Ad Hoc Renaming Committee to propose Vel Phillips Memorial High School as new name

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Ad Hoc Citizens’ Renaming Committee will propose that Vel Phillips’ namesake take the place of James Madison in representing Madison Memorial High School.

The committee voted 10-1 Wednesday night to propose the name “Vel Phillips Memorial High School” to the Madison Board of Education.

The committee was deciding between four names:

• Darlene M. Hancock Memorial High School
• Memorial High School
• Vel Phillips Memorial High School
• Bruce Dahmen Memorial High School

While some committee members found Memorial High School a simple fix, others pegged this as an opportunity for a positive change.

“This is an opportunity to honor and put forth people who have been underrepresented in Madison and the United States,” one committee member said.

Vel Phillips was the first Black woman to graduate from the UW–Madison law school, become the Secretary of State of Wisconsin and to become a Wisconsin judge.

The Board of Education will vote on the final name in late November.

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