Is She Or Isn’t She?: Benjamin Cardozo, Sonia Sotomayor And Who, Exactly, Is The First Latino Supreme Court Justice

There is, of course, no doubt that Sonia Sotomayor is set to be the first Latina Justice of the Supreme Court. But some hugger-mugger still remains over whether she is the first Hispanic to assume such a position, with many pointing to Benjamin Cardozo as holding that particular distinction.

Both Cardozo’s maternal and paternal grandparents were Sephardic Jews whose families arrived in the colonies from England before the American Revolution. They trace their roots back to the Iberian Peninsula, their ancestors having moved to Holland during the Spanish Inquisition. It is not known whether Cardozo’s family is from Portugal, Spain, or both, but his name is common in Portugal.

Does any of this make him Hispanic? It’s debatable. Some take Hispanic to mean those who are “Hispano-Roman,” or those  relating to the people of Hispania, who were the ancestors of the Portuguese and Spanish of today. Others take it to mean solely those descended from the Spanish and relating to those who are specifically Spanish-speakers. For what it’s worth, the United Census Bureau does not consider people of Portuguese descent Hispanic for the purposes of their records.

There’s also the question of how far one’s background extends to the point that one can comfortably claim solidarity to a group or movement. There is no doubt that Cardozo was, first and foremost, quintessentially American. His family was smoking cigars in the waiting area as this country was being born, giving each other high fives. His cousin was Emma Lazarus, for crying out loud. Her words are engraved on the Statue of Liberty. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Yes, even Yanixan.”

Sotomayor, whose family is a newer addition to the continental U.S, should not be thought of as being any less loyal or less American because her family is more directly and obviously tied to Latin culture. And this is where the discussion based on background and ethnicity and labels concerns us. Because, while we understand that having a Hispanic, Latina Justice is inspiring to many and that the discourse surrounding these factors have a lot to teach us about ourselves and our prejudices and expectations, it has overtaken nearly all reports and discussions and debates relating to Sotomayor. And maybe, yes, she is partly to blame for this, given her past comments and speeches. She has, whether it was her intent or not, paved a certain path, and others (from Latino bloggers to Newt Gingrich) gleefully followed. 

We are fully a product of our background and our culture; this is true. But we are also complicated creatures who do not exist as one layer or facet. Luckily, being an American means simultaneously that we are no one thing  or set of things in particular, and that we are so many things altogether. 

…Right?

Benjamin N. Cardozo [Wiki]