Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Congratulations Sonia Sotomayor. She is making history becoming the first Hispanic, first Puerto-Rican, First Latina, and third woman to be confirmed into the U.S. Supreme Court!!!! (Why does this year feel like "THE" year for people of color in politics?") (Personal Note: As a woman of color, I've never felt so liberated and filled with pride. To see someone who had a similar background that I can relate achieve such a milestone is inspirational to me. Just as Barack broke a piece of the color barrier, Sonia has broken race and gender, and have made it a little easier for me, and other women of color to achieve our dreams.)

Photo Credit: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/RoGdvIWTuOw/Supreme+Court+Nominee+Sonia+Sotomayor+Meets/xZB3qdzlq98/Sonia+Sotomayor

Happy Birthday President Barack Obama

Happy 48th Birthday President Barack Hussein Obama!!!! To clear of those "He wasn't born in the U.S., I believe Alan Keyes NONSENSE" click here to read a great post by Monica of Transgriot

Photo Credit: http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/Barack%20Obama%20Capitol.jpg

Last Week News You Should Know About: Sonia Sotomayor

If you haven't heard, Sonia Sotomayor is close to being confirmed the first Hispanic and third woman to be accepted into the Supreme Court. Check out this article from the New York Times about her recent victory with the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Photo Credit: http://www.dailyplunge.com/Art/Sonia%20Sotomayor.jpg

Womanista Theme: Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm
of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Girlhood Documentary

Girlhood is a documentary that follows two teenage girls for three years in and out of the juvenile system and their home life. I first saw it on the Discovery Channel a few years ago. Most documentaries about teenage juveniles that I've seen have usually featured black and Hispanic males, so I was curious to see how a teenage girl's perspective would be shown. The life stories of Meghan and Shanae are heartbreaking, both having to grow up fast in different ways. Meghan, the daughter of a drug addict/prostitute mother and a alcoholic father, grew up in foster for most of her life. After being ganged raped at the age of 10, Shanae began to hang with the wrong crowd which led to a violent turn in her life. The documentary shows how the two young women come-of-age while dealing with unfortunate situations.

Welcome to Womanista!

Womanista is a new blog that focuses on issues that affect women, specifically women of color. If you didn't know, the term Womanist was founded by critically-acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize author (i.e. The Color Purple and womanist Alice Walker. In her 1980's book , "In Search of Our Mother's Garden: Womanists Prose", she describes womanism as a way to acknowledge women of color's experience in society, since they deal with race as well as gender , sexual orientation and class discrimination, unlike feminism which mostly deals with gender discrimination.

Photo Credit: Found Online