Patsy Mink
Encyclopedia
Patsy Matsu Takemoto Mink was an American politician
from the U.S. state
of Hawaii
. Mink was a third generation Japanese American
and member of the Democratic Party
. She also was the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
.
Mink served in the U.S. House of Representatives
for a total of 12 terms, representing Hawaii's first and second congressional districts. While in Congress she was noted for authoring the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act
. Mink won her last election after her death in 2002.
Mink was the first woman of color
and the first Asian American
woman elected to Congress. She was also the first woman elected to Congress from the state of Hawaii
, and became the first Asian American to seek the Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party in the 1972 election
, where she stood in the Oregon primary
as an anti-war candidate.
In recognition of her contributions towards equal rights in the country, Congress named the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act the "Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act".
. She was a Sansei
, or third-generation descendant of emigrants from Japan. Her father, Suematsu Takemoto, was a civil engineer
. Her mother, Mitama Tateyama, was
a homemaker
. Takemoto graduated from the University of Hawaii
in 1922. Takemoto was the first Japanese American to graduate from the University of Hawaii.
For several years, he was the only Japanese American civil engineer working in Maui. Takemoto was passed over and not promoted several times during his career; instead the positions offered to white American
s. He resigned his local position in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II
, and moved to Honolulu
with his family. Takemoto established his own land surveying company
in Honolulu.
Her maternal grandparents were Gojiro Tateyama and his wife Tsuru. Gojiro was born in the Empire of Japan
during the 19th century. He arrived in the Territory of Hawaii
late in the century, and was employed as a worker on a sugar plantation
. He later moved to Maui, and was initially employed as a worker for the East Maui Irrigation Company. Subsequently, Gojiro was employed as a store manager
and filling station
employee. He also delivered mail throughout the backcountry
of Maui.
The Tateyamas lived in a shack
by Waikamoi Stream. They had eleven children. William Pogue, Gojiro's employer at the Irrigation Company, arranged to have the Tateyama female children educated at the Maunaolu Seminary, a boarding school
for Christian
girls located in the town of Makawao
.
on the island of Maui
. She was raised by her parents on Maui.
She attended Maui High School
and in her Junior year, Mink won her first election to become student body president. Her election to the position came with great challenges. She developed approaches to confront these challenges, and she drew on these experiences when later serving in the territorial legislature and in Congress. For example,
the month before the election, Honolulu was attacked by Japan. As a consequence, most of the student body was uncomfortable with anything that was Japanese-oriented. Therefore,
in order to get elected, Mink had to overcome these hard feelings. Mink also had to cope
with being the only female who had ever showed ambition for student office in the school's history, something that was unheard of at the time. Mink orchestrated a strategy of impressing the various cliques on campus, including the popular football
team. Her coalition
-building strategy worked and she won a close election. In 1944, Mink graduated from high school as class valedictorian
.
Mink moved to Honolulu where she attended the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
. She then transferred to the University of Nebraska where she once again faced discrimination. The university had a long-standing racial segregation
policy whereby students of color were forced to live in different dormitories from the white
students. This annoyed Mink, and she organized and created a coalition of students, parents, administrators, employees, alumni, sponsoring businesses and corporations. Mink and her coalition successfully lobbied to end the university's segregation policies.
After her successful war against segregation at the University of Nebraska, Mink moved back to Honolulu to prepare for medical school
. She received bachelor's degrees in zoology
and chemistry
from the University of Hawaii. However in 1948, none of the twenty medical schools to which she applied would accept women. A disappointed Mink decided the best way to force medical schools to accept women would be through the judicial process. Mink decided to go to law school
.
Mink applied to the University of Chicago Law School
. Unusually, the school had admitted women from its inception in 1902, and Mink attended law school with several other women. Mink obtained her juris doctor
degree in 1951.
Newly married, Mink settled in Honolulu, where she began practicing law. In 1952, Patsy gave birth to her daughter Gwendolyn, who later became a prominent author and educator on labor and women's issues.
In 1956 as the Territory of Hawaii
debated statehood, Mink was elected to the territorial legislature representing her district in the House of Representatives. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the Union.
In 1965, Mink became the first female minority to join the ranks of Congress. She served six consecutive terms. During the 1972 Presidential race, Mink ran in the Oregon primary
as an anti-Vietnam War candidate.
Mink took what she learned in high school and built some of the most influential coalitions in Congress. Her most important coalition was one to support the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, which she wrote, prohibiting gender discrimination by federally funded institutions, an outgrowth of the adversities Mink faced through college.
Mink also introduced the first comprehensive Early Childhood Education Act
and authored the Women's Educational Equity Act
. All of these laws written by Mink were declared landmark laws by Congress as they advanced equal rights in America beyond what could be imagined during the time. Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act was renamed by President George W. Bush
on 29 October 2002 to become the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
From 1975 to 1977, during the 94th Congress, Mink was elected to a position in the House Democratic leadership, as Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus
.
for the Senate seat to Spark Matsunaga
, President of the United States Jimmy Carter
appointed Mink as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
. She served under Cyrus Vance
and Edmund Muskie
.
. Her peers on the council eventually elected her Chairwoman, and she often butted heads with the controversial Mayor of Honolulu Frank Fasi
.
In 1990, Mink won back a seat in Congress, serving alongside Neil Abercrombie
who represented the First Congressional District of Hawaii.
. Her condition steadily worsened, and on September 28, 2002, Mink died in Honolulu of viral pneumonia
, at age 74. Hawaii and the nation mourned as President George W. Bush
ordered all flags to be lowered to half staff in honor of her contributions towards the equal rights of Americans. Mink received a national memorial and was honored with a state funeral in the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda
attended by leaders and members of Congress. She is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
.
Mink's death occurred one week after the 2002 primary election, too late for her name to be removed from the general election ballot. On November 5, 2002, Mink was posthumously re-elected to Congress. Her vacant seat was filled by Ed Case
after a special election on January 4, 2003.
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Mink was a third generation Japanese American
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
and member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. She also was the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
The Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs is a bureau within the United States Department of State. It coordinates a portfolio of issues related to the world's oceans, environment, science and technology, and health....
.
Mink served in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for a total of 12 terms, representing Hawaii's first and second congressional districts. While in Congress she was noted for authoring the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...
. Mink won her last election after her death in 2002.
Mink was the first woman of color
Person of color
Person of color is a term used, primarily in the United States, to describe all people who are not white. The term is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism...
and the first Asian American
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
woman elected to Congress. She was also the first woman elected to Congress from the state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and became the first Asian American to seek the Presidential nomination of the Democratic Party in the 1972 election
United States presidential election, 1972
The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...
, where she stood in the Oregon primary
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1972
The 1972 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1972 U.S. presidential election...
as an anti-war candidate.
In recognition of her contributions towards equal rights in the country, Congress named the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act the "Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act".
Family background
Mink's parents were second-generation Japanese Americans or NiseiNisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
. She was a Sansei
Sansei
Sansei is a Japanese language term used in countries in South America, North America and Australia to specify the children of children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation, grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei and...
, or third-generation descendant of emigrants from Japan. Her father, Suematsu Takemoto, was a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. Her mother, Mitama Tateyama, was
a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
. Takemoto graduated from the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
in 1922. Takemoto was the first Japanese American to graduate from the University of Hawaii.
For several years, he was the only Japanese American civil engineer working in Maui. Takemoto was passed over and not promoted several times during his career; instead the positions offered to white American
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
s. He resigned his local position in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and moved to Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
with his family. Takemoto established his own land surveying company
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
in Honolulu.
Her maternal grandparents were Gojiro Tateyama and his wife Tsuru. Gojiro was born in the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
during the 19th century. He arrived in the Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
late in the century, and was employed as a worker on a sugar plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
. He later moved to Maui, and was initially employed as a worker for the East Maui Irrigation Company. Subsequently, Gojiro was employed as a store manager
Store manager
A store manager is the person ultimately responsible for the day-to-day operations of a retail store. All employees working in the store report to the store manager...
and filling station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
employee. He also delivered mail throughout the backcountry
Backcountry
A backcountry area in general terms is a geographical region that is:* isolated* remote* undeveloped* difficult to accessThe term may apply to various regions that are reasonably close to urban areas but are:* not immediately accessible by car...
of Maui.
The Tateyamas lived in a shack
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
by Waikamoi Stream. They had eleven children. William Pogue, Gojiro's employer at the Irrigation Company, arranged to have the Tateyama female children educated at the Maunaolu Seminary, a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
girls located in the town of Makawao
Makawao, Hawaii
Makawao is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 6,327 at the 2000 census. Located in the rural northeast slope of Haleakala on East Maui, the community is known for being the hub of the "Upcountry", a part of the island dominated by mostly...
.
Early years and education
Mink was born in PaiaPaia, Hawaii
Pāia is a census-designated place in Maui County, Hawaii, on the northern coast of the island of Maui. The population was 2,499 at the 2000 census. Pāia is home to several restaurants, art galleries, surf shops and other tourist-oriented businesses. One business, Charley's, is frequented by...
on the island of Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
. She was raised by her parents on Maui.
She attended Maui High School
Maui High School (Kahului, Hawaii)
Maui High School is a public high school founded in 1913 in Hamakuapoko, a sugar plantation town on the island of Maui in Hawaii. In 1972, the school moved to its new location in Kahului, Hawaii.- Old Maui High School:...
and in her Junior year, Mink won her first election to become student body president. Her election to the position came with great challenges. She developed approaches to confront these challenges, and she drew on these experiences when later serving in the territorial legislature and in Congress. For example,
the month before the election, Honolulu was attacked by Japan. As a consequence, most of the student body was uncomfortable with anything that was Japanese-oriented. Therefore,
in order to get elected, Mink had to overcome these hard feelings. Mink also had to cope
with being the only female who had ever showed ambition for student office in the school's history, something that was unheard of at the time. Mink orchestrated a strategy of impressing the various cliques on campus, including the popular football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team. Her coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
-building strategy worked and she won a close election. In 1944, Mink graduated from high school as class valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
.
Mink moved to Honolulu where she attended the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
. She then transferred to the University of Nebraska where she once again faced discrimination. The university had a long-standing racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
policy whereby students of color were forced to live in different dormitories from the white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
students. This annoyed Mink, and she organized and created a coalition of students, parents, administrators, employees, alumni, sponsoring businesses and corporations. Mink and her coalition successfully lobbied to end the university's segregation policies.
After her successful war against segregation at the University of Nebraska, Mink moved back to Honolulu to prepare for medical school
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
. She received bachelor's degrees in zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from the University of Hawaii. However in 1948, none of the twenty medical schools to which she applied would accept women. A disappointed Mink decided the best way to force medical schools to accept women would be through the judicial process. Mink decided to go to law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
.
Mink applied to the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
. Unusually, the school had admitted women from its inception in 1902, and Mink attended law school with several other women. Mink obtained her juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree in 1951.
Family and early career
While at law school, Mink met hydrologist John Mink (1924–2005), who was to become her husband and lifelong partner.Newly married, Mink settled in Honolulu, where she began practicing law. In 1952, Patsy gave birth to her daughter Gwendolyn, who later became a prominent author and educator on labor and women's issues.
In 1956 as the Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
debated statehood, Mink was elected to the territorial legislature representing her district in the House of Representatives. In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the Union.
U.S. Representative
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1972
The 1972 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1972 U.S. presidential election...
as an anti-Vietnam War candidate.
Mink took what she learned in high school and built some of the most influential coalitions in Congress. Her most important coalition was one to support the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, which she wrote, prohibiting gender discrimination by federally funded institutions, an outgrowth of the adversities Mink faced through college.
Mink also introduced the first comprehensive Early Childhood Education Act
Early Childhood Education Act
The Early Childhood Education Act is the name of various landmark laws passed by the United States Congress outlining federal programs and funding for childhood education from pre-school through kindergarten. The first such act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by...
and authored the Women's Educational Equity Act
Women's Educational Equity Act
The Women's Educational Equity Act of 1974 is one of the several landmark laws passed by the United States Congress outlining federal protections against the gender discrimination of women in education. WEAA was enacted as part of P.L. 93-380...
. All of these laws written by Mink were declared landmark laws by Congress as they advanced equal rights in America beyond what could be imagined during the time. Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act was renamed by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on 29 October 2002 to become the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.
From 1975 to 1977, during the 94th Congress, Mink was elected to a position in the House Democratic leadership, as Secretary of the House Democratic Caucus
Democratic Caucus Vice-Chairman of the United States House of Representatives
The Vice-Chair of the Democratic Caucus in the United States House of Representatives is a leadership position that ranks just below the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus. In addition to other duties, the Vice-Chair has a seat on the Steering and Policy Committee.The office of Secretary of the...
.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
In 1976, Mink gave up her seat in Congress to run for a vacancy in the United States Senate. After she lost the primary electionPrimary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
for the Senate seat to Spark Matsunaga
Spark Matsunaga
Spark Masayuki Matsunaga was a United States Senator from Hawaii. He was an American Democrat whose legislation in the United States Senate led to the creation of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians.-Career:Matsunaga became a United States Army Reservist in 1941,...
, President of the United States Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
appointed Mink as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs in the United States Department of State...
. She served under Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Vance
Cyrus Roberts Vance was an American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980...
and Edmund Muskie
Edmund Muskie
Edmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie was an American politician from Rumford, Maine. He served as Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, as a member of the United States Senate from 1959 to 1980, and as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981...
.
Return to U.S. Representative
After her service in the Carter Administration, Mink settled in Honolulu, where she was elected to the Honolulu City CouncilHonolulu City Council
The Honolulu City Council is the legislative branch of the City & County of Honolulu and is considered the second most powerful parliamentary body in the State of Hawaii, following the Hawaii State Legislature...
. Her peers on the council eventually elected her Chairwoman, and she often butted heads with the controversial Mayor of Honolulu Frank Fasi
Frank Fasi
Frank Francis Fasi was a United States politician having the distinction as the longest serving Mayor of Honolulu in Honolulu, Hawaii. He also served as a territorial senator and member of the Honolulu City Council...
.
In 1990, Mink won back a seat in Congress, serving alongside Neil Abercrombie
Neil Abercrombie
Neil Abercrombie is the 7th and current Governor of Hawaii. He was the Democratic U.S. Representative of the First Congressional District of Hawaii which comprises urban Honolulu. He served in Congress from 1986 to 1987 and from 1991 to 2010 when he resigned to successfully run for governor...
who represented the First Congressional District of Hawaii.
Death
On August 30, 2002, Mink was hospitalized in Honolulu's Straub Clinic and Hospital with complications from chickenpoxChickenpox
Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...
. Her condition steadily worsened, and on September 28, 2002, Mink died in Honolulu of viral pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, at age 74. Hawaii and the nation mourned as President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
ordered all flags to be lowered to half staff in honor of her contributions towards the equal rights of Americans. Mink received a national memorial and was honored with a state funeral in the Hawaii State Capitol Rotunda
Hawaii State Capitol
The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of Hawaii in the United States. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state...
attended by leaders and members of Congress. She is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is a cemetery located in Honolulu, Hawaii that serves a memorial to those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces...
.
Mink's death occurred one week after the 2002 primary election, too late for her name to be removed from the general election ballot. On November 5, 2002, Mink was posthumously re-elected to Congress. Her vacant seat was filled by Ed Case
Ed Case
Edward Espenett "Ed" Case is a Democratic politician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. Case, a Blue Dog Democrat, first came to prominence in Hawaii as majority leader of the Hawaii State Legislature and for his campaign for Governor of Hawaii in 2002...
after a special election on January 4, 2003.
External links
- Her profile in "Distinguished Asian Americans"
- Her profile in "American Women Administrators"
- Her profile in "Called from Within"
- Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority, a documentary by Kimberlee Bassford
- All Politics Profile on CNN
- Honolulu Advertiser Special Edition, September 29, 2002
- Honolulu Advertiser Special Edition, October 5, 2002
- National Organization for Women Memorial of Patsy Mink
- National Women's History Project Biography of Patsy Mink