Within hours of President Barack Obama's selection of federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, praise for the pick was all over the newswires from black leadership.
National Urban League President Marc Morial, Majority Whip James E. Clyburn and NAACP Legal Defense Fund President John Payton were among the first to applaud the selection of Sotomayor, 54, who would become the first Hispanic on the high court.
The support seems to be well-founded. ...
A self-described "Nuyorican," from the Bronx, Sotomayor embodies the intellect (Princeton University and Yale Law School) and the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans sought by Obama.
But is anyone else a little surprised that Obama, our first black president, hasn't been criticized for picking a black nominee for the position? Or at least having a black candidate among the final choices?
The most prominently discussed black candidate, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, didn't make the final round of serious candidates, which included 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Diane P. Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm.
A frequent refrain for some black activists has been the need for a progressive black high court justice to counterbalance, at least symbolically, the presence of conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.
The lack of criticism for Obama may signal a promising political maturity on the part of those who would normally berate the president for not picking a black Supreme Court nominee.
Maybe they see that with three aging sitting Supreme Court justices, Obama should have ample opportunity to pick a qualified black candidate during his four or eight years in the White House.
Equally important, the would-be critics might also realize that a progressive Puerto Rican woman from New York will likely have a judicial outlook and world view similar to that of a progressive black jurist.
+ Obama's High Court Pick - You Gotta Know When to Fold 'Em
+ OBAMA SUPREME COURT PICK (Community discussion)
Paul Shepard blogs the Democrat side of politics for Black Voices. He has been a journalist for 16 years on the national urban/minority affairs beat for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and for AP in Washington, D.C. He now runs his own public affairs firm, Shepard Strategic Communications.
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Comments: (35)
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By: Candice on 5/26/2009 5:46PM
Blacks and Latinos live in the same neighborhoods..want similar rights..and are both discriminated against..We have plenty in common..So for him to choose a latino for this position to me is a happy day for all people of color..
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By: B Diddy on 5/27/2009 8:49PM
As a black american, he should have picked a black, I dont live around hispanics or latinos and most of the white ones are racist toward afro hispanics and latinos, this wasa big mistake and unfourtnate, african americans should have at least 2 supreme court judges before its even one hispanic imo, I dont care about hispanic nor latino discrimination, because i dont see latinos nor hispanics hiring black americas in Miami...
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By: salimah on 5/29/2009 4:31AM
I APPLAUD PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CHOICE,HE CHOOSE THE BEST CANDIDATE WHILE TRYING TO BE INCLUSIVE OF ALL
I DONT THINK YOU SHOULD JUDGE ALL HISPANICS BY WHAT GOES ON IN MIAMI,BUT FOR THE RECORD I AM IN AGREEMENT WITH YOU IN THAT IN MAIMI CUBANS ARE DISCRIMATORY TOWARDS AFRICAN AMERICANS AND OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR,THEY DONOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO BE DIVERSE ONE FAMILY MEMBER OF MINE SAID THAT THE CUBANS ARE RASCIST AND MAKE NO APOLOGYS FOR IT.BUT THIS IS NOT INDICITIVE OF ALL HISPANICS, AND WE SHOULD MAKE THE DISTINCTION.
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By: Sammy on 5/26/2009 10:48PM
I don't give a rat's ass what the National Urban League or NAACP or NAACP Legal Defense Fund President have to say about this nomination.
These people are just place holders for the place holders who will be following them who will be just place holders for the waiting group of place holders.
I will be interested in these gas bags when they have made efforts to improve the lives of black people and communities.
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By: Rosalie Brown on 5/27/2009 10:43AM
Selecting this woman, she is still white. You may call her Hispanic but her skin is white, therefore she's white, and he should have selected a real minority an African American.
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By: valinda on 6/06/2009 5:30AM
stop hating and let's be honest blacks and whites are not the only people in this country and to be as just as possible all minorities-and majorities must be represented and spoken for...the same reason why washington d.c. should be granted statehood!!!!! REALITY AND JUSTICE PEOPLE...THAT IS WHAT WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS!!!!
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By: Coreen Fields on 5/29/2009 1:40PM
You need to read more, The majority of Puerto Rican and Cuban People are racially mixed African and White (Spanish). They are of the same racial mix as those of us who call ourselves African American (although most of us have never set foot in any of Africas 52 nations). The difference is that most "African Americans" can not identify the Europeon source of their white genes. Puerto Ricans and Cubans can identify the source of their white gense and it is Spain. However that mix of African & White makes Puerto Ricans and Cubans just like us.
Puerto Ricans differ from Mexicans because Mexicans are a mix of American Indian and Spanish.
So in essence Obama did pick an African American woman who choses to identify with the island of her parents, not the USA. She is just like us who identify with Africa!!!
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By: FRiday on 5/27/2009 1:17PM
NI2GER WHATEVER YOU CALL YOURSLEF, PICKING OBAMA AS PERSIDENT IS NOT A MISTAKE. PERSIDENT OBAMA PICKING A LATINO TO REPRESENT A NATION FULL OF DIFFERENT ETHNIC GROUPS IS NOT A MISTAKE EITHR. IT'S HEART BREAKING WHEN PEOPLE LIKE YOU BELIEVE THAT ONLY WHITE PEOPLE SHOULD LEAD AMERICA; AMERICA THAT EVERY RACE IS CONTRIBUTING TO ITS DEVELOPMENT. WE HAD BUSH IN OFFICE AND WE'VE ARE STRUGGLING FROM AFTERMATH OF HIS BAD LEADSHIP AREN'T WE? WHO DO THINK SENT THE ECONOMIC DOWN THE DRAIN? BUSH. BUSH BAD LEADSHIP IS AFFECTING THE ENTIRE GLOBAL ECONOMIC. JUST SO YOU KNOW, EVERY ETHNIC GROUP IN THIS COUNTRY IS MAKING A BIG DIFFERENT TOWARDS THE BETTERMENT OF THIS VERY NATION. WE HAVE MORE MINORITY CHILDREN IN THE US MILITARY SYSTEM THAN YOUR SO CALLED BLUE WHITE CHILDREN.
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By: donna on 5/29/2009 10:26AM
First off dude..learn to spell PRESIDENT!Only reason she was picked is Obama owes the Latinos.....for voting him in.....they did more about voting him in than african americans...so get it together!
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By: richard on 5/27/2009 1:44PM
Judge Sotomayor has been known to make legal decisions based on race and ethnicity. The law should be the same for all Americans regardless of the color of their skin or where their ancestors came from. Judge Sotomayor is a poor choice.
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