The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) announced on Monday that Justice Sonia Sotomayor will receive the Leadership award at the 29th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards, which will take place on September 22, 2016, at the historic Warner Theatre in Washington, DC.
“The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is extremely proud to be able to honor Justice Sotomayor with our Leadership Award,” said Jose Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of Hispanic Heritage Foundation, in a statement released Monday. “The Justice truly embodies what it means to be an American. The Hispanic community has made significant contributions throughout history, and we are proud to recognize that impact in the present and the future as well.”
In August 2009, Sotomayor became the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in U.S. history. Since then, she’s rendered rulings in cases involving everything from same-sex marriage to the Affordable Care Act. In June 2016, Sotomayor wrote a scathing dissent in the case of Utah v. Edward Joseph Strieff, Jr., calling out “lawless police conduct” that disproportionately targets people of color.
The Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards, which were established in 1987 by the White House to commemorate the creation of Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S., recognizes the contributions and accomplishments of Latino leaders in various fields. HHF’s 2015 award recipients included director Robert Rodriguez, musician Arturo Sandoval, Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez and singer Becky G.
Announcements regarding this year’s honorees will continue over the forthcoming weeks leading up to September.
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