Women who made legal history: Patsy Mink, J.D. '51

Patsy Mink was a 1951 graduate of the Law School (who also worked in the then named University of Chicago Law Library - we became "D'Angelo" later). She was born Patsy Matsu Takemoto in 1927 and passed away in 2002. She wanted to become a doctor and attend medical school. However, her applications were not accepted, so she applied to law school instead. She was one of two women, and two Asian-Americans, in her graduating class at the University of Chicago Law School. After graduation, she had difficulty getting a job in the legal profession because of the same sexism and racial discrimination that dogged her early on since college, so she started her own practice. Mink was the first Japanese-American woman to practice law in her home state of Hawaii and worked as a private attorney for the House of Representatives in that territory.

She also turned to politics. Mink won a seat in the Hawaii State Senate in 1962, and in 1964, she became the first woman of color elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the first Asian-American woman to serve in Congress. She also served as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She created the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. She sponsored bills such as Title IX, the Early Childhood Education Act, and the Women's Educational Equity Act.

As a congresswoman, Mink fought for gender and racial equality, affordable childcare, bilingual education, and became a supporter of Title IX. She was one of the authors and sponsors of the Title IX, the law which stated that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” After her death, the Title IX law was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. (1)

Patsy Mink was also the first Asian-American to run for U.S. President.

For over four decades, Mink championed the rights of immigrants, minorities, women, and children, and worked to eradicate the kind of discrimination she had faced in her life. Known for her integrity, determination, tenacity, and honesty, she is recognized as the major mover of Title IX, the legislation that brought academic and athletic equity to American educational institutions. Mink was a strong environmental advocate and worked tirelessly on energy policy issues of regional, national and global impact.

She was the recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees. (2) For example, she was a recipient of the ABA's 1992 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. (3)

Patsy Takemoto Mink was one of five women honored with her own quarter released in 2024 as part of the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters Program. (4)

For more information about Patsy Mink and her legal history-making, trailblazing achievements, you can check out a variety of works including Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink: The First Woman of Color in Congress (New York University Press, 2022) (available at the library). (5)

(1) Kerri Lee Alexander, "Patsy Mink (1927-2002)," National Women's History Museum. See also " The 14th Amendment and the Evolution of Title IX" (U.S. Courts, Accessed March 17, 2025).

(2) "Patsy Takemoto Mink" (National Women's Hall of Fame). See also "ALIST Profile of Patsy Mink '51" (The University of Chicago Law School), linking to Jennifer Ho, "Dispatches: Patsy Mink, Political Pioneer," ALIST, January 11, 2012. For more information, see Called from Within: Early Women Lawyers of Hawaiʻi, edited by Mari J. Matsuda, pages 251-280. See also First Woman of Color in Congress: A Resource Guide for the Patsy T. Mink Papers(Library of Congress).

(3) American Bar Association, Commission on Women in the Profession, Margaret Brent Awards, Previous Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award Recipients (1992 Honorees: Rep. Patsy Takemoto Mink).

(4) "A Historic First: American Women Quarters Program" (United States Mint); "Patsy Mink, '51, To Be Honored With Image on US Quarter," Law School News, September 6, 2023.

(5) See also Richard Mertens, "Political Pioneer: Patsy Mink, JD'51, Was a Tenacious and Determined Politician," The University of Chicago Magazine, September/October 2012. Later adapted as "A Principled Politician: The Story of Patsy Mink, The First Woman of Color Elected to Congress," UChicago News, March 8, 2024 ("Known as a powerful speaker, Mink, JD'51, passed key legislation that changed the country").