Thread: Sotomayor:A Newyorkrican With an Ax to Grind

Tuesday, 9 June, 2009 11:09 AM

Sotomayor: A Newyorkrican With An Ax To Grind

Photo credit: www.whitehouse.gov

Sonia Sotomayor is President Obama's nomination to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.

by Mike Wrathell
mwrathell@yahoo.com


In her now-famous "A Latina judge's voice" speech at the UC Berkeley School of Law in 2001, Sonia Sotomayor issued a warning: "I warn Latinos in this room: Latinas are making a lot of progress in the old-boy network." I wonder what sort of warning she has for America at large now that her fast track to the Supreme Court has only a brief stop at the Senate before its final destination. Dare I believe a Senator might ask?

I must note that the use of the term "La Raza" at the UC Berkeley School of Law for its La Raza Law Journal and its La Raza Law Students Association, who co-hosted the symposium she addressed, is rather disturbing. The National Council of La Raza has been accused by former U.S. Congressman Charlie Norwood of Georgia as standing behind this statement: “For the race everything, outside the race nothing.â€

I think that this is disguisting. What is wrong with being an American? The sad part is that many of these Latinas are taught to be that way. I took a creative writing course while getting my BSc in Criminal Justice at a university in Miami and the stuff some of them wrote is similar to Sotomayers comments. I still have all the stories we had to exchange with classmates and they talk about being a sensual Latina and how others don't understand. This makes me want to pull out those stories and get exact quotes.