Evers announces final approval for Vel R. Phillips statue

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Governor Tony Evers announced final approval on Friday, April 12, for a statue of Vel. R. Phillips on the grounds of the state capitol.

Phillips was the pioneering Milwaukee leader who made history many times over. She was the first Black person elected to Milwaukee's Common Council; first woman elected to statewide office as secretary of state. She was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin law school, and the first Black judge. All of this and she was heavily involved in the civil rights movement of the 60s. 

The sculpture will be the first person of color on the capitol grounds. 

We were told the statue will be unveiled in June.