El Diario: Latina nominated to Supreme Court
Some tiki tiki may be coming to the Supreme Court.
President Obama this morning nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the High Court.
Sotomayor, an American of Puerto Rican descent, is a federal appeals judge and she would be the first person of Latino ethnicity to join the Court if she is confirmed. Azucar!
The self-described “nuyorican” was raised in the Bronx by her nurse mother, a young widow. Sotomayor, seen in this picture from the NY Daily News, graduated from Princeton and the Yale law school. She would replace retiring Judge David Souter.
From the New York Times:
“In 2001, she gave a speech declaring that the ethnicity and sex of a judge “may and will make a difference in our judging.” In her speech, at a conference on diversity, Judge Sotomayor questioned the famous notion – often invoked by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her retired Supreme Court colleague, Sandra Day O’Connor – that a wise old man and a wise old woman would reach the same conclusion when deciding cases.
“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life,” said Judge Sotomayor.
During the announcement, President Obama pointed out Sotomayor’s mother, who came to the United States during World War II and who greatly influenced and pushed her children toward the American Dream.
“My mother has devoted her life to my brother and me and as the president mentioned, she worked often two jobs to help support us after dad died,” Sotomayor said during the announcement today. “I have often said that I am all I am because of her and I am only half the woman she is.”
If Sotomayor, 54, joins the Court after Senate hearings and confirmation, she would be just the third female justice. Hey, we’re making progress.
The June issue of Working Mother magazine includes a list of companies also striving for progress. Check out the 2009 Best Companies for Multi-Cultural Women.
From the magazine: “Women of color still hold only 4% of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women’s board seats and 9 of their senior manager and executive jobs.”
Among the best: Verizon, Wal-Mart, American Express and Sodexo. Companies across the country may want to study what these companies are doing because the flavor of our country is changing. According to a story posted over at Univision, minorities are the majority in 10% of counties.
Pa’lante.
Un poquito mas:
I was happy to hear the news about Obama’s new appt. She’s from the Bronx and attended the same high school as I did. Go Sonia! Go Obama! Go Latinas! Sky’s the limit!!!!!