Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Hispanic? Other Thoughts re Diversity
May 27th, 2009 | 22 responses
Well, I could write a whole article about the labels/ monikers Latinos carry… we are Latinos, Latinas (speaking/living in a common Latinate language and bloodline)… we are Chicanos, Chicanas (a self-named title for people of Latino descent who raise political voices)… we are spics and anclas (derisive), indios (derisive), meztisos, meztisas (Native American and Spanish blood in those of us who are Latinos/ Latinas.) As if all that isn’t confusing enough, many of us also come from Mexican, Central American, SouthAmerican and Island tribal groups… and from clans within those groups too. Ay!
I’ve had this conversation with Joe Gandelman, our good Ed. in Chief, about our TMV category of ‘Hispanic.’ He graciously allowed me to add Latino to the categories list here.
Hispanic is not very often what we call ourselves… though sometimes we use the term in conversation with people who themselves use the term and who do not know that Hispanic is a name encoded for us by the US government… and eternalized in the US Census…. in an effort, I guess, to categorize us as not Caucasian, not Negro, not Asian, not Polynesian, etc…..to presumably categorize us by natal roots, heritage or natal language. Originally, for instance, the first conquered parts of Mexico were called Hispañola, so Hispanic can seem not too far off even if you’re not a monarchal descendent of Ferdinand and Isabella’s Spanish galleons to ‘the new world.’
Our government seems still to want to categorize us all, meaning you and me, by race and heritage, seemingly thinking this gives peerless insight for those wanting to scry voting constituencies, and other measures of our nation’s lean and tilts.
But, the census and those who use those numbers …may be in great error from the get-go. There are many Latinos who are as poor as some Appalachians, as poorly educated as many ‘Anglos’ and ‘blacks’ in Mississippi and Arkansas. There are many Latinos who hold more wealth than our socks full of pennies in the drawer, more wealth and influence equal to, or exceeding the power of many Caucasians and Asians and those in the US from Island nations.
Trying to parse us all by race/ heritage is like putting on badly scratched eye-glasses.
Regarding my own heritage only, I’m not sure people ought be touted first and foremost for being from a Latino heritage or Latino racial group (although I have been honored as a Latina, the recognition is for the work, and the challenges to begin/complete/continue the work, not for race/ heritage alone)…
Yet, I do know the value of the stories I carry as a result of my Latina heritage, the crucial teaching lessons in those stories, the history I carry which is harsh and also beautiful. I also know the value of my strange and scarred life to the young in general, no matter what race/heritage they are from.
I also know the value of our ancestral stories in whatever historical chapters my Latina blood has been shed, and also given for good purpose. I know the value of these tragic-meaningful stories too, for young Latinos who are impoverished of both books and finances and who have parents who cannot help them other than to love them so…
For the children and teens, to hear life stories of those, who are similar to them in background, who started out with just a bindle bag on their shoulders, hearing how someone made it through famines of many kinds, can become enough food, enough soul sustenance for miles and miles of their travails and travels forward in this world.
I do know the value of my speaking no-nonsense to tough “Latino girls with their hair sprayed up like hood ornaments”… about what it takes to not turn into a thug with a huge chip on one’s shoulder and to instead lean into becoming a warrior, even though sometimes warriors have to sustain wounds. I know what it takes to grapple with belongimg to two or more cultures in the same town, and how to bridge the bi-cultural, to not diminish one culture or the other, but to weave them together in the best and strongest tapestry possible.
I do also know the shortcomings, the destructions of efforts toward rising up the class-oriented ladder, the inestimable talent of warmth and longing to learn… that glows through all cultures, not just my own.
I think knowing specifically about the invaders and conquests by various armamental kings of the world, including popes, and that no group, no tribe, no nation and no people of any heritage has EVER been able to say, ‘We alone were never slaughtered unjustly by others’ … that this brings me to… rather than some fluffy form of pat patriotism… it brings me, and I think it brings many of us, to many categories we well fit into… meaning to me, many stories for us to tell to one another, and most especially, in la lucha, in struggle, that we are more alike than separate… across all races and heritages, we have many many fellow travelers from every part of the world.
Judge Sotomayor, carries a last name that can be translated as ‘guardian trees,‘ literally, ‘major grove’… an ancient name from the time when people planted or lived near huge trees that they used for protection against weather, as places from which to scan the horizon lines so as to see far, and some of my old people say, from long ago before cathedrals were built, often the spiring groves of trees created ‘rooms’ with their trunks and canopies… so that people came to pray in those enclosing spaces.
It’s a strong name, and I imagine her name and her life are not well-parsed by referring to her in the main as a Hispanic, anything. We “Hispanics-by-governmental-decree, are like any other racial/ heritage group: We are not monolithic. Saying someone is ‘Hispanic” does not tell us anything about them, other than ghost lines, until filled in with stories by that person.
Judge Sotomayor may be the first of many things Latina– I myself am the first Latina to hit the #1 place on the New York Times bestseller list and to stay in that spot for many weeks. But, when I think of myself and my work in our world everyday, that’s not ever what I think of. When Judge Sotomayor thinks about her work and life, I doubt she thinks she’s the first Latina anything, either. I think most of us regardless of race and heritage, just hope people will find what we do useful.
Maybe I am in error, but I think what most of us hope for in some part, regardless of background, is how can we progress today so that by day’s end, we accomplished something… some days, just for food, roof overhead and some jot of meaning; other days a seeming miniscule thing, other days; perhaps, if we are lucky to keep adding to a decent ideal, something grand that will lift and help goodness maintain an irrevocable parity.
Those central points of living life seem to have little or nothing to do with being Latina. Or Hispanic. Rather, they seem more to derive from mind, heart and soul development, and in whatever approximation of agreement between all three parts we can manage on any given day.
I think it’s alright for people to use the word Hispanic for us if they wish, or Latina, or American, or United Statesian. Having been called some pretty derisive and mocking names in my time, those other ones seem much more peaceful.
Yet, I know it can be confusing. In my ‘diversity’ seminars (another word that I am not at ease with when it doesnt include all racial groups, all heritages) sometimes participants say, “What do you people want to be called?! One week it’s this and the next week, it changes.” It’s a more than fair question, because every group appears, including English and Dutch people who arrived as ‘colonists,’ to go through a progression of names they prefer to be called, sometimes as they discover the derisiveness of the name they’ve been given by others. For instance, currently, people with Asian heritages often would like to be called something other than “Oriental.’ Blacks most often like not to be called ‘colored.’ Native Americans or First People would most often not like to be called by the odd names their conquerers pressed upon them.
So, is Judge Sotomayor a Hispanic? I am not sure what she would say, but I’d say this, sometimes the most simple way, is just ask people what they would like to be called, if and when one needs to refer to heritage/ race. Then do so. It’s a small sign of respect, and just one less broken board on the bridge between people of different backgrounds… so we can reach each other, talk to each other, plan to do good and worthy things together.
22 Responses to “Judge Sonia Sotomayor: Hispanic? Other Thoughts re Diversity”
dr e – Not sure if you've read these two posts yet by Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen, but you (and others) might find them interesting. This is not a topic I can speak about from experience,
– but I am grateful that others are so that we can make this a teachable moment (or era for that matter):
http://culturekitchen.com/liza/blog/why_does_so…
http://culturekitchen.com/liza/blog/puerto_rica…
no, I havent read those Jillzie, and thanks for another set of opinings.
dr.e
good to read you Dr. E. . .”guardian trees”, the story you wrote back when Ted Kennedy made the announcement of his physical challenges, takes on another layer of meaning when seeing it's imagery for the Supreme Court Justices. . . i am supplying the link. . .and may Judge Sotomayor live up to her name and goodness in this story. . .many blessings Dr. E. . .
http://themoderatevoice.com/19791/senator-kenne…
Clarissa,
I can remember growing up in southern California and having to complete those census cards that the schools instructed us to complete at the beginning of each school year, and I remember my parents and I scratching our heads when it came to the race/ethnicity question, having to decide between the options of <italic>white, not of Hispanic origin</italic> and <italic>Hispanic</italic>, as if <italic>white</italic> and <italic>Hispanic</italic> were mutually exlcusive. My parents always ending up marking both options, despite the fact that the directions clearly instructed that a single option be chosen
Thankfully, the schools modified the race/ethnicity question to allow one to mark more than one option by the time I reached High School.
Hi Doc!
It's been a bit since you posted. I was becoming concerned over here.
I'm really glad to see you're on and typing away!
I've always felt if one asks most any question in a polite and kindhearted manner, that the outcome will usually be positive.
Thanks for the post Doc!
Ghost
Thanks, dr e.
I took the liberty of quoting some of your inspiring thoughts
Dorian
dear nic, your post made me laugh remembering… Isn't that the truth… many of us could probably check Caucasian, Asian (from the Caucuses), Black (from the US, but also from Spain and surrounds re the Moors and others, Native American, Hispanic and possibly some of the more sea-going islanders as well… all in one person— if one truly knew their DNA threads, and/or the history of their conquerers, and/or the history of the many, as they say back to home, lovers hiding in the wood pile. Thank you for your story so others could read it too. Wouldnt it be interesting in a humorous way, if the census had boxes to check for Hun, Visagoth, Saxon, Reverso, tribes of County Cork, et al.
dr.e.
sparrow, you have an amazing memory. The old people say we are all born with a hundred stories and tell them hundreds of different ways for life.
dr.e
Ghost, As I prepared to write about the Irish Catholic church's decades long criminality toward children, I read your comment over at NCR on same. You were right on. Strong and pithy. Thank you for that, and for your welcoming here. Appreciated.
dr.e
D.E. I read your post too, and thank you for that reason and pride.
dr.e
I love the translations of last names and wonder if it is true for all names. I guess we can't talk about it without revealing our names. Sonya is from a “major Grove” and says something about the name and the culture. I am “of the woods” in the original french, a connection to a clan i rather enjoy. I wonder what Estes might mean?
Isn't all this hoopla the prep for finding wedge issues that provide political cover for rejecting her nomination. I don't envy the way they will scrape over her mind and body to take advantage of anything they can, for or against her and I hope she will be strong and gracious enough to survive it all.
Wow, that brings back memories. I remember that exact same situation from middle school. I was filling out an application to the only selective high school in San Francisco. When I came to “race” I had quite an internal struggle. I'm quite literally a Spanish American; born in Spain, partially raised in the US, one parent from each country. I'm white, but I'm also sort of a Hispanic. The struggle was made difficult because I knew Hispanic would help me get into the school (my grades were decent, but not top-notch) in a way puting “Caucasian” would not. I already opposed affirmative action, but the temptation to take advantage of it then was strong. In the end I stood on principle and decided that no, I was not the kind of person people who thought up the term “Hispanic” were really thinking about and if I really didn't like affirmative action I should not try to take advantage of it.
It's a constant problem with race. Since race is not actually an objective measure of much of anything, and much less the extremely inconsistent, intuition based criteria of race used by society, attempts to put all of us into neat little race categories will inevitably fail. The sooner we do away with such outdated ways of dividing people the better.
Dr. Estes,
Thank you for addressing issues of diversity. I am excited about Sotomayer's nomination and believe it represents a wider opening to the possibilities of accepting cultural differences.
It's also amusing in an odd way to watch the opposition!
As a fan of your, I have just re-read 'The Gift of Story' and purchased a few copies of the CD you recorded with Carolyn Myss as gifts to accompany FolkHeart Press' e-book “Family Folktales: What Are Yours?” promotional givewaway.
May I discuss with you the possibility of quoting a few lines from the introduction of 'The Gift of Story' iin FolkHeart Press' revised workbook 'Family Folktales: Write Your Own Family Stories” to be published this summer?
Best, Karen
dear spirasol, I think it IS true for all names, humans have a penchant/instinct for naming things/people by what they live in/near, by whose bloodline they belong to, by what ancient professions they mastered, and so much more. If one can get to the surname before it was mis-spelled or changed dramatically, often the surname is a little window into the world of one's ancestors, their way of life, how people envisioned themselves and others. Even in tribal groups where consanguinuity (sp) was most important (who was whose son… carried by Anders-son, or ben Yosuf, for instance… in the main some of those kinds of surnames seeming to consolidate tribal members…. and property e.g, claimed grazing or hunting terrain, for instance)
Youre right, “hoopla prep,” what a unique phrase. “Hoopla prep” seems a weak strategy compared to fact based objections that are based on full, not edited, sentences in context by Judge Sotomayor… or anyone else, for that matter.
The internet has never been more root stock as an investigative tool… than when we can easily research what a person actually said in a speech or video before or after the tiny clip that various media have edited out of context. To me, this is an amazing development toward factual context given into the hands of ordinary folks like us. THink of it Spirasol (I like that… el sol del Spiritu) not that long ago, we'd have to write to the news agency/ conference/university, beg a VHS of the original speech, or pay for one, wait for it to be mailed to us snail mail, if at all availible and not jealously guarded by what used to be the 'newspaper' gatekeepers.
The gates are blown on their hinges now. The archival library of the world is open to most all. It's an amazing time
dr.e
dear Lynx, nice to see you again. You are a Spanish-American, yes. Long ago, when people didnt want to say Mexican American, they would often say Spanish American, in part because the discrimination against anyone of Indian blood in Mexico had also traveled to the US and become part of the culture in various locales. Yet, those of us who are Mexican are most often “Indian, and…” Indian and Greek, Indian and Spanish, Indian and Italian, Indian and French. THe conquistadores were not only from SPain, but also from Greece, Italy and other countries whose names are now changed to modern ones. When the French occupied Mexico, via Carlotta and Maximiliano, as a kind of odd French monarchy in Mexico, there was a flood of French people… and many children came into Mexico who were also Indian-French, Indian-spanish-french, Indian-greek-french.
I think the many cross bloodlines, though they too often happened at the point of a sword or weapon, still are reason for finding that riches in each, rather than using any aspect of heritage or race to reject people. This is just my unpopular two cents worth …lol
dr.e
dear folkheart press, Pls go to this link and you will see an email address at the end of the article where you can contact dr.e
http://ncronline.org/blogs/el-rio-debajo-del-ri…
I have just discovered the Moderate Voice. Politics have always confused me. I never know who to believe. I really enjoyed reading your article, Dr. Estes on Judge Sotomayor. Your words soothe me. You speak from the heart. I am in grad school and took a cultural diversity course. I was the only white female in the room. I learned about race and ethnicity from the other side of the fence. We need more dialogue like that. We truly are more alike than we are different.
welcome NewtoThis, grad school… boy, I wish everyone could go back to school and learn cool things, either more deeply or for the first time. I hope you are finding a rich brew there at school and that you will come back often to TMV. And, you're accurate… peacemaking turns to weigh hopes in common, does not put blood libel first.
dr.e
You're right Dr. E about learning things more deeply. I think I knew about prejudice and racism intellectually, but not personally. Listening to my classmates stories and seeing the tears in their eyes-I was ashamed to be white.
I am finding and having rich experiences in grad school. I am 52, and I was scared that I was too old to go back to school, but I've found out I was wrong.
I love your work. It saved me….I have most of it on CD or tape. I am especially fond of the stone child.
Thanks
dear newtothis, Just this, weighing the many sides to history as one peels away the layers, often causes an initial sense of being taken aback when one realizes the errors, misjudgments, less than good actions of one's own religious, academic, racial, ethnic, gender, or family group et al. And some move to put in place, boundaries and laws, so depriving, treating inhumanely, and other losses to us all, cannot easily occur again. However, the initial sense of shame is best used to correct balance for oneself and those within one's reach. I think we all are ashamed of the actions of some who belong to 'our own group, whatever that group might be.
However, also, I'd just note, one of the reasons my philosophy as a visiting 'diversity' scholar, are considered controversial by some at universities, is because I also know and praise all ethnic groups, races, genders, for the excellent good they've done over the ages, over the last century, not despite, but in addition to the misguidedness or outright wrong they've brought.
The 'white' race, as some people call themselves, has many many shining huge moments of caring for, preserving and protecting. You can always be proud.
And congratulations at being back in grad school. 52? You are a mere child. Truly, the spirit of the child in use is the one who finds learning so rich. ¡Andele! Keep going…
dr.e
I know your work is considered controversial by some- alot of people just can't stomach the truth. It upsets their carefully constructed little world. Thank you for your kind words, and for taking the time to help another.
The whole thing is absurd Hispanic is not a race but implies having a Spanish Speaking culture. How can a European from Spain be the same race as a Mexican who is 75% indigenous or Domincans or Puerto Rican who have a great deal of Black blood? Many hispanics are mestizos but some are Black, some are White even blond with blue eyes..