Post office on Milwaukee's Martin Luther King Dr. named to honor civil rights pioneer Vel Phillips





Post office dedicated to Vel Phillips



MILWAUKEE -- The U.S. Post Office located at 2650 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. in Milwaukee is being named the Vel R. Phillips Post Office Building -- after the civil rights pioneer.

On May 11, 2018, Congresswoman Gwen Moore introduced H.R. Bill 5784 to designate the Post Office building in honor of Vel Phillips. The bill was signed into law on Dec. 6, 2018.

A news release says Phillips served on the Milwaukee Common Council for 15 years. After she resigned in 1971, she was appointed to the Milwaukee County judiciary. Phillips was the first woman judge in Milwaukee and the first African-American judge in Wisconsin. In 1978, Phillips made national history by being the first woman and first African-American elected as the Secretary of State in Wisconsin.

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