American Association for Affirmative Action Expresses Strong Support for the President’s Nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to Serve on the Court

Association applauds the President for acting “affirmatively” to promote equal opportunity in the selection of the Hispanic female nominee

For Immediate Release: May 26, 2009

Washington, D.C. – The American Association for Affirmative Action (AAAA), an association of equal employment opportunity (EEO), diversity and affirmative action professionals founded in 1974, announced strong support for the decision by President Barack Obama to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. AAAA’s President, ReNeé S. Dunman, stated that, “The President has demonstrated by his actions the essence of affirmative action: selecting a person who is qualified to serve and who comes from a group that has been historically unrepresented on the Supreme Court of the United States.” Dunman added, “By selecting Judge Sotomayor, President Obama has cracked one of the most persistent glass ceilings in the legal profession.”

As did many students who were virtually the first minorities and women to attend Ivy League and other prestigious colleges and universities in the late sixties and seventies, Judge Sotomayor took full advantage of her opportunity, graduating summa cum laude from Princeton University and serving as a member of the Yale Law Journal. She subsequently worked as a prosecutor and corporate lawyer, and when she joined the judiciary, she gained experience both as a trial court judge in the U. S. District Court’s Southern District of New York, and an appellate court judge, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Ms. Dunman stated, “Like the president who nominated her, when the door of opportunity opened, excellence walked through.”

Judge Sotomayor is widely admired as a judge with a sophisticated grasp of legal doctrine and a keen awareness of the law’s impact on everyday life. She understands that upholding the rule of law means going beyond legal theory to ensure consistent, fair, common-sense application of the law to real-world facts.

AAAA hopes that the Senate will welcome Judge Sotomayor and will execute its Constitutional responsibility fully and fairly in the weeks to come. Ms. Dunman added: “We look forward to seeing a Court that is more diverse and represents all Americans on the First Monday in October.”

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