Bella's Fat Cat, 2737 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., honors the great Milwaukee civil rights leader and pioneer, Vel Phillips, with a custard social in her honor this Friday, Aug. 15 at 1 p.m. A brief program follows at 1:30 p.m.

Bella's offers a limited-time custard flavor in her honor. The "Vel Phillips Special," is a rich combination of vanilla and chocolate with real cheesecake pieces swirled in.

Vel Phillips' biography reads as a long and impressive list of firsts. The North Division High School graduate was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School, she and her husband were the first husband and wife team of any race admitted to the federal bar in Milwaukee, and she also went on to become the first woman judge in Milwaukee County and the first African American to serve in Wisconsin's judiciary.

A community advocate and champion for charities, Phillips started the Vel Phillips Foundation, a foundation with a mission to help establish equality and opportunity for minorities through social justice, education, equal housing opportunities, and jobs.

For every scoop of Vel Phillips Special sold, Bella's will make a donation to the Vel Phillips Foundation.