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MINK, Patsy Takemoto (1927-2002)
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MINK, PATSY TAKEMOTO, a Representative from Hawaii; born Patsy Matsu Takemoto, December 6, 1927, in Paia, Maui County, Hawaii; graduated from Maui High School, Maui, Hawaii, 1944; attended Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pa., 1946; attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebr., 1947; B.A., University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawaii, 1948; J.D., University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Ill., 1951; lawyer, private practice; lecturer, University of Hawaii, 1952-1956, 1959-1962, and 1979-1981; attorney for Hawaii territorial house of representatives, 1955; member of the Hawaii territorial house of representatives, 1956-1958; member of the Hawaii territorial senate, 1958-1959; member of the Hawaii state senate, 1962-1964; delegate to the Democratic National Convention, 1960, 1972, 1980, and 1984; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-ninth and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1965-January 3, 1977); was not a candidate for reelection to the Ninety-fifth Congress in 1976, but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the United States Senate; Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, 1977-1978; president, Americans for Democratic Action, 1978-1981; member, Honolulu, Hawaii, city council, 1983-1987, chair, 1983-1985; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred First Congress in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative Daniel K. Akaka; reelected to the seven succeeding Congresses (September 22, 1990-September 28, 2002); died on September 28, 2002, in Honolulu, Hawaii; posthumously elected to the One Hundred Eighth Congress in 2002; interment in National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers: 1883-2005 (bulk 1953-2002), 1,530 linear feet.
The papers of Patsy Mink contain correspondence, memoranda, writings, speeches, notes, interviews, questionnaires, legislative files, testimony, casework, law practice client files, court documents, statements, press releases, appointment books, scheduling files, travel itineraries, campaign files, card files, biographical material, student papers, family papers, scrapbooks, news clippings, printed matter, awards and honors, political ephemera, maps, photographs, and other papers relating chiefly to Mink's service in the U.S. House of Representatives. Subjects include gender equity, Title IX, Women's Educational Equity Act, education, women's rights, welfare, environment, U.S. territories in the Pacific, Asian- American affairs, consumer affairs, civil rights, labor, immigration, health care, Vietnam, and nuclear weapons testing. Also documents Mink's private law practice in Honolulu; involvement in Hawaii and national Democratic politics; service in Hawaii's territorial and state legislatures; activities as assistant secretary of state for oceans and international, environmental, and scientific affairs; president of Americans for Democratic Action; and chair of the Honolulu City Council. A finding aid is available in the repository.

Oral history: 1979, length unknown.
An oral history interview of Patsy T. Mink conducted on 6 March 1979, 26 March 1979, and 7 June 1979 by the Association of Former Members of Congress.

New York University
Tamiment Institute Library
New York, NY
Papers: In the National Organization for Women. New York Chapter Records, ca. 1966-1973, 3.5 linear feet.
Correspondents include Patsy Mink. An unpublished finding aid is available in the repository.

Oregon Historical Society
Research Library
Portland, OR
Papers: In the Edith Green papers, 1955-1975, 376.2 cubic feet.
Persons represented include Patsy Mink.

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
Schlesinger Library
Cambridge, MA
Papers: In the Dolores Alexander papers, 1960-1973, 4 linear feet.
Persons represented include Patsy Mink.

Papers: In the Candidates for public office campaign materials, 1966-1976, 0.5 linear foot.
Persons represented include Patsy Mink.

Papers: In the Peggy Lamson papers, ca. 1967, 0.5 linear foot.
Includes phonotapes and transcripts of interviews of congresswomen and women in government service, which Peggy Lamson conducted for her book titled Few Are Chosen (1968). The collection contains an interview with Patsy Mink. An unpublished finding aid is available in the repository.

Papers: In the National Organization for Women records: Series I-XVI, 1961-1999, 83 linear feet.
Persons represented include Patsy Mink.

Papers: In the Papers of NOW officers, 1971-1976, 1.25 linear feet.
Persons represented include Patsy Mink.

Smith College
Sophia Smith Collection
Northampton, MA
Papers: 1965-1982, 2 linear feet.
Includes papers relating to the career of Patsy Mink in her roles as congresswoman, local official, lawyer, and lecturer.

Swarthmore College Peace Collection
Swarthmore, PA
Papers: In the Women Strike for Peace papers, ca. 1961-1973, 40 linear feet.
Correspondents include Patsy Mink. A finding aid is available in the repository.

University of Michigan
Bentley Historical Library
Ann Arbor, MI
Audiotapes: In the Martha Wright Griffiths sound recordings, ca. 1957-1978, amount unknown.
Featured participants on tapes include Patsy Mink.

University of Oklahoma
Carl Albert Center Congressional Archives
Norman, OK
Papers: In the Carl Bert Albert congressional papers, ca. 1910-1976, 1,000 cubic feet.
Other authors include Patsy Mink.

Wichita State University
Special Collections and University Archives
Wichita, KS
Papers: ca. 1956-1972, 3 linear feet.
The Patsy Mink collections contains congressional reports, copies of bills, speeches and addresses given by Patsy Mink, and an oral history interview transcript. The material in this collection displays Patsy Mink's political concerns, including affirmative action and strip mining legislation. The collection is stored in an off-site facility. Contact the curator of Special Collections regarding retrieval.

  • Davidson, Sue. Jeannette Rankin and Patsy Takemoto Mink: A Heart in Politics. Seattle: Seal Press, 1994.
  • Mink, Patsy T. "Energy and Environment: Which is Undermining Which?" Natural Resources Lawyer 9 (1976): 19-39.
  • "Patsy T. Mink" in Women in Congress, 1917-2006. Prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration by the Office of History & Preservation, U.S. House of Representatives. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2006.
  • "Patsy Takemoto Mink" in Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress, 1900-2017. Prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration by the Office of the Historian and the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Washington: Government Publishing Office, 2018.
  • Ralph Nader Congress Project. Citizens Look at Congress: Patsy T. Mink, Democratic Representative from Hawaii. Washington, D. C.: Grossman Publishers, 1972.
  • ___. "Reclamation and Rollcalls: The Political Struggle Over Stripmining." Environmental Policy and Law 2 (December 1976): 176-80.
  • U.S. Congress. Senate. Nomination of Patsy T. Mink: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, first session, March 22, 1977. 95th Cong., 1st sess., 1977. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1977.