A Success story: Barack Obama & Sonia Sotomayor
The President & His Supreme Court Nominee Have Similar Life Stories
May 28, 2009
Barack Obama’s story has flooded the airways for many months since his historic Presidential bid. Judge Sonia Sotomayor; however, is less known outside the judicial circles she occupies, yet shares an equally compelling personal history with the President. The bi-racial child of a broken home, who was mainly raised by his grandparents, nominated the daughter of poorly educated Hispanic immigrants that was raised by a single mother in the projects of the South Bronx, New York. It is difficult to believe these two people obtained any degree of success not alone became the President of the United States and his nominee for Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Historical similarities between Judge Sotomayor and President Obama
President Obama praised his nominee for having “…a common sense understanding of how laws affect the daily realities of people’s lives.” Obama continued, “She will bring more experience on the bench than anyone currently serving on the Supreme Court when appointed.” However, her humble beginnings are never far from her. "I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences," Sotomayor said at the conference. It appears she’s as ordinary a person as the President that nominated her.
- Joint Minority Status – President Obama’s minority first are well known; the first black president of the Harvard Law Review and most notably the first black US President. Sotomayor’s record consists of graduating from two Ivy League Universities (Princeton and Yale), twice confirmed to Federal Benches and now the first Latino to be nominated to the highest court.
- Difficult Childhoods – Judge Sotomayor’s were caused by the early death of her father when she was 9. Her single parent mother, working two jobs, maintained strong family bonds even when 8 year old Sonia was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Similarly, President Obama’s mother was a single parent for most of Barack’s first 6 years. At age 10 Obama was sent off to live with his grandparents until his mother returned 2 years later. By age 16 Obama was once again alone with his grandparents.
- Troubled Families – Obama’s parents were highly educated. His biological father obtained an MA degree from Harvard in economics, his stepfather was an executive for Mobil Oil Corporation and his mother earned a PhD from the University of Hawaii. While President Obama’s dysfunctional family had considerable education, Judge Sotomayor’s family problems were routed in poverty. Born and raised in the projects of the South Bronx, also known as the poor section of Spanish Harlem across the river, Sotomayor’s parents were uneducated. Her father had only a 3rd grade education and her hard working mother entered the Army during WW2 to escape poverty.
- Professional Experience – Mr. Obama served was President of the Harvard Law Review, while Ms Sotomayor served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. Professor Obama was Senior Lecturer at the University of Chicago, School of Law for 12 years, specializing in teaching Constitutional Law. Professor Sotomayor was an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law and lecturer at Columbia Law School.
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