It has been seen throughout history
that women tend to fall behind in their success when compared to men. Right along the side with women are the
colored, or immigrants. Well one
historical event that I wanted to focus on was on Patsy Takemoto Mink and her
entering the Congress. What makes this
so significant is that she was the first Asian-American women or women of color
to enter Congress. This acted as a
stepping stone to all the efforts she would make.
Patsy Mink was a very intelligent
individual and was extremely dedicated towards her causes. She was born December 6th of 1927
in Hawaii. Before she was the first Asian
American congresswomen she had pushed towards her education. She had graduated from college as a Zoology
major and went to further her education in grad school. However when applying to medical school she
was soon rejected to various schools, only to find the low admission rates of
women in medical school. She still
pushed forward to law school where she graduated from Chicago Law School and
met her husband. After this she was
elected into Congress.
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When entering Congress she was
recognized for her standing as the first woman of color but went to prove
herself with her various efforts. For
example, she was a firm believer of equal rights and worked with projects that
aimed for these rights, and more specifically women’s rights. She began her career in the Hawaii State
House of Representatives (1956-1958) and two years later served for the Hawaii
State Senate (1958-1959). Because she
had been a victim of “racial discrimination as a child and adult” (Info) she
felt the need to work towards equal opportunity. While in Congress some of the committees she
took part in include the Committee on Education and Labor, Committee on
Interior and Insular and on Budget Committee.
During the time she was not in Congress she had acted as “Jimmy Carter’s
assistant secretary of state for oceans international, environmental, and
scientific affairs” (Rise Up). .jpg)
Now these are all titles, but what is
more important is what she did with these positions. Such as how she worked along the side with Martin
Luther King Jr. against the “all-white Mississippi Congressional Delegation in
1964”. Also she protested against things
such as Nuclear Testing. She was
determined in everything she worked on.
Her daughter said that she was her “role model” and she showed “personal
courage” and a “deep love for humanity” (Rise Up.) A major change she made was “Among the education acts Mink introduced
or sponsored were the first childcare bill and legislation establishing
bilingual education”. This proved
to be very important to today’s education, creating the bridge for bilingual
children. She is known for bettering the
“lives of all races and ethnic backgrounds” (Rise Up). So even more than helping just Asian
Americans she more helped all people of color.
Links
Referenced
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