Sonia Sotomayor has opened many doors for the Latino community in becoming the first Latin American woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. This achievement generated a lot of well-deserved media attention that placed Sotomayor in the spotlight. Graduating summa cum laude from both Princeton and Yale, serving as a judge in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit she established a career that deserved all the attention she obtained only when she became a Supreme Court justice. Yet it was her appointment to the Supreme Court that launched a newfound wave of Latino support, not her previous but equally admirable achievements. Sotomayor’s accomplishments are extensive; a simple Google search will deliver the full extent of her awesomeness if the opening paragraph was not enough. Although books and volumes can be written on her political ideology, views on critical S.C.O.T.U.S. decisions, and dissenting and concurring opinions Sotomayor has focused her memoir My Beloved World on exactly that, her world. Although it is due to the new chapter in her life (in becoming a S.C.O.T.U.S. judge) that she felt the need to write her book, she ends it twenty years before that chapter begins. Not ignoring its importance in her life but illuminating the path that led to it. It is critical that readers understand the purpose and drive behind Sotomayor’s book. She is not writing about her beloved political world, but rather the world that allowed her to enter the realm of politics. Her story is inspiring and although I do not believe it was her intention to inspire others, that is exactly what she has done. Sotomayor provides intimate personal details that co... ... middle of paper ... ... thought that Sotomayor shares serves a dual purpose. The first is that it propels her narrative forward, citing her sources of inspiration and educative moments that formed her. The second is that she provides social commentary on how she feels others should carry themselves in order to obtain success. Being actively engaged in an education was a key to her success, and therefore a key to success. Many other generalizations can be made from what she calls “Teaching moments,” however the entire book is a teaching moment. The obstacles she faced are not special to her. Everyone can relate to her on some level, whether it is through her struggle with diabetes, racism, affirmative action, or personal insecurities. Sotomayor offers great lessons that she learned the hard way. She was kind enough to write them down and share them, and the least we could do is listen.
Anne-Marie Slaughter is the first woman director of planning policy at the State Department and the president and CEO of the New America Foundation. She has taught at two of the most prestige schools in the country Princeton and Harvard Law. She is also the author and editor of several books, but the most recent one is called “The Idea That Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World which was published in the year 2007. Slaughters essay is about trying to balance home life and work life, and it first appeared in the Atlantic in July/August 2012 issue and was also on the Huffington Post. This essay argues that women in high power jobs and government positions can have both a work life and also keep their home life. She started her essay with a little information on background about her job.
First, the challenge of diabetes. Sotomayor told Robert Barnes, of the Washington Post, “It drove me in a way that perhaps nothing else might have to accomplish as much as I could as early as possible.” What can be pulled from this quote is that she saw this disease not as something that would hold her back from her dreams but something that would drive her harder to her dreams. Sonia also told Barnes that she strived hard to reach her goals before age fifty because she was afraid she would die early. The drive of fear and determination really helped push Sonia to the finish line. Next, her cultural and social background. Sonia overcame this by working very hard: “Sotomayor bought grammar books and vocabulary texts and practiced each lunch hour at her summer job”(Barnes) He goes on to tell us that not only did Sotomayor get better at english and close the education gap but was awarded Princeton’s top academic prize. The video by Bio.com tells us that at school she was a quiet girl and was one of the smartest people in a school filled with smart people. Sonia worked really hard to conquer this adversity so she could go into law. Overall, Sonia Sotomayor has faced a lot of adversity in her lifetime but she has overcome it with great
In the “Declaration of Conscience,” Margaret Chase Smith addresses the American public and the United States Senate during a time of political unrest. Communist accusations and a “national feeling of fear” has brought upon this speech. Even with an upcoming election, the Republican Party decides a freshman woman senator would speak to the public, an uncommon practice at the time . In this paper, I will argue that Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” proves her credibility as a woman politician. Smith uses a masculine tone, simple diction, and repetition to prove to Americans and the Senate that she is a strong political figure.
In order to further discuss her main points and views, a summary of her story
The United States is known as the “land of the free” attracting many immigrants to achieve the “American Dream” with the promise of equal opportunity for all. However, many groups, whose identities differed from the dominant American ideology, discovered this “American dream” to be a fantasy. In the 1960s, movements for civil rights in the United States of America included efforts to end private and public acts of racial discrimination against groups of disadvantaged people. Despite the efforts made to empower the disadvantaged groups, racialization and class differences prevailed leading to social inequality. The novel My Beloved World is an autobiography written by Sonia Sotomayor illustrating her early life, education, and career path, explaining the unresolved contradictions of American history and how they continue on in society. Prejudice against certain socioeconomic classes and races prevented equal opportunity. Sotomayor’s text explicates the racialization and class differences that many Puerto Ricans experience while pursuing a higher education, revealing the contradictions between the American promise of equal opportunity and discrimination against Puerto Ricans.
Susan B. Anthony was an equal rights activist and one of the founders of feminism. She was fined $100 for voting illegally in the 1872 election. She was outraged by this, and traveled the country speaking on women’s suffrage and equal rights. Though women weren’t given the right to vote until 14 years following her death, she delivered a powerful speech, now known as “Women’s Right to Suffrage” to express her anger with the lack of rights in this country. She argues that “we that people” isn’t just inclusive to white men, and that both men and women should be given equal opportunity. Today, Ms. Anthony’s words still echo into the hearts and minds of fourth wave feminists, like myself, and inspire them to continue fighting against inequality
Kay, H. H. (2004, Jan). Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Professor of Law. Columbia Law Review, 104, 1-20. doi:10.2307/4099343
Fernandez, Lilia. "Introduction to U.S. Latino/Latina History." History 324. The Ohio State University. Jennings Hall 0040, Columbus, OH, USA. Address.
Palmer, Elizabeth A. "The Court and Public Opinion." CQ Weekly 2 Dec. 2000. CQ Weekly. SAGE Publications. Web. 1 Mar. 2000. .
Individuals stand up to justice to change inequitable laws and issues. According to Susan B. Anthony’s speech “On Women’s Right to Vote”, it states “women are citizens, and no state has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old laws, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities.” Anthony wanted to change an unfair issue. Women could not vote nor was given any freedom of speech. She took a stand against justice and eventually led to the changings of this outrageous law, and providing an example of the importance of taking a stand.
The American Dream has never been available to minority citizens as easily as it is to American-born citizens. Affirmative action was first implemented around the year 1972, however it was not widely accepted or practiced. During this time society was just getting used to including women in higher education institutions so the concept of including minorities in higher education was almost non-existent. My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor shows the challenges that a first generation, Puerto Rican, lower socioeconomic female had during this time. Through her autobiography she shows the struggles she faced throughout her life, focusing on her application to college, college experience and insight into her cultural background. My Beloved World present the ideology of White Supremacy and other phenomenon’s such as structural inequality, and socioeconomic inequality that interfere with Sonia’s inability to receive preparation for college and these things show the that America has not made good on its promise of equal opportunity for all.
Wolbrecht, C. (2000). Of Presidents and Platforms. In The politics of women's rights: Parties, positions, and change (pp. 23-72). Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
Ruíz, Vicki, and Sánchez Korrol Virginia E. "Huerta, Dolores." Latinas in the United States: A
Kavanaugh begins his article by addressing his audience of Catholics in America’s emotions through the classical appeal of pathos. With his first sentence he tells the story of a lovable woman with a family who was deported back to an unsafe area in Mexico, “…in the last 15 years, 600 young women have been kidnapped, raped, murdered and buried in the desert” (26). He gives the readers newfound hope when he says “Luckily, she was able to find a way into the United States, again illegally, to be with her children,” but he quickly brings the audience to the sad reality that “If she is discovered again, she will spend five years in a U.S. federal prison” (26). Ending on such a harsh note leaves the audience wanting a different outcome, a better one that would allow her to raise her children in peace and in the ...
Over the summer I had the pleasure of reading Off the Sidelines: Speak Up, Be Fearless, and Change Your World written by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Senator Gillibrand is not only a brilliant politician, but also an inspiration to all women in the fight for equality. She is a true feminist, in the belief that all people are equal man and women of any ethnicity deserve the right to equal pay and opportunity. Currently, a man earns more than a woman in a professional setting for doing the same job. To rectify unfair situations such as the wage gap and beyond, more women need to speak out and have their voices be heard. Senator Gillibrand’s book does a great job of motivating women to strive for greatness and never backdown to a challenge.