City officials gathered at the Milwaukee Art Museum to celebrate Vel R. Phillips

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee icon was remembered on what would have been her 100th birthday on Sunday, Feb. 18. 

Mayor Cavalier Johnson, congresswoman Gwen Moore, and other officials gathered at the Milwaukee Art Museum to proclaim 2024 "The year of Vel R. Phillips." 

That honor was given to the late civil rights activist and politician. 

Vel R. Phillips was the first woman and first African American elected to Milwaukee's Common Council. 

She was also the first woman to be appointed a judge in Milwaukee County, and the first African American to be appointed a judge in Wisconsin. 

Mayor Johnson says it was her work that enabled him to become mayor. 

"I'll always be reminded of how grateful I feel that Vel was a part of my life. She was a part of so many people's lives that are here. After all she is an icon, she is a legend, and I'm honored to be here just to share the impact she's made, not just on me but this entire community," said Johnson. 

Phillips son, Michael, also spoke at the ceremony.

He thanked the people he teamed up with to get a statue of his mother on the grounds of the state capitol in Madison. 

It will be the first statue of an African American woman outside a state capitol in the United States