Fierce and fearless : Patsy Takemoto Mink, first woman of color in congress / Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Gwendolyn Mink.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wu, Judy Tzu-Chun, author.

Mink, Gwendolyn, 1952- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Japanese American women--Biography.

Japanese American women.

Physical Description:

1 online resource : 30 b/w illustrations

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, [2022]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The first biography of trailblazing legislator Patsy Takemoto Mink, best known as the legislative champion of Title IX “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.”—President Barack Obama, on posthumously awarding Mink the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014Patsy Takemoto Mink was the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected to Congress. Fierce and Fearless is the first biography of this remarkable woman, who first won election to Congress in 1964 and went on to serve in the House for twenty-four years, her final term ending with her death in 2002. Mink was an advocate for girls and women, best known for her work shepherding and defending Title IX, the legislation that changed the face of education in America, making it possible for girls and women to participate in school sports, and in education more broadly, at the same level as boys and men.Mink’s life is wonderfully chronicled by eminent historian Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink, Patsy’s daughter, a noted political science scholar and first-hand witness to the many political struggles that her mother had to overcome. Featuring family anecdotes, vignettes, and photographs, Fierce and Fearless offers new insight into who Mink was, and the progressive principles that fueled her mission. Wu and Mink provide readers with an up-close understanding of her life as a third-generation Japanese American from Hawaii—from her childhood on Maui to her decades-long career in the House, working with noted legislators like Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, and Nancy Pelosi. They follow the evolution of her politics, including her advocacy for race, gender, and class equality and her work to promote peace and environmental justice.Fierce and Fearless provides vivid details of how Patsy Takemoto Mink changed the future of American politics. Celebrating the life and legacy of a woman, activist, and politician ahead of her time, this book illuminates the life of a trailblazing icon who made history.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Figures

A Note on the Text

Introduction: Speaking Truth to Power

Part I The Party of the People

Introduction

The Tateyamas of Waikamoi

1 Plantation Society

“Pink Mink”

2 A Democratic Revolution

Part II A Great Society at War

“I See You Have Appointment with Vietcong”

3 A Dove among Hawks

“You Must Be a Women’s Libber”

4 A Feminist Legislator

Mauch Chunk

5 A Pacific Environmentalist

Part III Oceans and Islands

Violated

6 A Progressive Political Vision

Back Home in Waipahu

7 Practicing “We” Politics

Part IV A National Reckoning

“Nobody around Here Is Interested”

8 The Third Wave

Welfare Is a Women’s Issue

9 Battling Poverty

“No, Where Are You Really From?”

10 The Cost of Belonging

“Stay Safe, Patsy”

Epilogue: Ripples

Acknowledgments

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Authors

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4798-2629-4

OCLC:

1298393351