Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight: Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX

 

Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight: Patsy Takemoto Mink and the Fight for Title IX by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Toshiki Nakamura

Born in 1927, Patsy Takemoto Mink was a sansei (third generation descendent of Japanese immigrants) who grew up in Hawaii.  She had a good life on Hawaii and while it may not have been perfect it was still better than living in other parts of the United States.  So, why wasn't it perfect?  One, she was a girl and girls were expected to grow up and become housewives but she wanted to attend school.  Two, her family immigrated to Hawaii from Japan.  People who's family immigrated from Japan weren't always treated as well as people who's family immigrated from Europe.  Luckily, Patsy lived in Hawaii and Hawaii was NOT a State.  Hawaii was still "only" a territory so people (children) of Japanese descent weren't always treated as badly as the Japanese Americans who lived on the mainland of the United States.  Patsy could attend school with other children and her father could have a good job regardless of where their family was from.  When Patsy was ready to attend college she applied to medical school on the mainland.  But, NO SCHOOL would accept her because she was female.  She ended up studying to be a lawyer instead.  She was one of two women at her law school and she graduated at the top of her class.  But, NO LAW FIRMS would hire her because she was female.  Every time she was told NO she reminded her self of a Japanese expression.  Fall down seven time, stand up eight.  In other words, if you want something badly enough and you're willing to work hard, then you need to just keep trying until you succeed.  Patsy's determination to keep getting up took her all the way from Hawaii to Washington DC where she represented Hawaii and fought for women's and girl's rights.  Patsy and other like her fought hard to pass a bill called Title IX.  Title IX would require all women to have equal access to education, activities, and sports by any organization that receives Federal funding.  I really liked this book.  I liked that it showed that working hard pays off and I really liked the way the Japanese phrase of Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight was used to reinforce this idea.  It's something that I feel children today should hear more often.  To learn more about Patsy Takemoto Mink visit the United States House of Representatives and to learn more about women/girls in sports visit National Today.