This statement was made by Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor in 2001. The reaction to it reveals how long the road ahead of us is in race relations in this country.
Whether or not Judge Sotomayor should explain her remarks is up to her. I can tell you however that this is not a racist comment. In order for it to be racist, she must be in a position of social power over others. As a Latina and a woman, this is inherently impossible. Any white man can quickly and easily dehumanize her by using racist or sexist language. She does not have that power and thus cannot be considered racist.
More to the point, and taking her comment in context as opposed to the knee jerk reaction of Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, she's absolutely right that a person of her life experience cannot possibly come to the same conclusions in all matters as a white man "who hasn't lived [her] life". The lives we lead matter when it comes to our judgment - whether we're sitting on the bench of the Supreme Court or deciding who to sit by on the subway. If we have been privileged to live in ignorance of our race because we're in the dominant culture, we lack a great deal of understanding as to how people of color survive in a racist world. My guess is RNC Chair Michael Steele knows this, and thus is arguing against the Gingriches and Limbaughs of his party because he knows they are coming from a privileged position.
I understand why people might be angry about Sotomayor's comment. I've been there. But if an essential part of my faith is questioning the powers that be, then I have to also question the powers that give me rights and privileges I neither earned nor deserve. I have to open myself up and listen to voices that I may not initially understand. In Mark 7:24-30 and Matthew 15:21-28 a foreign woman approaches Jesus and asks him to heal her daughter. At first, Jesus rudely dismisses her, but after she appeals to his better nature, Jesus changes his mind and the daughter is made well.
If we claim to be followers of Christ, perhaps we should learn from his example and listen to those who've been traditionally excluded. The ones who are healed might just be ourselves.
