Patsy Mink

Born: December 6, 1927 in Hawaii

Died: 2002

Became the first Japanese-American woman lawyer in Hawaii.

Elected to the Hawaii Senate and served 25 years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Supported civil rights, education, labor rights and she was the primary author of Title IX in 1972 that banned educational discrimination.

“It is easy enough to vote right and be consistently with the majority. But it is more often more important to be ahead of the majority and this means being willing to cut the first furrow in the ground and stand alone for a while if necessary.”