Brookline Hub: Why do you use the word “wise” in the title—as opposed to “smart” or “intelligent”?
Jennifer De Leon: The phrase comes from Sonia Sotomayor (Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States), from a speech she made in 2001 at a conference of Hispanic judges at the University of California—Berkeley. Sotomayor said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.” When President Obama nominated Sotomayor as a Supreme Court Justice, Rush Limbaugh called that remark “racist.” Meanwhile, Sotomayor fans were wearing T-shirts with the phrase “I’m a wise Latina.”