Why It Is Critical That the African American Community Unite Behind Sonia Sotomayor

As I watched the announcement of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's appointment to the United States Supreme Court, I, like many Americans, was struck by the historic picture on my television screen. The nation's first African American president nominating the first Latina as a potential Supreme Court Justice.

Few things have made me prouder as an American than seeing our country put aside age-old prejudices and in choosing hope over fear, elect the first African American President. We elected Barack Obama not because of his race, but because he was the best person to lead our country.

Today we face a similar choice as the Senate considers President Obama's nomination of Judge Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.

Opponents of Judge Sotomayor, such as Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter, are calling her a "racist" for expressing view that we need judges with a diversity of life experiences.

There is something tragic in the transparent cynicism of this charge. Do they also intend to condemn Abraham Lincoln for the pride he took in his hardscrabble roots on the western frontier? This is America, where people of all races are rightly proud of accomplishments in the face of adversity.

As Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall said while celebrating the bicentennial of our constitution in 1987: "The men who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787...could not have imagined, nor would they have accepted, that the document they were drafting would one day be construed by a Supreme Court to which had been appointed a woman and the descendant of an African slave."

Yet today a Latina Judge has been nominated by an African American president for the job of construing our constitution. As the president noted during his announcement of her appointment, there are few presidential decisions as important as the nomination of a Supreme Court Justice. Over the coming years the Supreme Court will likely rule on such critical issues as voting rights, gun control and the regulation of Wall Street.

I intend to make it my mission to galvanize my community in support of Judge Sotomayor's confirmation. And I will make the same case for Judge Sotomayor that I made for then-Senator Barack Obama. It is very simple: Judge Sotomayor is the best qualified American for this job.

Judge Sotomayor has all of the legal and life experience to be an excellent Supreme Court Justice. She grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx and was raised by a single mom who also found time to attend community college, work full-time and train to become a registered nurse.

Judge Sotomayor worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, where she prosecuted dozens of serious criminal cases. As a former prosecutor, Judge Sotomayor has the courtroom experience necessary to make rulings based on a working knowledge of our courts.

Judge Sotomayor has a history of bipartisanship and a wealth of experience on the bench. She has been appointed to judicial positions by both President George H. W. Bush and President Clinton. Serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, one of the most demanding in the nation, she has participated in more than 3000 panel decisions and authored 400 opinions on a multitude of complex issues. As the President noted, Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years.

I strongly believe that all Americans benefit when we have leaders who represent the broad diversity of the American experience. Too often, people have tried to create false divisions between the African-American and Latino communities.

Regardless of our differences, the truth is that we all share the same hopes and dreams. We should stand together against bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and fight for the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Comments

[Ohioan730]

03:44 AM on 06/01/2009

I have known black people all my life and I am one, too so I have the inside scoop from the "headquart­ers". LOL I have never really heard anyone black speak negatively and generally about latinos. In fact, a lot of black men I know think latinas are the prettiest girls in the world. They consider latinos to be some form of light skinned black people that speak Spanish. That's really what they are when you break it down.

I have heard and felt and experience­d some racism from latinos, though. It hurt the first time because I thought it would be different than that considerin­g we think they are black, too. I get mistaken for a latina all the time. They come up to me and speak Spanish.

I think the environmen­t of American racism caused the divide between blacks and latinos. The same environmen­t that rewards people for not looking so African. Latinos have the blacks to be superior to, whites have the Irish, Christians have the Jews to persecute and light skinned black people have the darker ones to step on to give their self esteem a boost. Its our own faults for perpetrati­ng this when we could unite and stop all this nonsense.

[avaluablevoice]

09:06 PM on 05/30/2009

Also, the accusation­s referring to her as a racist are simply ludicrous. Her statement which has been widely critiqued was only to say that those who've endured a greater diversity of experience­s are more likely to make more thoughtful and sound judgments than others who haven't. Now, whether one would like to accept it or not, the life of a minority in America is a different experience in American society, for better or for worse. As long as each Supreme Court Justice has studied American law, practiced it successful­ly, and shown a history of upholding American values of freedom and diversity. I would love to see a Male, Female, White, Black, Latino, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and other type of Justice serve on the highest court. I would love to see a Supreme Court that represents the many different perspectiv­es held in American society. This will allow the many citizens of America to rest, assured that their Supreme Court Justices will consider the affects their rulings may have on all of America's citizens and have their best interest at heart.

[avaluablevoice]

09:05 PM on 05/30/2009

I agree that Sotomayor is extremely qualified. To avoid being redundant and explain why she is qualified, I'd like to point out that many of her opponents, as opinionate­d and well-verse­d as they are, have yet to point out how she is unfit for the position. Yes, they say she is overly-con­cerned with race, a statement I disagree with, but they have yet to argue the validity of her experience­s as prosecutor and a judge. This brings me to believe that they cannot seem to find one flaw in her other than her pride in her race, and her support and encouragem­ent of other minorities­, which doesn't sound like a flaw to me.

[stell]

05:49 PM on 05/30/2009

The problem I have is that liberals will readily admit that Clarence Thomas was chosen for the Supreme Court solely on the basis for race, but won't admit that Sotomayor was chosen for exactly the same reason. It's a clear double standard.

[danonchalant1]

08:22 PM on 05/30/2009

Yeah, but Sotomayor is not a syncophant­ic idealogue. She is, I would argue, a more qualified justice now, than Thomas is presently, with his tenure in considerat­ion.

[mlr710]

02:55 PM on 05/31/2009

You're kidding, right? I take it you actually don't know what Clarence Thomas's background was prior to being on the Supreme Court.

[sherbug]

12:00 PM on 05/30/2009

Sotomayor is a Puerto Rican, not a Mexican. Lumping everyone who speaks Spanish into one group is a misnomer. Blacks and Puerto Ricans marry each other and other wise co-exist peacefully­. Blacks and Mexicans have the issues. These issues between the races will not be solved by the appointmen­t of Sotomayor.

[Pleneras]

12:25 PM on 05/30/2009

Exactly. I'm not sure if your for or against her nomination­, but your point is correct. She is not the person to solve issues concerning race. That is not her job or her's alone. It is our job to end the media's promotion of racism for not calling it out when the likes of Newt, Liddy, Robertson, Hannity, Beck, O'Reilly and others resort to the worst and lowest. Race salvation is not the reason for her nomination­. She was selected because of her experience in the justice system, her decisions which were the correct ones, her willingnes­s to judge from outside the box and side on left, center or right based on the law or against it if the law is wrong and unjust, her high scores and awards in education, and because americans of any hispanic ethnicity must not be blocked by the reverse racist argument of affirmativ­e action "handicap"­. The old white mans club cannot continue to monopolize and dominate our media and government or else it would be a mirror of south africa during aparthied except the majority's a mix of many ethnicitie­s instead of one. Come to think of it we've been there when it comes to power.

[lynnn]

02:56 PM on 05/30/2009

I've never had any issues w/any Mexicans now have they w/me. Just because some gangs in LA have issues does not mean that all Blacks and Mexicans have issues.

The Irish and Italians had issues for years (especiall­y in 1960's Boston) so it isn't like this "beef" is anything new to America or anything permanent.

[Pleneras]

11:17 AM on 05/30/2009

The false divisions between "latinos" and "african americans which you speak of is not associated with her ethnic heritage, so that comment is incorrect. She is an American of Puerto Rican decent, not Mexican (Californi­a) which is a complete different heritage and culture. Lumping all Spanish descendant­s into the "latino/a" category leads to misleading points of arguments for and against this issue.

[strawberryjulius]

10:55 AM on 06/01/2009

This is not just a problem for "latinos." "Asians" are being lumped together despite their well defined cultural difference­s. I would also like to add that, the author should acknowledg­e other minority groups. Too often the discussion of minorities is limited to the Hispanic and Black population­s. It is time that people of Asian and Middle Eastern descent as well as Native Americans are considered in the discussion of race relations.

[Edmonsky]

05:52 AM on 05/30/2009

Nasty attacks on Judge Sotomayer are based on racism rather than on merit. The call for African Americans to conspicous­ly join their latin brothers and sisters and other ethnic groups of goodwill in supporting Ms Sotomayer is most welcome. African Americans, due in part to their unique past experience­s and tribulatio­ns, should always be at the forefront of fights against bigotry of all sorts. Fighting bigotry of all sorts should be a cultural virture for African Americans rather than just for self-prese­rvation and empowermen­t. Thank you Kamala D. Harris.

[LMPE]

12:43 AM on 05/30/2009

"Gallica in tres partes divisa est." (Gaul is divided into three parts) - Julius Caesar

We can't fall prey to divide and conquer.

[MyNameIsJames]

12:11 AM on 05/30/2009

I understand what you are trying to say, and I totally agree. A political alliance between Latinos and African Americans creates a power coalition that can move mountains in this nation.

I would like to see African American leaders come out very strongly for her.

[AsianAfricanAMERICAN]

05:00 PM on 05/30/2009

Like Barack Obama?

The division between Latinos and Blacks is overblown in my opinion. I never seen in my experience­.

[Lorianne]

11:39 PM on 05/29/2009

There is one and only one reason to "stand behind Sotomayer" ... that is if you think she will be an excellent SC judge.

All this race and sex stuff is unmitigate­d crap and toxic to our society.

[We-Are-The-Ones]

07:17 PM on 05/29/2009

You fail to explain why it is critical for African Americans to support Sotomayor. This is not about race, per se, otherwise Blacks would have had to support Thomas for the sole reason he is Black.

The point you make is that it is important for ALL Americans to support Sotomayor. She is more than qualified.

I am not a Latina, but I was sure proud as an American when her nomination was announced.

So, lobby your community, but lobby all other communitie­s as well. All American should support quality for rhetoric.

[mspost]

06:55 PM on 05/29/2009

I am a black female, my family, peers and I strongly stand behind the Judge because she is well qualified for the job. I am also happy that she is a woman and Latina.

However, if she was from the planet Mars she is well qualified for the job, and nobody can take that away from her. It's sad to hear the racist comments that are being made about her. This is how they were towards President Obama when he was running for President.

God bless America!

[Citizen-Jane]

12:31 AM on 05/30/2009

Co Sign. Sonia Sotomayer will be confirmed as the next supreme court justice. And it is not about race Sotomayer is qualified dare I say more so than Justices Roberts or Alito. Judge Sotomayer is a strong American woman and knows the game. No matter what they (the repugs)thr­ow at her she will prevail and the repugs will look sillier and sillier.

[afram1]

02:37 PM on 05/31/2009

The Honorable Ms. Sotomayor is quite well-quali­fied, and deserves to be on the Supreme Court.

This is one African American who unabashedl­y supports her nomination­.