She Persisted: Patsy Mink

Dear Reader,

As Sally Ride and Marian Wright Edelman both powerfully said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” When Sally Ride said that, she meant that it was hard to dream of being an astronaut, like she was, or a doctor or an athlete or anything at all if you didn’t see someone like you who already had lived that dream. She especially was talking about seeing women in jobs that historically were held by men. 

I wrote the first She Persisted and the books that came after it because I wanted young girls—and children of all genders—to see women who worked hard to live their dreams. And I wanted all of us to see examples of persistence in the face of different challenges to help inspire us in our own lives. 

I’m so thrilled now to partner with a sisterhood of writers to bring longer, more in-depth versions of these stories of women’s persistence and achievement to readers. I hope you enjoy these chapter books as much as I do and find them inspiring and empowering. 

And remember: If anyone ever tells you no, if anyone ever says your voice isn’t important or your dreams are too big, remember these women. They persisted and so should you.

Warmly,
Chelsea Clinton


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: A Sunny Childhood
Chapter 2: Trouble
Chapter 3: Forging Her Path
Chapter 4: Fighting for Equality
Chapter 5: Democracy and Determination
Chapter 6: A Lasting Impact
How You Can Persist
References


Chapter 1
A Sunny Childhood

Patsy Matsu Takemoto was born in 1927 on the  island  of  Maui,  in  Hawaii.  Maui  was  a  land of sunshine, white sand beaches, and warm trade winds. But though the island was beautiful, its people were going through a difficult time.

In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii. This  meant  that  the  US  government  stole  control of the islands from the Hawaiian people and declared Hawaii a US “territory.” This was a dark time for many Native Hawaiians, who lost their homeland to incoming mainland Americans.

Additionally,  because  Hawaii  was  just  a  territory and not yet a state, the US offered Hawaii’s citizens  very  few  protections  or  rights,  and  the  people of Hawaii had little control over governing their own lives or what was happening in their communities.

At the time, the US government saw the islands  as  a  place  they  could  use  for  their  own  benefit, without thinking about the people who lived there. The government set up a military base on  Oahu  called  Pearl  Harbor  and,  through  taxes,  made money off the islands’ businesses—especially the booming business of growing sugar.

Like  many  people  of  Japanese  descent  in  Hawaii,  Patsy  grew  up  on  a  sugar  plantation. For  most  plantation  workers—mostly  Native  Hawaiians at first, and later, in Patsy’s time, Asian immigrants—this  was  a  difficult  life  of  endless,  grueling work in the fields.

But Patsy’s childhood was different. She was lucky. Many of the other kids her age had parents who’d  just  arrived  in  Hawaii  from  Japan,  but  Patsy’s parents had grown up in Hawaii. Because of  this,  Patsy’s  dad  spoke  English  natively,  so  he  was  hired  as  a  civil  engineer  for  the  plantation,  instead of a field worker. This led to more money and less back-breaking labor for his family.

Patsy  grew  up  in  a  comfortable  cottage  surrounded by palm trees, sugarcane, and dirt roads. Some days, she would play with the pigs, chickens, rabbits, and turkeys. Other days, she would spend time at the nearby beach, searching for seashells. 

On the very best days, she would play with her  brother,  Eugene.  Just  a  year  older,  he  was  Patsy’s best friend, and together they would run, explore, and venture into the nearby mountains to pick mushrooms or bamboo.

Although  Patsy  grew  up  in  a  time  when  girls were often expected to stay home while boys played  outside,  her  family  always  treated  her  and  her brother as equals. Eugene included her in football and baseball games, and her parents encouraged her to follow her dreams.

And Patsy was certainly a dreamer.