Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Statement on Patsy Takemoto Mink Being Named Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
Award is the highest civilian honor in the U.S.
Honolulu – Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) today issued the following statement on the news that former Hawai‘i Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink will posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The awards will be presented at the White House on November 24.
“Congresswoman Patsy Mink broke down long-standing barriers to create equal access to opportunities for women and girls, and courageously defied those who told her she couldn’t succeed simply because she was a woman. In the 1940s, she was denied entrance to over a dozen medical schools for being a woman, but went on to attend law school and committed her entire life to changing the status quo. Many women and girls, and countless others who have benefited from her unwavering fight for equality, owe a debt of gratitude to Hawai‘i’s Patsy Mink. As a testament to the importance of her hallmark Title IX legislation, her legacy lives on in the millions of girls who today are guaranteed equal opportunities in education.
“Congresswoman Mink is deeply deserving of the Presidential Media of Freedom, having demonstrated her selfless commitment to the betterment of our nation and increasing opportunities for all Americans. It is appropriate that this high honor will be given to one of Hawai‘i’s great leaders and a true American trailblazer,” said Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
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