Clyburn supports Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor has now become a household name, as she was announced earlier this week as President Obama’s nomination for U.S.  Supreme Court.  If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic to serve as Justice. Congressman James Clyburn of Charleston is in full support of Obama’s decision.
“I think she has exactly what it takes to be an outstanding jurist, I love the stuff that’s found in her background. She has a life story that’s what this country is all about. Being born in public housing, educating oneself, finishing number one in your class at Princeton University, finishing a law review,” says Clyburn.
Clyburn says so many Americans can relate to Sotomayor’s past of growing up in the Bronx, New York, as a poor child.
“One man’s bread is another man’s stone, we learn that in vacation bible school. What may be a problem in the background for some, seems like a great thing to me,” says Clyburn.
Reports say Sotomayor would make decisions based on race and gender, Clyburn says that’s how it should be.
“Supreme Court has held more than once, that in order to get beyond race, you must first take race into account. If you ignore something, you pretend it ain’t there and that is called benign and neglect. You got to look and say, ‘alright, this is something that’s happening on a racial business and we’ve got to figure out a way to get around this,” says Clyburn.
One way, according to Clyburn, would be Sotomayor stepping in and sometimes going beyond the law, like the Supreme Court did in Brown vs. Board of Education, where segregation in schools was outlawed.