On July 28, 2024 By dekeriversIn Democrats, History, Racism, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Politics
There was not a cloud to be found in the perfectly blue sky late Saturday afternoon as a large crowd gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol at South Hamilton Street to unveil a sculpture of trailblazing Vel Phillips. She encountered racism in her life, but simply would not accept it. As her son, Michael Phillips, pushed a remote button, the drapery surrounding the artwork during the ceremony dropped, and the iconic woman who marshaled progress with civil rights in the Badger State was bathed in warm sunlight.
The speakers ranging from Madison state representatives, Senator Tammy Baldwin, and Governor Tony Evers all shared their personal perspectives with one voice in saying how important Phillips’ presence will be when fourth graders who study our history take a school trip to the statehouse. Girls will see a strong Black woman, and for many of them it will be a mirror that reflects their family and community, but also the potential for their own steps and professions when they become adults. I thought about my class trip from Plainfield when I was ten, and how the teacher stood by various statues and told stories about why we recall a person or an idea. Now children from Ashland to Janesville, from Holmen to Algoma will see one part of how racial justice unfolded in our state when standing alongside the Vel Phillips sculpture.
There were so many people at the ceremony that once the unveiling took place it was hard to get close to see the front of the sculpture or stand for a minute and reflect. So, after a late dinner, James and I parked at the statehouse at about 10 P.M. walked up to it, looked at it, touched it, and read the inscription on the front. The writing is lower to the ground, but that is when it hit me while bent low and reading a synopsis of Phillips’ life. Our state’s young people will have this important woman presented more at their height level to read about and come to understand. As I stood back up, I did a silent fist bump into the night.
Her life story is, I suspect, known to many of our state residents, and those in politics knew her, or of her, very well. She was the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School. If there was one thing I would have added to the sculpture, it would have been a law book in her hand as social progress and civil rights truly arrive in a meaningful and profound way when state statutes reflect our resolve to make needed changes. Phillips well understood that necessity as a jurist. She was the first African American, as well as the first woman, to serve in that role in Wisconsin. She also was elected statewide as Secretary of State in 1978. One does have to honestly ask how there was not already a way to honor her on the statehouse grounds before Saturday? It was noted that one picture of Phillips has been in the capitol for years, the one hanging on the wall in the office of Governor Tony Evers.
Vel Phillips was known by many for her continuing grace and empathy as she fought for social change. This weekend she continued to make history as her sculpture is now the first Black woman to sit on the ground of any U.S. State Capitol. It was noted several times by speakers on Saturday that less than 1% of nearly 50,000 public monuments around the U.S. represent people of color. Further, merely 6% of these monuments portray women from history. During a ten-day trip to Washington, D.C. a cab driver from Pakistan told me (I had interesting conversations with each driver during our visit) there was a lack of poets and scientists among the statuary in the Capital, but plenty of militarism displayed. Almost that same line was spoken to the energized crowd at the Wisconsin statehouse.
I often write about people needing to see themselves reflected in those who govern. President Barack Obama is a shining example of the tide of history bending to meet the people who call our nation home. Pete Buttigieg does for gay Americans what Obama did for Black people. When young people visit the statehouse from communities that are not as diverse outwardly as our larger cities, it becomes even more important to have the sculpture of Vel Phillips for them to study. Our progress needs to be understood when looking backward but also used as a starting point in the lives of newer generations who will take their own steps in bending the arc towards further justice.
