“It is easy enough to vote right and be consistently with the majority. But it is more often more important to be ahead of the majority and this means being willing to…stand alone for a while if necessary.” ~Patsy Takemoto Mink
The Honorable Patsy Takemoto Mink was the first woman of color elected to the House of Representatives. She dedicated her life to opening doors for women and minorities, ensuring equal opportunities for everyone.
Mink was born on the island of Maui a third-generation descendant of Japanese immigrants. For most of her childhood, she attended primarily white schools, which she found unfriendly and isolating. A year after she started high school, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese-American locals began to be treated like the enemy. Despite the negative attitude toward her heritage, Mink ran for and won her first political race, becoming the student body president of her high school – the first girl to do so.
After graduating, she moved to Honolulu to attend the University of Hawaii. Pursuing her goal of getting into medical school, she transferred to the University of Nebraska, a school with strict segregation policies. The segregation greatly angered Mink, so she organized a coalition of students, faculty, and supporters to protest these policies. They successfully lobbied to end segregation at the school, but Mink was sick and had to return home to Hawaii. She finished her final year at the University of Hawaii, earning a bachelor's in zoology and chemistry. But, when she started applying to medical schools, she discovered none would accept her because of her gender. So, she decided to go to law school instead.
Mink received a law degree from Chicago Law School but faced discrimination when trying to take the bar exam. Because of the territorial laws at the time, when Mink married her husband, she lost her Hawaiian residency, so Hawaii wouldn't let her take the exam. Once she proved her residency, she continued to face discrimination, as no one wanted to let a woman take the exam. Even when she finally took and passed the bar, no one would hire her due to her being in an interracial marriage and a mother.
Since no one would hire her, Mink started her own law firm, taking on the cases no other firm would. She also started becoming active in local politics. She worked on a congressional campaign and was a legislative attorney before being elected to the Hawaii Territorial Legislature in 1956. Mink was a huge supporter of better education, equal rights, and natural land preservation. She ran for the congressional seat when Hawaii became a state but lost.
In 1965, Mink decided to run for a federal role again and was elected to the House of Representatives. She was the first woman from Hawaii, the first woman of color, and the first Japanese American woman elected to Congress. During her six consecutive terms, she focused on children, education, and gender equality. Mink introduced the first initiatives under the Early Childhood Education Act, including a federal child-care bill, the establishment of bilingual education, the Head Start program, federally funded school lunches, and student loans. She was also the first democratic woman and second woman ever to deliver a State of the Union response. In 1972, she was frustrated by the policies of the Nixon administration, so she became the first Asian American woman to run for president but did not receive enough nominations to become the Democratic party candidate.
One of Mink's greatest accomplishments during her time in Congress was Title IX. She co-wrote and greatly advocated for the Title IX law prohibiting gender discrimination by federally funded higher learning institutions and played a big part in its passing. A few years later, she continued to fight when there was an effort to amend the law to allow schools to allocate less money to women's sports than men's. She fought heavily against this amendment, but on the day of the vote, she had to leave because her daughter was in a serious car accident. The amendment passed, but she advocated for a revote due to the circumstances. After the revote, the amendment failed, and Title IX was protected. Mink also introduced the Women's Equality Act.
Mink gave up her House seat to run for the Senate but lost that election. Instead, she was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She held the position for a year before returning to the private sector. However, in 1990, she was reelected to the House of Representatives and served seven more consecutive terms. During her second time in the House, Mink pressed for universal healthcare, worked on reproductive health rights, and co-sponsored the Gender Equality and DREAM Acts. She also led several other congresswomen marching the Capital, protesting Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
In honor of her groundbreaking work, Mink has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and was awarded the 2014 Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Title IX amendment was also renamed the Patsy T. Mink Opportunity in Education Act.
The design for the Patsy Takemoto Mink quarter was discussed at the March 1, 2023, Citizens Coinage Advisory (CCAC) meeting. Mink's daughter, Wendy Mink, was in attendance to share her thoughts on the design. She loved the elegant and energetic portrait of her mother, specifically her big smile. Despite the challenges she faced, her mother was always smiling, so she was glad to see that incorporated into the coin. Mink also explained that the watch on her mother's wrist was a specific request from the family because it was something she always wore.
This coin highlights Mink's greatest accomplishments and honors her heritage, which was so important to her. She is standing in front of the Capitol building holding legislation, highlighting her as an important congresswoman. Specifically, she is standing in front of the south wing, where the House of Representatives is located. The coin uses the exact language of her Title IX law, equal opportunity in education, something she spent her career fighting for. To honor her home of Hawaii, she is wearing a traditional lei.