Among the many identities Justice Sotomayor had to struggle with, her racial identity was the most crucial in shaping herself and her future, because the moral philosophy she developed to adapt to instances of prejudice ultimately shaped her ideas of justice and of how one should interact with the world.
Race has a dual nature, both in the way it constructs individuals’ identities and in the way it exists ontologically. Race has the capacity to make a person feel alien, estranged and feel a profound sense of “otherness” with society at large. But race, also, has imbedded within it a restorative (uplifting, recuperative?) capacity to make an individual feel integrated and in solidarity with a smaller community that shares a similar body of experiences. Consistent with its dual nature, race has positive properties as well as negative properties. Sonia Sotomayor in the face of racial adversity was able to persevere because she focused on its positive elements. Instead of focusing on the divisive aspect of race, of the feeling of “otherness,” she focused on the integrative aspect of race, the community ties that grounded her and eventually propelled her forward. Sotomayor had to cope with a wealth of prejudice throughout her life. From her youth to the present day, she has continuously undergone discrimination because of her Puerto Rican heritage and background. Although, she received some exposure to the concept of race at a young age from being called a “spic” to being indirectly slighted by boyfriends’ parents, it was not until college that she was fully confronted with what being Latino means in the American context. It was at Princeton she entered a state of “double consciousness” and takes reactive measures to combat the intense sense of disillusionment she felt when entering the white aristocratic world of the Ivy Leagues. In the process, she constitutes a moral philosophy for herself that will follow her through her legal and judicial career. At Princeton, she felt most like the “other.” She felt far …show more content…
She participated in a myriad of community based club activities. She joined the Accion Puertorriquena, a Puerto Rican club, and eventually merged it with other cultural groups to promote solidarity in the Princeton minority community. She took the initiative of starting a class on Puerto Rican history to educate herself about her people and feel more attached to her roots. Sotomayor even initiated a volunteer group of interpreters to go assist non-English speakers at hospitals. Her responses to unify marginalized communities when faced with alienation reveals her moral philosophy on how to respond to injustice. Her philosophy on how to address race is best elucidated here: “as you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.” Sotomayor believes that community ultimately guides you through hardship, but she doesn’t prescribe being insular either. When she visited Yale on her college tour, she was embarrassed by the “down with whitey” talk from other Latinos. Sotomayor viewed this kind of talk as narrowmindedness and promoting bigotry. Sotomayor through immersing herself in different community experiences was able to overcome the alienating tendency of race. She ultimately attributes her current success to the support from the Latino community. Sotomayor from her racial experience accepts a more pluralistic conception of the world, one that is more understanding of difference and
Race has a dual nature, both in the way it constructs individuals’ identities and in the way it exists ontologically. Race has the capacity to make a person feel alien, estranged and feel a profound sense of “otherness” with society at large. But race, also, has imbedded within it a restorative (uplifting, recuperative?) capacity to make an individual feel integrated and in solidarity with a smaller community that shares a similar body of experiences. Consistent with its dual nature, race has positive properties as well as negative properties. Sonia Sotomayor in the face of racial adversity was able to persevere because she focused on its positive elements. Instead of focusing on the divisive aspect of race, of the feeling of “otherness,” she focused on the integrative aspect of race, the community ties that grounded her and eventually propelled her forward. Sotomayor had to cope with a wealth of prejudice throughout her life. From her youth to the present day, she has continuously undergone discrimination because of her Puerto Rican heritage and background. Although, she received some exposure to the concept of race at a young age from being called a “spic” to being indirectly slighted by boyfriends’ parents, it was not until college that she was fully confronted with what being Latino means in the American context. It was at Princeton she entered a state of “double consciousness” and takes reactive measures to combat the intense sense of disillusionment she felt when entering the white aristocratic world of the Ivy Leagues. In the process, she constitutes a moral philosophy for herself that will follow her through her legal and judicial career. At Princeton, she felt most like the “other.” She felt far …show more content…
She participated in a myriad of community based club activities. She joined the Accion Puertorriquena, a Puerto Rican club, and eventually merged it with other cultural groups to promote solidarity in the Princeton minority community. She took the initiative of starting a class on Puerto Rican history to educate herself about her people and feel more attached to her roots. Sotomayor even initiated a volunteer group of interpreters to go assist non-English speakers at hospitals. Her responses to unify marginalized communities when faced with alienation reveals her moral philosophy on how to respond to injustice. Her philosophy on how to address race is best elucidated here: “as you discover what strength you can draw from your community in this world from which it stands apart, look outward as well as inward. Build bridges instead of walls.” Sotomayor believes that community ultimately guides you through hardship, but she doesn’t prescribe being insular either. When she visited Yale on her college tour, she was embarrassed by the “down with whitey” talk from other Latinos. Sotomayor viewed this kind of talk as narrowmindedness and promoting bigotry. Sotomayor through immersing herself in different community experiences was able to overcome the alienating tendency of race. She ultimately attributes her current success to the support from the Latino community. Sotomayor from her racial experience accepts a more pluralistic conception of the world, one that is more understanding of difference and