Political Quotes

“I want to begin my remarks about Women's History Month with a little quiz. Who was the first woman of color to serve in this body, in the United States House of Representatives? I think I hear somebody saying maybe it was Shirley Chisolm. Shirley Chisolm certainly was a groundbreaking leader, but she was not the first woman of color. It was a woman named Patsy Mink. Patsy Takemoto Mink was born in the territory of Hawaii in 1927. She became a lawyer at the University of Chicago. That is my hometown. Not frequent for women to do that. In fact, she couldn't get a job, so she set up her own practice. But she got really interested in politics, and she served in the territorial House and Senate. And guess what? She was the first woman ever to be in that body. She was a groundbreaker. In 1964, 5 years after Hawaii became a State, Patsy ran for the United States Congress, the first woman of color and the first Asian American and the first woman to represent Hawaii. She championed early childhood education, introduced the first childcare bill in Congress, and she was a groundbreaker by introducing title IX. This was legislation that itself was groundbreaking. An amendment to the Higher Education Act, title IX, ensured that women could not be excluded from participating in school activities or participating in collegiate athletics. Believe me, this was not an easy bill to pass. That same year, she actually did run for President.…”