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Tuesday October 29, 2002

First Asian-American Congresswoman Dies at 74

TJ DeGroat

Patsy T. Mink, a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Congress, died of pneumonia Sept 30, just a week after winning the Democratic nomination to continue representing Hawaii's 2nd district.

A political trailblazer, Mink was running for her 13th term in Congress.

Born Dec. 6, 1927, Mink grew up outside of Maui. After receiving her bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaii in 1948, Mink couldn't find a medical school that would accept a woman. That, coupled with her difficulty finding a law firm that would hire a female lawyer, motivated her to support the women's and civil-rights movements.

Mink was a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives in the 1950s before being elected to U.S. Congress for six consecutive terms beginning in 1965.

After losing the race for the Senate in 1976, Mink spent time working on local and national platforms, heading Americans for Democratic Action from 1978 to 1981 and serving as a member of the Honolulu City Council from 1983 to 1987.

She headed back to Washington, D.C. beginning in 1990 after winning a special election to fill the Congressional seat vacated by Daniel K. Akaka.

Civil-rights leaders in Hawaii and around the United States remember Mink as a tireless champion of equal rights, fighting to help people of every race and economic background achieve the American dream.

'Congresswoman Mink has long established her name as a powerhouse advocate for working families since her entrance into the political arena," said Luisa Blue, National President of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. "In Congress, she developed a reputation as a legislator of integrity who was not afraid to speak out against oppression and injustice even if it meant she was the sole voice.'

'Mrs. Mink was an amazing lady,' said Clyde Nishimura, a Japanese American Citizen's League (JACL) board member. 'Growing up in Hawaii in the 1960s and 1970s meant looking up to many idols such as Mink. [She was] special to the common folks like me as [she] had a great personal touch in reaching out to the people of Hawaii.'

'We'll miss her friendship, her leadership and her pioneering spirit,' said John Tateishi, national executive director of the JACL. 'But more than anything we'll miss her because she was such a good person with a great heart.'

Among Mink's successes as a member of Congress was her work to pass the much lauded Title IX of the Women's Education Equity Act, which bans gender discrimination in schools that receive federal funding. The law exponentially increased the number of female athletes competing in high school sports.

Mink is survived by her husband, John, a hydrology and geology consultant, and her daughter, Gwendolyn, a professor at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

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