Milwaukee Common Council approves measure to rename street in honor of Vel Phillips

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A measure to rename 4th Street from Saint Paul to Capitol Drive as "Vel R. Phillips Avenue" was approved unanimously by the Common Council Tuesday morning. 

Vel Phillips was a pioneering civil rights leader and woman of many firsts including the first African American woman to graduate from the UW Law School, sit on the Milwaukee Common Council, serve as a Milwaukee County Judge, and be elected to a statewide office. 

Phillips passed away April 17 at the age of 95.