Nydia M. Velazquez: “the mark of an American hero is a person who created reality and shaped the values that we take for granted today. Patsy…”

“the mark of an American hero is a person who created reality and shaped the values that we take for granted today. Patsy Mink is one such American hero. Each time we look around at what America is today, we should think of Patsy Mink because our Nation is a better place due to the contributions she made throughout her life on education, immigrants' rights, health care, and protecting the poor. She fought for civil rights in an era of segregation. She was an advocate for Asian Americans after the internment policy of World War II. She opposed a war before it made headlines. She fought to provide every child with a quality education, and she created opportunities for girls to play college sports, sparking a revolution for an entire generation that is now the envy of the world. She was the first in so many things, the first female student body president, the first Japanese American woman to practice law in Hawaii, the first woman of color to serve in the United States Congress, all things we take for granted today. We should always remember it was Patsy who fought to get us here, especially women. Perhaps Patsy herself could sum up her life and legacy best when she said, my career in politics has been a crucible of challenges and crises where in the end the principles to which I was committed prevailed. We should all strive to be as dedicated to our process and as passionate in our arguments as Patsy was to hers.”