These 2 words are usually addressed for members of Boston city’s traditional white upper class.
All of these Boston Brahmins attend Harvard University for generations. All of them belong only to upper class clubs like the Pacific-Union Club in San Francisco. They are all in high-ranking positions in government, private industries, educational fields, and politics.
Oliver Wendell Homes coined this phrase in 1860 in an article. He wrote “Brahmin caste of New England”. At that time, Brahmins of India were considered high ranking in the Hindu caste system.
New England consists of 6 U.S. States. Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Though he mentioned Brahmins of New England, with the evolution of time, the elite of Boston’s white upper class came to be known as Boston Brahmin.
Why I am writing this now?
During his election campaign, Joe Biden said he would appoint a minority black woman to the Supreme Court. And now, he has nominated Ketanji Jackson Brown, a black African American woman to the Supreme Court. She has to be confirmed by the U.S Senate. The senators will question her before voting yes or no for her nomination. That is called confirmation hearing.
On the first day of confirmation hearing, Ketanji Jackson Brown proudly introduced her husband to the Senators, with a smiling face.
Reporters immediately pointed out that in 2017, while giving a speech at the University of Georgia Law School, she mentioned that her husband is a “quintessential Boston Brahmin”.
Is she also a Boston Brahmin by marriage?
Yes ofcourse she is a Boston Brahmin.... its the same as our gothram changing when we get married...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Dee. Correct comparison.
DeleteConfirmation hearings can be a trial by fire.
ReplyDeleteYour doubt is an interesting one.
Even if one were to say that she is a Boston Brahmin by marriage, that will be only an attribute that she acquired.
Anything acquired is not the same as original.
So, I guess that reference to her husband shouldn't really matter, this way or that way, irrespective of whatever she meant by it.
Thanks for your comments Pradeep. My thinking is she is a millionaire who belongs to backward class. She is black in name only.
DeleteYour article is educational and tells us about an unknown term Boston Brahmin.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true Ketanji Jackson Brown becomes a Boston Brahmin due to marriage; there is another aspect to Brahminism prevalent in India.
If a Brahmin in India, whether Vaishnavite or Shaivaite. Whether Kerala Iyer or Tamil Iyer etc. etc.
So Ketanji Jackson Brown can be a free independent individual.
Thanks for your comments Kirtivasan. HeHeHe.
DeleteI did not about about this term, thanks for informing
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Pooja. Now you know.
DeleteIs there some kind of a reservation system in practice there? I mean, why should ethnicity matter over merit?
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
Thanks for your comments Rajesh. Yes, there is a reservation system in USA for blacks, American Indians, and women through a program called Affirmative Action.
DeleteTaking into consideration of her financial and marital status, I personally feel, why this controversy as if there's no other deserving minority black woman in USA
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Gowri. It is the prerogatives of the President to nominate a person as a Supreme Court judge.
DeleteHave not heard of the Boston Brahmin term before. Interesting
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Jayashree
DeleteYes, she is equal to a Brahmin and that may be one of the reasons that she rose to a rosy seat.Nice information, SG.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments Sarala.
DeleteDidn't know. Humans are ready to encash terms and squeeze whatever is important!
ReplyDelete