Fierce and Fearless

Fierce and Fearless--Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress By Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink. The first biography of trailblazing legislator Patsy Takemoto Mink, best known as the legislative champion of Title IX. “Every  girl in Little League, every woman playing college sports, and every  parent—including Michelle and myself—who watches their daughter on a  field or in the classroom is forever grateful to the late Patsy Takemoto  Mink.”—President Barack Obama, on posthumously awarding Mink the  Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014 Patsy Takemoto Mink was the first woman of color and the first Asian American woman elected to Congress. Fierce and Fearless is  the first biography of this remarkable woman, who first won election to  Congress in 1964 and went on to serve in the House for twenty-four  years, her final term ending with her death in 2002. Mink was an  advocate for girls and women, best known for her work shepherding and  defending Title IX, the legislation that changed the face of education  in America, making it possible for girls and women to participate in  school sports, and in education more broadly, at the same level as boys  and men. Mink’s life is wonderfully chronicled by eminent  historian Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink, Patsy’s daughter, a noted  political science scholar and first-hand witness to the many political  struggles that her mother had to overcome. Featuring family anecdotes,  vignettes, and photographs, Fierce and Fearless offers new  insight into who Mink was, and the progressive principles that fueled  her mission. Wu and Mink provide readers with an up-close understanding  of her life as a third-generation Japanese American from Hawaii—from her  childhood on Maui to her decades-long career in the House, working with  noted legislators like Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, and Nancy Pelosi.  They follow the evolution of her politics, including her advocacy for  race, gender, and class equality and her work to promote peace and  environmental justice. Hardbound: 456 pp.