Racial Justice Committee

Sonia Sotomayer
(b. June 25, 1954)

Sonia was born in the Bronx, New York to Puerto Rican immigrants Juan Sotomayor and Celina Baez. The early years of her Catholic upbringing within the working-class Puerto Rican community was notable for a close relationship with her grandmother and being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age seven.  Following her father’s death from heart problems when she was nine years old, she became fluent in English and immersed herself in books and television shows that ultimately sparked her dream of becoming a judge. 

Her mother, Celina, emphasized the importance of education early on and Sonia followed suit by working diligently to become the valedictorian at both grammar school and at Cardinal Spellman High School. Thereafter, she attended Princeton University on full scholarship. That same work ethic allowed Sonia to overcome initial challenges, such as a weak vocabulary and lacking knowledge in the classics, and later become an avid student activist. She co-chaired Acción Puertorriqueña, a social and political organization that advocated for opportunities for Puerto Rican students and by working closely with the university president, she was integral in the hiring of the first Latino faculty and arranging the first seminar in Puerto Rican history and politics. 

After graduating from Princeton, she married Kevin Noonan in 1976 and enrolled at Yale Law School that same year. They later divorced in 1983. At Yale, Sonia’s persistence as a hard worker continued as she became the editor of Yale Law Journal and was also managing editor of the student-run Yale Studies in World Public Order publication (later known as the Yale Journal of International Law). While at Yale, a campus-wide debate was triggered after Sonia filed a formal complaint against an established Washington, D.C., law firm for suggesting during a recruiting dinner that she was at Yale only via affirmative action. A faculty–student tribunal ruled in her favor and news of the firm's subsequent December 1978 apology made The Washington Post.

During her early legal career, Sotomayor practiced in a variety of areas of law. As an assistant district attorney in New York County, she prosecuted crimes such as shoplifting, prostitution, robberies and murders. While in commercial private practice thereafter, she specialized in intellectual property litigation, international law, and arbitration. Sonia’s dedication to public service was also evident in her roles on different boards in the community, notably the  State of New York Mortgage Agency, New York City Campaign Finance Board, Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the  Maternity Center Association. In these positions, she promoted mortgage access to low-income communities, regulations in campaign finance, and policies on police brutality, death penalty, and voting rights. 

Her vast legal experience led Sonia to fulfill her childhood dream in 1991 when she was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming the first Hispanic federal judge in the history of the state. She later served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1997. For more than ten years as an appellate judge, she heard in more than 3,000 cases ranging from abortion, First/Second/Fourth Amendment rights, alcohol in commerce, employment discrimination, and civil and property rights. 

Nominated by President Obama, on August 8, 2009, Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as  the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court and is one of five women who have served on the Court. Her appointment also gave the Court a record six Roman Catholic justices serving at the same time. A champion for justice and equal rights for all, Sotomayor continues to be an inspiration, especially for young girls of color who also aspire to influence the world around them.

Dolores Huerta
(b. April 10, 1930)

Dolores Clara Fernández Huerta was born in Dawson, New Mexico and is a labor leader and civil rights activist who worked with Cesar Chavez to organize farmworkers into what became the United Farm Workers (UFW).  

Dolores and her two brothers were raised by their mother in the central California farmworker community of Stockton, California. She found her calling as an organizer while serving in the leadership of the Stockton Community Service Organization (CSO). During this time, she founded the Agricultural Workers Association, set up voter registration drives and pressed local governments for neighborhood improvements. In 1955 CSO founder Fred Ross, Sr. introduced her to CSO Executive Director César E. Chávez, a like-minded colleague. The two soon discovered that they shared a common vision of organizing farm workers, an idea that was not in line with the CSO’s mission. As a result, César and Dolores resigned from the CSO, and launched the National Farm Workers Association in the spring of 1962. Dolores’ organizing skills were essential to the growth of this budding organization. The first testament to her lobbying and negotiating talents were demonstrated in securing Aid for Dependent Families (“AFDC”) and disability insurance for farm workers in California in 1963, an unparalleled feat at the time. She helped organize the Delano grape strike in 1965 in California and was the lead negotiator in the workers contract that was created after the strike. The strike lasted for five years and was characterized by its grassroots efforts including consumer boycotts of non-union grapes, marches, and community organizing. The strike gained national attention. In July 1970, the strike resulted in a victory for the farm workers when an agreement was reached with major table grape growers, affecting more than 10,000 farm workers.

Dolores was also instrumental in the enactment of California’s Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. This was the first law of its kind in the United States, granting farm workers in California the right to collectively organize and bargain for better wages and working conditions. In 2012 President Obama bestowed Dolores with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. At 91, Dolores Huerta continues to work tirelessly developing leaders and advocating for the working poor, women, and children. As founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, she travels across the country engaging in campaigns and influencing legislation that supports equality and defends civil rights.



Archbishop Jose H. Gomez
(b. December 26, 1951)

José Horacio Gómez Velasco was one of five children born to José H. Gómez and Esperanza Velasco in Monterrey, Mexico.  At National University of Mexico, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 1975. He later obtained an additional bachelor's degree and licentiate in theology at the University of Navarre in Spain. In 1980, José attained a Doctor of Sacred Theology degree at the same university. 

During college in Mexico, José joined the Catholic organization, Opus Dei, founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá, that teaches people that the path to sanctity is through holiness in ordinary activities. On August 15, 1978 at the age of 26, José was ordained a priest of Opus Dei in Spain. Thereafter, he engaged in pastoral work at various schools in the country and also back in Mexico. 

Father Gómez eventually settled at Our Lady of Grace Church in San Antonio, TX, where he resided from 1987-1999. He also began working with the National Association of Hispanic Priests 1991 and served their president in 1995, the same year he became a U.S. citizen. For several years thereafter, he served on the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Council of Hispanic Ministry and even helped to establish the Hispanic Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, which opened in August 2000. 

In 2001, when Pope John Paul II appointed him as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Denver, Gómez chose as his episcopal motto "Adeamus cum fiducia ad thronum gratiae", meaning "Let us confidently approach the throne of grace". In 2004, he was then chosen as the Archbishop of San Antonio and his work within Hispanic communities continued. He was named one of Time Magazine’s 25 most influential Hispanics in the U.S. and in 2007, he played an integral role in bringing together Hispanic leaders and Catholic bishops for the creation of the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL). 

On April 6, 2010, Gómez was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2011, he succeeded and became the first Hispanic to serve as the Archbishop of Los Angeles, a role he currently holds today. Los Angeles is the largest Catholic diocese in the nation, with Hispanics comprising more than two-thirds of their five million Catholics. Notably, Pope Benedict XVI also appointed Archbishop Gómez in 2012 as one of the Synod Fathers for the 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, considered as an advisory body to the pope. 

Three years after being elected as the Vice President to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2016, Archbishop Gómez became the first Hispanic elected to be their President on November 12, 2019. Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, he issued a statement on behalf of the USCCB condemning the killing and called for greater tolerance and to ensure that racism is removed from all aspects of the community to foster greater harmony.

"Just Mercy" Movie Night

"Hidden Figures" Movie Night

4 week discussion group of "Open Wide Our Hearts"
(the U.S. Bishop's pastoral letter on racism)

Online Prayer Service for MLK Day - click HERE to view

Black History Month: 'Did You Know' feature about famous African Americans, music for 'Music Mondays' on social media

Presentation by the Georgetown Memorial Project

Prayer Vigil for Racial Reconciliation on the Anniversary of the
Murder of George Floyd

AAPI History Month: 'Did You Know' about notable AAPI figures 

USCCB's Committee Against Racism - click HERE

ADW's Anti-Racism Initiative - click HERE