In a White House reception on Wednesday, President Barack Obama honored the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The president hailed the selection of Associate Justice Sotomayor as “another step toward that more perfect union that we all seek.”
Sotomayor is the first Hispanic member and third woman of the nation’s highest court. An emotional Sotomayor stated, “It is this nation’s faith in a more perfect union that allows a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx to stand here now.”
The president proudly said, “We’re here not just to celebrate our extraordinary new Supreme Court justice. We’re here to celebrate an extraordinary moment for our nation… We celebrate the greatness of a nation in which such a story is possible.”
Obama added that with the Senate’s confirmation of Justice Sotomayor, it has been reaffirmed that, “in America the doors of opportunity must be open to all…”
The president said that Sotomayor’s inspirational life story, being raised by a single mom in the South Bronx, working hard, and attending the best schools in the country, will allow many children to grow up thinking that anything is possible.
Attendees of the White House Reception included: First Lady Michelle Obama, Celina Sotomayor, Justice Sotomayor’s mother, Omar Lopez, stepfather of Justice Sotomayor, Juan Sotomayor, brother of Justice Sotomayor, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.
Sotomayor, with her mother in the audience, seemed to fight back tears as she stepped to a podium stating, “No words can adequately express what I am feeling.” She showed her “most heartfelt appreciation” for the trust that the president and the Senate have placed in her.
The audience stood in overwhelming support of this historic moment for the Latino community and for all Americans.
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