Ceremony will honor Patsy Mink sculpture near downtown Honolulu

A life-sized, bronze sculpture of former Congresswoman Patsy Mink has been installed in front of the Hawaii State Public Library’s main branch as part of the state’s Art in Public Places Program.

A dedication ceremony for the statue, which was installed last month, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the library, 478 S. King St.

The sculpture, “Patsy T. Mink,” by artist Holly Young, features the late Congresswoman standing and speaking with arms outstretched. She is adorned with a lei and bracelets. The sculpture is at a seating area in front of the state public library, where Mink spent much of her early career at the library, reading to her daughter, Wendy Mink.

Plaques containing quotes from Mink’s political career are also installed throughout the seating area, close to the Punchbowl Street side, representing her tireless advocacy for civil rights, women’s rights and democracy. Library staff also created a display inside to provide additional information about Mink’s career to visitors.

Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress, served as a U.S. Representative over 12 terms from 1956 to 2002. The Maui High School valedictorian co-authored the Title IX amendment of the Higher Education Act which was eventually renamed in her honor as the “Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act.”

In 2014, former President Barack Obama posthumously awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

The sculpture was funded through the Art in Public Places Program of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, which receives one percent of construction and renovation costs for state buildings to integrate art into Hawaii’s built environment.