MINK! — My Mom Fought For Title IX, but It Almost Didn’t Happen | Op-Docs

Video Description

Fifty years ago, on June 23, President Richard Nixon signed Title IX, the 37-word snippet within the Educational Amendments of 1972 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex “under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” I became curious about the origins of Title IX while doing background research for my Op-Doc “The Queen of Basketball,” about Lucy Harris, one of the earliest beneficiaries of Title IX. My research led me to Representative Patsy Mink of Hawaii, who was a pivotal figure in writing and defending the law. As the first woman of color elected to Congress, Ms. Mink — and her path to office — was influenced by the discrimination she experienced in her personal and professional lives. Many doors were closed to her as a Japanese American woman, and she became an activist and later a politician to change the status quo. As I learned more about the early history of Title IX in the 1970s, I found that lobbyists and legislators mounted a formidable campaign to dilute and erode the law. This effort would culminate in a dramatic moment on the House floor, where Ms. Mink was pulled away during a crucial vote on the future of the law. In "MINK!," Wendy Mink narrates her mother’s groundbreaking rise to power and the startling collision between the personal and political that momentarily derailed the cause of gender equity in America. After Ms. Mink’s death in 2002, Title IX was officially renamed the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act. - by Ben Proudfoot Credits Director: Ben Proudfoot Editors: David Faddis, Stephanie Owens, Ben Proudfoot Featuring: Wendy Mink Executive Producers: Naomi Osaka, Stuart Duguid, Adam Ellick, Kathleen Kingsbury, Ben Proudfoot Producers: Rachel Greenwald, Ben Proudfoot Co-Executive Producers: Philip Byron, Chavonne LeNoir Original Score: Katya Richardson Cinematographer: David Bolen Supervising Sound Editor and Re-Recording Mixer: Sean Higgins Colorist: Stephen Derluguian Senior Post Production Supervisor: Dillon Brown Post Production Supervisor: Laura Carlson Co-Producer: Beatriz Browne Archival Producers: Kimberlee Bassford, Wesley Jones Online Editor: Tyler Ten Haken Lead Assistant Editor: Cody Wilson Assistant Editors: Foustene Fortenbach, Blaine Morris Sound Effects Editor: Tom Boykin Visual Effects: David Nieman Digital Image Restoration: Cody Wilson Additional Cinematography: Jordan Scott First Assistant Camera: Jordan Scott Production Sound Mixer: Christopher Broholm Researcher: Brianna Pressey Recording Engineer: Thor Fienberg Scoring Mixer: Saun Santipreecha Orchestration: Katya Richardson Musicians: Leonard Chong, Ian Gottlieb, Lieza Hansen Kallin, Daniel Lim, Isaac Lopez, Gina Luciani, Katya Richardson, Kevin Richardson, Alex Tu, Sarah Wilkinson Read more: https://nyti.ms/3zXXRxh More from The New York Times Video: Op-Docs: https://www.nytimes.com/column/op-docs Subscribe: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7n​​ Watch all of our videos here: http://nytimes.com/video​​ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nytvideo​​ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nytvideo​​ ---------- Op-Docs is a forum for short, opinionated documentaries by independent filmmakers. Learn more about Op-Docs and how to submit to the series. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@NYTopinion).