Ceramic coaster, Mineta*Rockefeller Dinner
date: label: Date made
content: October 17, 1986
notes: label: Description
content: "MINETA*ROCKEFELLER / DINNER / October 17, 1986" on coaster in red print. Red and blue eagle with "E / PLURIBUS / UNUM**" in blue print. Coaster 3 5/8" Diam x 3/8" thick (cork bottom)
label: Description
content: "Norman Y. Mineta became the 14th U.S. Secretary of Transportation on January 25, 2001...
label: Description
content: Prior to joining President Bushs administration as Secretary of Transportation, Mineta served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton, becoming the first Asian Pacific American to serve in the cabinet. He is the first Secretary of Transportation to have previously served in a cabinet position. Prior to joining the Commerce Department, he was a vice president at Lockheed Martin Corporation.
label: Description
content: From 1975 to 1995 he served as a member of U.S. House of Representatives, representing the heart of Californias Silicon Valley. As a member of Congress, Mineta was known for his dedication to the people of his district, for consensus building among his colleagues and for forging public-private partnerships. Mineta's legislative and policy agenda was wide and varied, including major projects in the areas of economic development, science and technology policy, trade, transportation, the environment, intelligence, the budget and civil rights. He co-founded the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and served as its first chair...
label: Description
content: Mineta and his family were among the 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry forced from their homes and into internment camps during World War II. After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Mineta joined the Army in 1953 and served as an intelligence officer in Japan and Korea. He joined his father in the Mineta Insurance Agency before entering politics in San Jose, serving as a member of its City Council from 1967 to 1971 and mayor from 1971 to 1974, becoming the first Asian Pacific American mayor of a major U.S. city. As mayor, he favored greater control of transportation decisions by local government, a position he later championed in ISTEA.
label: Description
content: While in Congress, Mineta was the driving force behind passage of H.R. 442, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which officially apologized for and redressed the injustices endured by
label: Description
content: Japanese Americans during the War. In 1995, George Washington University awarded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Medal to Mineta for his contributions to the field of civil rights."-Department of Transportation website, http://www.dot.gov/affairs/mineta.htm
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
title: label: Title
content: Ceramic coaster, Mineta*Rockefeller Dinner
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, General
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Norman Mineta
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1987.3058.15
label: nonaccession number
content: 1987.3058
label: catalog number
content: 1987.3058.15
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Coaster ceramic
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 3/8 in x 3 5/8 in; .9525 cm x 9.2075 cm