Vel Phillips Foundation Announced

[JohnM]

Civil rights pioneer Vel Phillips has spent most of her life in pursuit of social justice and equal opportunity, and there is a movement afoot to preserve that 50-year legacy with the creation of a foundation in her honor.

On Monday, the 20th anniversary of the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., the Vel Phillips Foundation was unveiled. It has been created to establish opportunities for minorities and women through financial support of efforts that promote social justice, education, equal housing opportunities and jobs.

"Through her own charm and persistence, Vel Phillips is a shining example of what one person can do to make a difference in the community," said Robert Young, a foundation supporter. "The Vel Phillips Foundation will give people with similar values a chance to join together to effect positive change in the community."
(Source: www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan06/jsonline.com/news/regional/milwaukee/story/385432&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5&client=firefox-a]Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel [/url])

Learn more about Vel Phillips:

Bridging the women's movement and the civil rights movement, Vel Phillips
(1924-) made history for both her race and her gender, building a career full of firsts. Overcoming her middle-class upbringing and social mores, Phillips provided a link between women across social classes and exemplified the African American struggle for rights in the north.
(Source: Wisconsin Historical Society)

and Black History:
Black History at the Wisconin Historical Society
Freedom's Journal Archive The Wisconsin Historical Society has made available digital scans of all 103 issue of Freedom's Journal, the first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States.