Gwendolyn Mink on her mother, Patsy Mink
Patsy and Gwendolyn Mink, Courtesy of History, Art, and Archives
Mink's daughter, Wendy (Gwendolyn), followed her mother's footsteps and became an author and a women's rights activist. Some of her books include: Hostile Environment the Political Betrayal Of Sexually Harassed Women, The Wages Of Motherhood, Welfare's End, and Whose Welfare.
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“Well, I think that every little thing—or maybe not so little thing—that the women in Congress dared to speak about, whether it was, you know, not having gym access in the 1960s, or insisting that Anita Hill be heard in 1991, to insisting that certain kinds of women’s issues get a full hearing—I think all of those things have been part of the story of women in Congress, and part of my mother’s story of being a woman in Congress. I think that what she took from her service was a constant reminder to herself of how important it is that women serve in Congress. Because one woman can’t accomplish what 218 women could, right? And so her goal was parity for women, for the whole full range of women’s voices. I think she hoped that the legacy of being the first woman of color, and being a woman who was willing to talk about women, you know, that that would be part of what she would leave to the future.”
Courtesy of History, Art, and Archives |
"The late Patsy Takemoto Mink was a woman far ahead of her time both in what she accomplished in her own personal life and in her vision and championing of women's rights long before it became acceptable and popular. In her own life, she was a trailblazer who challenged limitations placed on her because she was a minority and a woman. When 12 medical schools denied her application because she was a woman, she went to law school. But even as a lawyer, she faced prejudice that regarded her gender as a liability. She responded to that kind of ignorance with an equal amount of tenacity and grace.
She became the first Japanese-American woman admitted to the Hawai'i bar. She was the first Asian-American woman elected to the state Legislature, and she was the first woman of color to get elected to a national office in 1964 when she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives." Courtesy of the Honolulu Advisor
She became the first Japanese-American woman admitted to the Hawai'i bar. She was the first Asian-American woman elected to the state Legislature, and she was the first woman of color to get elected to a national office in 1964 when she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives." Courtesy of the Honolulu Advisor