Patsy Takemoto Mink: First Woman of Color in Congress w/ authors Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink

With her election in 1964, Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink became the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman to serve in Congress. She represented the people of Hawaii during two periods, the
first from 1965 to 1977 and again from 1990 until her death in 2002. Mink was a vigorous and tireless champion for girls and women, an early and vocal opponent to the Vietnam War, and a leader on issues involving education, the environment, welfare, and civil rights. She is perhaps best known for her work shepherding and defending Title IX, the legislation that passed almost 50 years ago on June 23, 1972, that changed the face of education by prohibiting sex-discrimination in federally funded educational programs.
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink join us to discuss their new biography of Congresswoman Mink, Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First
Woman of Color in Congress (New York University Press, 2022). Dr. Wu is Professor of Asian American Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at the University of California, Irvine, and Dr. Mink, Patsy's daughter, is a noted political science scholar and first-hand witness to the many political struggles that her mother had to overcome. Their book provides vivid details of how trailblazer Patsy Takemoto Mink changed the future of American politics.