The X Fact(her): Here Comes The Judge
Peep the Rousing Applause
I know more about Sonia Sotomayor than I do my next door neighbor. Since being announced as Prez Obama’s pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court, her life has been plastered all over the media. The last time I took note of a Supreme Court nominee was Clarence Thomas, whose hearings regarding his tryst with Anita Hill made him a household name.
It’s safe to say the reason why Sotomayor is getting so much coverage is because she is Latina and grew up poor. Period. End of Story.
Don’t believe it? Check the headlines:
- “Sonia Maria Sotomayor rose from the projects”
- “Sotomayor seen through filter of ethnicity”
- “Sonia Sotomayor: a Role Model for Kids with Diabetes”
Why, after the historic election of President Obama, are we still awe struck by accomplished folks of color? The focus on Sotomayor growing up in the projects (for the record she only lived there for a few years before her family moved to a co-op), her parents being from Puetro Rico and her being diagnosed with child diabetes is touching, but should that matter? Is that more important than her stance on abortion, gun control, civil rights and employment discrimination?
Then there’s the flipside to her nomination, or shall we call it the race card.
Manu Raju writes on Politico.com:
Republicans may face a backlash if they’re seen as charging too hard against a nominee who’s both a woman and a Hispanic. Red-state Democrats will be under pressure from the right, which will make sure that their conservative-to-moderate constituents know all about Sotomayor’s most controversial views. And some GOP Senate candidates may find themselves on the horns of an unhappy dilemma: Do you play to the conservative base or to Hispanic voters who could play a huge role in their 2010 races?
While Republicans and Democrats plot political gains from Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, what will it mean for the rest of us?
Black people of America thought Clarence Thomas was going to do major work on our behalf once he was appointed to the Supreme Court but haven’t heard as much as a peep out of him.
There is no denying that Sotomayor is a success story. She’s the result of a single mother household who received a world class education, from attending private school to graduating from Princeton and Yale Law School. Prez Obama spoke so highly of her during this week’s press conference stating that Sotomayor is more distinguished than any current Justice was when they were nominated. Talk about a diss to the sitting judges. But that got me to thinking about something my parents always told me, “In order for you to compete in society you have to work twice as hard just to be acknowledged.” It’s true; it takes a lot of work and accomplishment for folks to see past your skin color so why are we focusing on Sotomayor’s pigmentation and not her platform?
Forgive me for not judging a book by its cover.
