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Patsy (Takemoto) Mink
Patsy was a third-generation Japanese-American born on the island of Maui, Hawaii, then a US territory. -
Discrimination
Patsy's grandparents left Japan for work on Hawaiian sugar plantations and regularly witnessed discrimination between cultures and classes but that increased for Japanese people and native Hawaiians after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. -
Valedictorian
Valedictorian, Class President, and University bound, Patsy, attended a Pennsylvania and Nebraska University, but faced discrimination as a young woman of color, not allowed to reside in the dormitory with white women. She lobbied for change but eventually completed her education at the University of Hawaii with the hopes of becoming a doctor.
With a double major in zoology and Chemistry, Patsy applied but was not accepted to any medical schools. So she turned to law. -
Lawyer
One of two women accepted that year, Patsy attended the University of Chicago Law School but upon graduation was not successful at obtaining a job- she was a minority in many ways, a woman, a woman of color, and a mother, therefore not "employable". Patsy returned home, was the first woman to pass the Hawaii bar exam and become a licensed attorney, yet she continued to face discrimination because of her interracial marriage.
So Patsy started her own firm. -
Congresswoman
In 1959, when Hawaii became a state, Patsy made her first run at US Congress, she didn't win but did serve in the state senate. In 1962, she ran again for the Congressional seat again didn't win the election but in 1964 when a second seat opened for Hawaii, she won that seat. She became the first Asian-American, a woman of color to serve in Congress -
The American Girl
It is 1967. Lil, 18 - about the age of Patsy's daughter at the time
- also a third-generation American
- undiagnosed learning disabilities and a lack of family resources.
- "girls don't go to college",
- labeled trouble in school
- truancy threatened to keep her from finishing.
*A young PE teacher struck a deal with her- If she'd come to school, she'd could ref the Catholic HS girls basketball games. -
Title IX
Co-authored -called the Mother of -Title IX -of the Educational Amendments of 1972, which states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This rule opened the doors and changed the landscape for millions of little girls to come. *presidential run- Oregon -
Women's Equity in Education
As a member of the Education and Labor Committee Patsy put forward the Women's Educational Equity Act.
This act authorized funds to support women's programming These funds also helped education facilities to meet the requirements of Title IX. -
Equal Educational Opportunities Act
The Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 prohibits deliberate segregation of faculty, staff, and students on the basis of race, color, and national origin. This piece of legislation changed the landscape for preschools, ESL/bilingual education, and by its nature continued to make more opportunities for women in education, advancement, and higher pay. -
The Modern American Girl
Twenty years after Title IX, these 3 girls from Lil's former high school signed letters of intent, becoming not only the first collegiate athletes in their families but the first females to attend university.
All 3 of them became educators. -
The Future of Leadership in America
Cohort 19- the face of diversity and empowered female leadership. Thank you, Patsy.