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Patsy Takemoto Mink, who grew up in the plantation camps of Hamakuapoko and rose to become the first Asian-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, was posthumously honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony Monday.
“Every girl in Little League, every woman playing college sports, and every parent – including Michelle and myself – who watches their daughter on a field or in the classroom is forever grateful to the late Patsy Takemoto Mink. I am particularly grateful because she was my congresswoman for a long time,” said Obama, who grew up in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School.
Mink is credited with co-authoring the landmark Title IX federal legislation in 1972 mandating gender equity in schools across the nation.
“Denied admission to medical school because she was a woman, Patsy went on to law school and co-authored Title IX, banning gender discrimination in our schools,” the president said at the ceremony. “Patsy was many ‘firsts’ – including the first woman of color in Congress – and to those of us in Hawaii, she represented the best of public service and the aloha spirit.
“And if she was a first, she dedicated her life to making sure that she would not be the last. From championing civil rights to fighting for – fighting against gender discrimination – Patsy was a passionate advocate for opportunity, equality and realizing the full promise of the American Dream.”
Accepting the award on her behalf was Mink’s daughter, Wendy Mink.
“Patsy Takemoto Mink was ahead of her time,” Obama said later in presenting the medal to Mink’s daughter. “The first woman of color elected to Congress, she entered office determined to do all she could to ensure equal treatment for every American, regardless of race or sex. . . . She was a forceful advocate for civil rights legislation and for a sensible end to the Vietnam War. She served her beloved Hawaii with integrity and grace all her life. An American trailblazer, Patsy Takemoto Mink helped build a nation that lives up to its promise, and her example challenges us to make progress in our time.”
Mink served in Congress from 1964 to 1977 and from 1990 until her death in 2002, representing Maui County and parts of rural Oahu. She was 74 when pneumonia claimed her life. Mink was also a member of the Territorial House and Senate, and, after statehood, the state Senate and the Honolulu City Council.
“Congresswoman Mink is deeply deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, having demonstrated her selfless commitment to the betterment of our nation and increasing opportunities for all Americans,” said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who currently holds Mink’s old seat, earlier this month when the announcement of the award was made. “It is appropriate that this high honor will be given to one of Hawaii’s great leaders and a true American trailblazer.”
Another woman representing Hawaii in the U.S. Congress, Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, also praised the awarding of the medal to Mink.”This recognition for my friend, Patsy Mink, is well deserved, and I am proud to have lent my early support to this effort,” said Hirono this month. “A visionary and a trailblazer, Patsy’s legacy lives on in every female student and athlete in America who’s been given a fair shot to compete in the classroom and on the playing field.
“We are proud that a keiki o ka aina, born and raised on Maui, who continues to inspire all of us, has received this high honor. I commend the Hawaii Bar Association for its nomination and organizing the effort that has made this honor a reality.”
Independent filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford, who did the documentary “Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority” that appeared on Public Broadcasting stations nationwide, said in an interview with The Maui News in 2009 that she believes the plantation camps of Hamakuapoko where she grew up “had a huge influence on her.”
She said that she recalled Mink’s daughter saying that her mom’s demeanor softened when she returned to her home island, where she graduated from Maui High School in 1944.
“She was happier,” her daughter told the filmmaker. “A lot of who she was was Maui,” and her mom “was proud to be from Maui.”
Her political integrity always stood out to me,” said Bassford. “She never wavered. If all the politicians today were like her, the world would be a better place.
“She was willing to be practical, but she never compromised her ideals.”
Mink was one of 18 notables to be honored in the ceremony. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is reserved for individuals who have made “meritorious contributions” to U.S. security, world peace or cultural endeavors.
Among those receiving the award were Ethel Kennedy, NBC journalist Tom Brokaw and civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, who were slain in 1964 as they participated in a historic voter registration drive in Mississippi.
* The Associated Press contributed to this report.