With the US Supreme Court as the ultimate arbiter of criminal justice cases in the United States, Black bloggers are lining up in support of "wise Latina woman" Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination for the US Supreme Court.
For example, African American blogger Atty. Francis L. Holland, whose previous efforts toward diversity in American institutions have been cited by the Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News, Black Enterprise, the American Prospect, the Columbia Journalism Review and the Pew Project for Excellence In Journalism, has posted an online petition in favor of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation to the US Supreme Court.
Holland says he hopes the petition, which is reprinted below, will gain thousands of signatures from people of all skin colors, ethnic backgrounds and genders, just as President Barack Obama received pluralistic support across the board in November's presidential election:
The petition says:
Petition to Confirm Wise Latina Woman Judge Sonia Sotomayor Now
View Current Signatures - Sign the Petition
To: Members of the US Senate
I strongly support and urge immediate Senate confirmation of President Barack Obama’s nominee for the US Supreme Court: “wise Latina woman”, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who now sits on U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
At present, the US Supreme Court has nine members, of whom seven are white men. This is unfair and unbalanced. According to the US Census, the nation is less than 33% white male, while it is approximately 51% female, 15% Latino and 13% Black. Although white males are the minority of America, they remain the vast majority of the US Supreme Court, just as was the case before women and minorities gained the right to vote.
It is impossible in a pluralistic society for a Court comprised of 78% white men to make wise, reasoned and sound decisions affecting the lives of a nation which is less than 33% white male. A wise and just Supreme Court requires a diversity of experiences, with the participation of representatives of the majority of Americans.
For far too long, there has been a quota system at the United States Supreme Court. The de facto quota system required that all or the vast majority of the nine members of the Court be white males. In the history of the nation, there have never been more than three members of the court who were not white males at any one time. The anachronistic white male quota system is no longer tenable as the nation strives to treat all Americans equally and to have a government all of whose branches have the consent and participation of the nation’s diverse populace.
The US Supreme Court cannot function wisely, justly, and fairly without the full participation of wise women and wise members of the nation’s minority groups, including the nation’s largest minority – Latinos. Therefore, we urge our elected representatives in the US Senate to immediately confirm the “wise Latina woman” who has earned our respect and support: soon-to-be US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
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