USA: From public housing in the Bronx to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor inspires her old neighborhood

Record ID: 444356

  • Title: USA: From public housing in the Bronx to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor inspires her old neighborhood
  • Date: 11th July 2009
  • Summary: BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT RUBEN DIAZ, JR SITTING AT HIS DESK (SOUNDBITE) (English) RUBEN DIAZ, JR., BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT, SAYING: "When kids heard about this, throughout the borough of the Bronx and particularly in the Bronxdale Houses and the Soundview section of the Bronx, they went to school with a certain pep in their step. And parents understood that she didn't do it alone, that she had a strong mother that invested in her, a strong mother who persevered." WOMAN AND CHILD WALKING ACROSS THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RUBEN DIAZ, JR., BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT, SAYING: "We know, collectively, in the city of New York that she is a person that has never forgotten her heritage, her culture, where she comes from. It makes me happy that whenever she gives speeches outside of New York that she always talks about where she is from, from the Bronx, from the projects in Bronxdale, that she's a Nuyorican."
  • Embargoed: 26th July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE8HYIRTRVV60N4PHJPAXQIRHF
  • Story Text: A Bronx tale of success: Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina woman to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, is a source of pride and inspiration in the community where she was raised.
    As confirmation hearings are set to begin to decide if Judge Sonia Sotomayor will become the next United States Supreme Court Justice, the Bronx neighborhood where she grew up is celebrating that one of their own could soon have a lifetime seat on the nation's highest court.
    To many, Sotomayor, the first Latina to be nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, is the story of the American Dream; the ability to achieve greatness, despite humble beginnings.
    "I think it's nice for her because she is Hispanic, and maybe she can do something for everybody," said Bronx resident, Violeata Martinez.
    Fellow Bronx resident Aaron Jones said, "I think it's fabulous for a individual in my community to rise above the environment and reach that status in life. I'm with her 100 percent."
    Sonia Sotomayor was born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City. She spent her early years in the Bronxdale public housing development, a sprawling 28-building complex containing 1,497 apartments, according to the New York City Housing Authority.
    Sotomayor's parents moved to the United States from Puerto Rico. Her father died when she was young, and her mother, Celina, worked to provide for Sotomayor and her younger brother.
    During the late 1950s, when the Sotomayors moved to the Bronxdale Houses, the neighborhood was a racially-mixed, low-income neighborhood. Later during the 1960s as street gangs formed, the area deteriorated into a violent neighborhood consumed by drugs, crime and blight.
    Despite the obstacles, Sotomayor attended the Blessed Sacrament Catholic church and school. Sotomayor attended the parochial school for nine years, beginning in kindergarten, and by all accounts was one of the brightest students in the school. The Catholic school would become the foundation for Sotomayor's education and ethics.
    At Blessed Sacrament, Monsignor James White says the students and their parents, many of whom like Celia Sotomayor are struggling to pay the school's tuition, were excited to hear that someone from their school was chosen by the President of the United States to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
    "This part of New York is about 80-percent latino and the reaction of the Latino community has been very energetic. There is a lot of enthusiasm because a Latina is being considered for a post on the Supreme Court of the United States," said White.
    White also said Sotomayor's story of success will serve as inspiration for every child in the Bronx.
    "For the students, just knowing there is hope, they can be whatever they want to be, if they put the work into it. As I said, evidently, she worked very hard. Just give a lot of hope in the future to the community, especially to the Bronx because sometimes people think the Bronx is other than what it is, but it gives them a lot of hope," said White.
    Over the past twenty years, the Bronx has been trying to shed its notorious image with various community and economic revitalization efforts. However, about 26 percent of the families in the borough live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2005-2007 American Community Survey.
    Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. who also was born and raised in the Bronx, says Sotomayor will serve as a role model who will champion the value of education.
    "When kids heard about this, throughout the borough of the Bronx and particularly in the Bronxdale Houses and the Soundview section of the Bronx, they went to school with a certain pep in their step. And parents understood that she didn't do it alone, that she had a strong mother that invested in her, a strong mother who persevered," Diaz.
    More than half of the residents in the Bronx are Latino, according to the U.S. Census, and the Bronx is home to one of the largest Puerto Rican populations in the country. Many people think Sotomayor's Puerto Rican roots offer a source of intense pride to a community that is often economically disadvantaged and socially excluded.
    "We know, collectively, in the city of New York that she is a person that has never forgotten her heritage, her culture, where she comes from. It makes me happy that whenever she gives speeches outside of New York that she always talks about where she is from, from the Bronx, from the projects in Bronxdale, that she's a Nuyuorican," said Diaz.
    Diaz adds that if Sotomayor is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, he hopes she will inspire children to open their minds to the endless opportunities.
    "I hope also that it's a civic lesson. Many of our kids are not privy to the goings on in the Supreme Court, many of them don't know the members of the Supreme Court, the history of the Supreme Court, the cases that go there. You know you have Roe vs. Wade, you have Brown vs. the Board of Education, there's so many significant cases that allow many of our young kids to live the lives that they live, and they just were not aware of it. So, hopefully, now they look at Sonia Sotomayor and say 'OK. What is the Supreme Court? Let me google it. Let me do some research,' and it will be a wonderful civic lesson," added Diaz.
    On Monday, July 13, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor in Washington, DC. If Sotomayor is approved, she could be ready to work when the U.S. Supreme Court resumes in September.
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