She was often misjudged. People saw her and never looked past the diminutive young woman with the bouffant hairdo. They noticed only her fair skin and Asian features. She was once mistaken for a teenage student when she was actually a member of US Congress.
By the mid-1950s Patsy Takemoto Mink was a young mother and was serving in the Hawaii Territorial government. By the early 1960s, she was a US congresswoman representing our brand new 50th state (Hawaii).
She was a third-generation Japanese-American who had experienced discrimination firsthand. She would fight to pass legislation for racial and gender equality, and lobby for better educational opportunities for all. In March, Patsy Takemoto Mink was honored by the US Mint. She is the 12th quarter in the American Women Quarter Series.
Patsy Takemoto was born in Hawaii on December 6, 1927. She attended college in the United States, but was treated differently as a Japanese-American. In the 1940s, students of color couldn’t live in the same dorms with white students. Takemoto would return to Hawaii for health reasons and finish her studies at the University of Hawaii, graduating in 1948 with a degree in chemistry and zoology.
After college, Takemoto wanted to go to medical school however she was rejected a dozen times. An employer saw her working as a simple clerk-typist and encouraged her to apply for law school.
Takemoto graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1951. There she met John Mink, her future husband.
In 1952, Patsy, husband John, and young daughter Gwendolyn moved back to Hawaii. She hoped to join a law firm. However, again, Takemoto Mink was rejected. She was viewed unfavorably because of her interracial marriage. In time, she opened a law practice and became a successful private attorney. She was the first Japanese-American admitted to the Hawaiian bar.
Takemoto Mink turned to a lifelong career in politics. She served as a United States Senator (1962-1964) and also served in the United States House of Representatives twice: (1965-1977) and (1990-2002). She was the first woman of color and first Asian American woman elected to Congress. During the 1980s, she also served four years on the City Council of Honolulu.
In the late 1970s, Takemoto Mink was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Scientific Affairs by President Jimmy Carter. From 1975-1977 she was Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus.
Takemoto Mink didn’t win all her political races. She had at least one unsuccessful bid for Senate and attempted to run for Governor of Hawaii and for Mayor of Honolulu. Sometimes her personality came across as harsh and abrasive. She couldn’t always be quiet and soft spoken. In 1972, she received only a small percentage of votes as a Presidential anti war candidate.
She is remembered as co-author of the Title IX legislation. This 1972 law barred gender discrimination in college academics and sports. Today, young girls and women can thank her. They have an equal opportunity to play sports, receive funding, and participate in educational activities without fear of harassment. Following her death Title IX was renamed the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
She was a member of the US House of Representatives at the time of her death on September 28, 2002. She passed away at the age of 74 due to viral pneumonia following complications from chickenpox. It had been too late to remove her name from election ballots and she was posthumously elected to the 108th Congress. Patsy Takemoto Mink was buried with military honors and laid to rest at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
Many accolades followed her death. In 2003, Takemoto Mink was elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Since her death, there have been parks, schools, and office buildings named in her honor. In 2014, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her contributions to equality in education and women’s rights.
Patsy Takemoto may have been small in stature but today she’s remembered as a compassionate and articulate woman with a big heart. Young girls can now receive an equal education and are barred from discrimination in any federally funded program, regardless of gender. They will not be denied and the sky is the limit!
“If to believe in freedom and equality is to be a radical, then I am a radical.”
-Rep. Patsy Takemoto Mink
