Patsy Takemoto Mink, born December 6, 1927 on Maui in Hawai'ian territory, graduated from Maui High School in 1944 and attended the University of Hawai'i at Manoa for two years before transferring to the University of Nebraska. She experienced racism and worked to eliminate segregation policies, but illness forced her to return to Hawai'i to complete her studies.
She applied to twelve medical schools but was rejected by all of them. She applied to the University of Chicago Law School in 1948. Unable to find employment after graduation, Mind returned to Hawai'i with her husband and daughter in 1952. She opened her own law practice in 1953 and became a member of the Democratic Party.
The next year she was elected to the territorial House of Representatives, making her the first Japanese-American woman to serve in the House. Two years later, she became the first woman to serve in the territorial Senate.
In 1962, she was elected to the new Hawai'i State Senate and became the first Asian-American woman to serve in a state legislature. In 1964, she ran for federal office and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mink served until her death in 2002.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Mink
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