The first woman of color in U.S. Congress was Patsy Mink (1927-2002). Mink blazed the trail as a third-generation Japanese-American, elected to Congress in 1964.

She worked four decades in Congress championing the rights of immigrants, women and children. She also fought for Title IX, legislation that ensured academic and athletic equity in institutions of higher education in the U.S.

Read more about Patsy Mink at the National Women's Hall of Fame »

— Sponsored by the Chancellor's Commission on Women