Celebrating Asian American, Native Hawai'ian, Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Patsy Mink, first Asian American woman elected to Congress

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

Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month: George Ariyoshi, first Asian-American to serve as governor

George Ariyoshi, born March 12, 1926 in Honolulu, Hawaii, is the first Asian American to serve as governor of a U.S. state.  He was elected as the third governor of Hawaii and is the longest serving governor for the state.

He began politics in 1954 when he was elected to the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives.  In 1958 he was elected to the Hawaii Territorial Senate and then the next year, Hawaii State Senate.  

He was elected lieutenant governor in 1970 with Governor John Burns.  When Burns fell ill in October 1973, Ariyoshi stepped in as acting governor.  He was elected as governor in 1974 and served until 1986.  Term limits prevented him from running for another term.