Sonia Sotomayor: “A Trailblazing Bronx Native” Honored in Bronze

There is now a stunning bronze statue of US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor proudly on display in her hometown of the Bronx, New York.

Those shopping, dining, working, or simply passing through the Bronx Terminal Market will see a visual representation of this woman, “the third woman, first woman of color, the first Hispanic, and first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court”(Wikipedia) in its 233-year existence.

At the unveiling, Justice Sotomayor said that “she hoped every child who sees the statue of her at the Bronx market knows that she is a proud native”(Price).

Read more about Justice Sotomayor in our post: Sonia Sotomayor: A Leader for Our Time.

A press release covering the September 2022 dedication states, “The bust was sculpted by artists Gillie and Marc. Sotomayor called them ‘two visionary artists who share a passion as I do for community service.”

One of Gillie and Marc Shattner’s community service missions is to increase the number of statues of real women worldwide, and in New York City in particular.

Their work is naturally visible and tangible and runs much deeper than what meets the eye. What we see is what we know and what we know influences what we believe and what we believe, well, that’s everything.

“Statues can either perpetuate sexist ideologies, or they can inspire young girls and boys to change biases, aspirations and perceptions about women in leadership and in history.” (https://gillieandmarc.art/pages/statues-for-equality).

In March of 2021, Gillie and Marc installed a bronze statue of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in her hometown of Brooklyn, NY and now, only one year later, they’ve revealed their latest work: this statue of Justice Sotomayor, accompanied by a biographical sketch.

Here are NWW’s posts about Justice Ginsburg’s statue in Brooklyn: Shattering Ceilings: Glass and Bronze and Justice Ginsburg Day: Honoring the ‘Judicial Giant’.

In addition to the strides they’re making in New York City, Gillie and Marc’s short-term goal for the US is to

“have a major city in each state erect a statue of an influential woman within the next five years,” says Gillie, “We hope that as the project expands, it will include a broader diversity of race, class, ability, sexual orientation and gender expression”(https://gillieandmarc.art/pages/statues-for-equality).

This sounds like a reasonable and very worthwhile goal for states to put into action!

In response to Justice Sotomayor’s appreciation, Gillie and Marc shared:

“It has been the greatest honour of our lives to create a bust of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. She has always been our hero. With her dedication to the judicial process and fighting spirit, Justice Sotomayor is an inspiration to everyone, but especially to all those who feel marginalized or underrepresented. We all owe her our gratitude and respect.”( https://www.related.com/press-releases/2022-09-08/bronx-terminal-market-unveils-sculpture-honoring-us-supreme-court-justice).

Tracking and sharing some of the overall progress in the effort to break the bronze ceiling is thrilling. It’s uplifting to see the remarkable women who inspire these monuments being publicly recognized and represented in our community spaces.

The fact that Justice Sotomayor was able to attend the unveiling of her likeness in bronze with a group of local eighth-graders makes it even more meaningful!

Thank you to Gillie and Marc for their continued community service.

Sonia Sotomayor is a #Nasty Woman Writer and Activist.

© Maria Dintino 2022

Works Cited

Gillie and Marc website  https://gillieandmarc.art/

Price, Michelle L. Associated Press. 8 Sept 2022. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/justice-sotomayor-visits-bronx-bronze-173009005.html