things to me. My love, my severest critic,
my biggest fan. How can I go on without you?"
Phillips abandoned her Congressional run,
never to serve in an elected office again.
>> It was just like a half of me just gone and I just couldn't
hang with that. I didn't have the same zest
without him. >> She's just never the same.
>> I do recall when he She shut down for a year.
went into a shell. passed away that she kind of
you know, really. Because they were such partners,
when Dale passed. She had lost part of herself
person since then.fferent
person since then. It's been two different lives,
I think, for her. Her life with my father
and her life after my dad. >> Vel Phillips gradually
returned to her work. She joined the Community
Brainstorming Conference, a group of Milwaukee activists
that addressed issues including high school
dropout rates and police brutality.
who were baptizedink that people
of the 1960s, in the protest movement
for them. that's still a motivator
the Vel Phillips Foundation,
to give high school students a chance to improve their lives
through higher education. In 2004, Phillips returned
to the political arena, serving as the honorary chair
for the congressional campaign of Gwen Moore,
the first African American to serve Wisconsin in the
U.S. House of Representatives. >> You make sure
that your gains, that you have fought so hard for
and that others have fought for with you,
are not lost. That somebody will still
>> Vel's always been a fighter. have that voice.
Vel is still fighting Today, in her own way,
and justice. to bring about equity
was sometimes on a personal,
one-on-one level, including her advocacy for
an elderly autistic man named Glen Schneider.
>> He goes to a black church, that's how I met him.
>> The pastor at St. Mark asked my mom to help him out.
She has always, always fought for the underprivileged,
for those who couldn't fight for themselves.
She has always been their voice. There is definitely a connection
in her for Glen. >> So if you would join me
in welcoming Ms. Vel Phillips. [applause]
active in the community,mazingly
says a lot. and I think that longevity
I'm reminded of my race >> Being in Wisconsin,
Sometimes it's discouraging, every day.
of Vel and the obstacles but a lot of times I think
That's motivation for me. that she had to overcome.
>> I tell you one thing,
she's a lovely woman. She's somebody that, I think,
is respected by not only people here in Milwaukee,
but she is respected by people all over the world.
>> When we measure it all up at the end of the day,
Vel Phillips is a great hero. >> She's the phoenix.
She just keeps on, and it's a beautiful model
for life, I believe. >> God has been very good to me.
But hey, I couldn't have done it without a lot of good people.
I don't think whatever I did was such a great deal,
but it was breaking ground in many areas.
I just felt that there must be a reason why I should be
in this place at this time. It's been a pretty good ride.
I just felt that there must be a reason why I s?ould be
Dream Big Dreams
is funded in part by the
Harvey E. and Greater Milwaukee Foundation,
Helen Bader Foundation, Harriet V. Vick Fund,
the charitable arm Evjue Foundation,
Wisconsin Humanities Council of the Capital Times ,
the National Endowment with funds from
Brewers Community Foundation, for the Humanities,
The Links Incorporated, Milwaukee Chapter of
Wisconsin Public Television. and Friends of
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