The school is named after Vel Phillips, an American attorney, politician, jurist, and Civil Rights activist, who served as the first female alderperson and judge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and as Secretary of State of Wisconsin (1979–1983).

On February 11, 2014, principal Bruce Dahmen unexpectedly died from a heart attack while on a field trip with students.

Starting in May 2022 and ending in August 2024, the school went under an extensive renovation as part of a referendum passed in the fall of 2020.

[6] In 2001, Memorial received a U.S. Department of Education Small Learning Communities federal grant to support a "neighborhood" reorganization.

[8] Independent newspapers, The Spartacus and Aficionado existed at one time, but have all ceased distribution.