Larger than life-size Norm Mineta statue now graces San Jose airport

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose Mineta International Airport on Thursday unveiled a new statue to honor its namesake. 

"It means everything to the family," Mineta's son, David Mineta, said at the gathering. "It feels totally surreal. Like any of us, seeing your parents' likeness, but seeing your parents' statue? A full body statue?! Wow!"

He was one of 350 guests who showed up at Terminal B to talk about what made Mineta a beloved figure in the South Bay and beyond.

"He inspired people," US Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) said. "He was a son of San Jose. He was wrongly interned as a child. And he turned that wrong thing into an inspiration for justice. He was a role model for all San Jose but especially for Asians in this valley."

Mineta was also the first Asian-American mayor of a large U.S. city. 

The first minority on San Jose’s city council and went on to serve in Congress.

Mineta died in 2022 at the age of 90.