President Obama has shown commendable vision and plain ole good sense in nominating Sonia Sotomayor, Federal Judge in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, for the United States Supreme Court. I will spare us all the details of enumerating her impeccable judiciary career to simply say I am overjoyed that a Puerto Rican woman from a housing project in the Bronx who believed in herself and dreamed of the limitless sky will be the first woman of color to ascend to the highest court of the land.Undoubtedly, Sotomayor will face a dicey labyrynth of political powermoves and attacks on her lived experiences at the intersections of race, class and gender and the issues of civil rights, free speech and of course, abortion. Sotomayor's identity is "icing" on the cake; however, her credentials and judicial body of work speaks for itself. Just like we thought the day would never come for a Black American/person of color to become leader of the free world, now it is our obligation to ensure that Sonia Sotomayor becomes the first Latina/woman of color to serve on the United States Supreme Court.
President Obama said, "When Sonia Sotomayor ascends those marble steps to assume her seat on the highest court of the land, America will have taken another important step towards realizing the ideal that is etched above its entrance - Equal Justice Under the Law." We should all claim this reality today as Sotomayor represents the hope and change and progress in the Age of Obama that has become a baseline expectation for those who believe in "Equal Justice Under the Law."
