Passage II

Patsy Mink:Equal Rights Champion

[1]

Using just thirty-seven words, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination against students and employees in school districts and universities changed public education. Enacted in 1972 as part of the Education Amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX stipulates that no person shall be excluded from any arenas of public schooling on the basis of sex. The most widely known thing about Title IX has been equal participation in sports. Actually, though, the law requires fair and equal treatment in all educational areas: which are including admissions, scholarships, housing, and academic programs. One of its principal authors was the U.S.congresswoman from Hawaii, Patsy Takemoto Mink. [A]

[2]

(19) After completing duel bachelor's degrees in zoology and chemistry at the University of Hawaii in 1948, Mink applied to twenty medical schools. At the time, none of the schools that she applied accepted women. A disappointedly Mink vowed to spend her life opposing discrimination by using the legal system. [B] She enrolled in law school at the University of Chicago and received her degree in 1951. [C]

[3]

[1] After graduation, Mink and her husband moved to Honolulu, where she started her own law firm. [2] Increasingly interested in politics, Mink ran for federal office. [3] Mink used her position in Congress to fight for the rights of immigrants, ethnic minorities, women, and children. [4] In 1965, she became the first Asian American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress when she won the first of six consecutive elections. [5] For example, in addition to Title IX, Mink introduced: the Early Childhood Education Act and supported the Women's Educational Equity Act. [6] All three were landmark laws because they substantially altered civil rights policies. (26)

[4]

Mink used her passionate politics voice to advocate equality for all citizens. [D] After her death in 2002, Title IX was officially renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.