Making Waves Films - Ahead of the Majority

We are currently raising funds for post-production. All donations to the project are tax-deductible. Please scroll down to the bottom of this page to find out how you can help bring this important film to fruition.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF PATSY TAKEMOTO MINK

Ahead of the Majority is a one-hour documentary that explores the life and times of the late U.S. Representative Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002), the first woman of color in Congress and driving force behind Title IX, the landmark legislation that mandated gender equity in education.

While Mink was considered a controversial figure at times, the film aims to provide a balanced view of her politics and actions. More importantly, her life offers a unique window onto the larger story of Hawai‘i and America in the twentieth century, focusing on the nation’s shifting attitudes towards gender, race and politics.

The film is aimed at a national public television broadcast, community screenings in Hawai'i and on the mainland, film festivals and educational distribution. As Mink demonstrated the importance of participating in the democratic process and political life of the nation, the project will also involve an outreach initiative aimed at increasing voter registration among young people and women of color.

DID YOU KNOW . . .

Today, women constitute more than half of the American population yet have just 15 percent of the representation in Congress.

Mink during her first term in Congress, 1965-1967
PHOTO SOURCE: Library of Congress

It is easy enough to vote right and be consistently with the majority. But it is more often more important to be ahead of the majority and this means being willing to cut the first furrow in the ground and stand alone for a while if necessary.

--Patsy Mink, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 8, 1975

TEN REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PATSY MINK

1.	She co-authored Title IX.
2.	She was the first woman of color to serve in the U.S. Congress.
3.	She was one of the first women to run for president, entering the Oregon presidential primary in 1972.
4.	She ran in 22 elections, more than any other politician from Hawai'i then or since. She is the only Hawai'i politician to serve at the county, territorial, state and federal levels.
5.	She introduced the nation's first comprehensive Early Childhood Education Act in 1971. Congress passed the legislation, but President Nixon vetoed it.
6.	She authored Hawai'i's "equal pay for equal work" law in 1957. The national law was passed six years later.
7.	She defended a strong civil rights plank at the 1960 Democratic National Convention.
8.	She was the first Asian American woman elected to public office in Hawai'i.
9.	She was the first Japanese American female lawyer in Hawai'i. She originally wanted to be a doctor but was rejected by all the medical schools she applied to in 1948.
10.	She led a crusade in college against the the University of Nebraska's segregated housing policy. The school rescinded the discriminatory policy because of her efforts.

THE IMPACT OF TITLE IX

While much of the focus on Title IX has been its impact on athletics, Title IX covers all areas of education, including access to higher education.

Specifically, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states:

"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

Here are some of the effects of Title IX:

Upon Mink’s death,
Congress renamed Title IX the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.

	Prior to Title IX (1972)	More than two decades later
Bachelor degrees awarded to women	43 %	57 % (2001)
Medical degrees awarded to women	9 %	41 % (1996)
Law degrees awarded to women	7 %	44 % (1996)
Doctoral degrees awarded to women	14 %	46 % (2001)
High school varsity athletes who are female	7 %	42 % (2001)
Collegiate varsity athletes who are female	15 %	42 %(2001)

Sources: Gender Equity: Men’s and Women’s Participation in Higher Education, GAO-01-128 (U.S. Department of Education, 2000); Title IX at 30: Report Card on Gender Equity (National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education, 2002); The Condition of Education 2004 (U.S. Department of Education, 2004)

FILM SYNOPSIS

When Patsy Mink arrived on Capitol Hill in 1965, she was an oddity. The national press portrayed the 37-year-old Japanese American woman from Hawai'i as “exotic,” “pretty” and “diminutive,” descriptions rarely attributed to a member of Congress. Mink’s election, however, came at a time of profound change in American history. The period of ferment following World War II had brought new emphasis on America’s role as a model of freedom and equality in the world, forcing the nation to confront issues of gender and racial equity. As the first woman of color in Congress, Mink symbolized the effect of these changes, representing both women and minorities, groups that had before been almost absent in national politics.

Mink with President Lyndon B. Johnson
PHOTO SOURCE: Library of Congress

Throughout her twenty-four years in Congress from 1965 to 1977 and then again from 1990 until 2002, Mink served as a voice for women, minorities, immigrants, workers and the poor. She authored the Women’s Educational Equity Act, fought for welfare reform that carried fewer punitive measures for single mothers and even launched a bid for the U.S. presidency. She is most remembered, however, as the co-author of Title IX, which expanded educational and athletic opportunities for women and remains one of the most significant pieces of equal opportunity legislation of the twentieth century. In 1992, McCall’s Magazine cited her as one of the ten best lawmakers in Congress. In 2003, the National Women’s Hall of Fame posthumously inducted her into its membership for her contributions to women’s rights.

But Mink’s successes were tempered with periods of disappointment and defeat. Some leaders of her own Hawai‘i Democratic Party balked at her independent style and maneuvered against her on several campaigns. Her liberal politics, particularly her vocal opposition of the Vietnam War, engendered intense criticism, provoking the epithet “Patsy Pink.” While she came to power during the Johnson administration at the height of liberalism, she later saw the tradition fade into the conservatism of the 1980s and 1990s. Her politics, however, did not change. In the words of former U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt (D-MO), she remained an “unabashed, unapologetic, proud, liberal Democrat. . . . She knew what she believed and she said what she believed no matter what the political fallout.”

Beyond her public persona, however, lay a woman of subtle complexities. With her constituents, she showed a tremendous capacity to listen, respond and remember people’s stories. Amongst her staff, she could be demanding and stern. Having experienced discrimination both as a woman and as a Japanese American, she committed herself to expanding America’s promise of equal opportunity. Yet she never joined the official ranks of the women’s movement, Asian American movement or ethnic studies movement.

As project scholar Franklin S. Odo of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History states: “Patsy Mink offers a phenomenal political story, because she was so outside what you would expect of a woman, of a Japanese American and of a member of Congress. She was truly a force of nature.” Simultaneously a woman of the people and a pioneer, a patriot and an outsider, her story proves endlessly intriguing, and one that embodies the very history, ideals and spirit of the nation.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We began production in spring 2007. However, we need your help to complete the film.

The project has the endorsements of Mink's family, the American Association of University Women Hawai'i/Pacific Division, Americans for Democratic Action, Asian American Justice Center, Hawai'i People's Fund, Hawai'i Women's Legal Foundation, Japanese American Citizens League Honolulu Chapter, League of Women Voters of Hawai'i, Patsy T. Mink Political Action Committee and the Women's Legislative Caucus of the Hawai'i State Legislature.

In addition, we have received the financial support of the Hawai'i State Legislature, Independent Television Service, Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, A&BFoundation, Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, Dolores Furtado Martin Foundation, Hawai'i State AFL-CIO, Hawaiian Airlines and other individual, corporate and community donors.

The project has the fiscal sponsorship of Hawai‘i Community Television, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization based in Honolulu. Thus,
all donations to the project are tax-deductible, to the extent allowed by law.

Gifts of any size are greatly appreciated. In-kind donations of equipment, supplies, labor and expertise are also welcome.

In addition, the project plans to recognize the following giving levels with special premiums:

Mink during her 1990 U.S. House campaign.
PHOTO SOURCE: Library of Congress

Only 31 women of color have ever served in the United States Congress, in the history of the institution.

$250 or more - DVD of the film

$500 or more - DVD of the film and 2 tickets to the premiere

$1,000 or more - DVD of the film and 2 VIP tickets to the premiere

$2,500 or more - DVD of the film, 2 VIP tickets to the premiere and screen credit

$5,000 or more - DVD of the film, 4 VIP tickets to the premiere and screen credit

The film has the potential of being seen in up to eight million households nationwide through a public television broadcast and by more than 8,000 viewers in Hawai‘i and on the mainland through community screenings, film festivals and educational distribution.

To donate to the project, please send a check to:

Hawai'i Community Television
P.O. Box 61816
Honolulu, HI 96839

*Please make the check out to Hawai'i Community Television and write Ahead of the Majority on the memo line

Also, include your name, address and telephone number. If you would like for your contribution to remain anonymous, let us know that too.

All donations to the project are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. You will receive written acknowledgment of your gift from Hawai'i Community Television.

Please feel free to contact us if you would like further information about the project.