A crowd totaling in the hundreds gathered at the Adam’s Mark Hotel last week for the Mayor’s Hispanic American Advisory Board’s Hispanic American Heritage Luncheon. Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero III addressed the crowd of roughly 400 with a stirring retelling of his parents’ flight from their Cuban homeland to find freedom in the United States.
Cantero encouraged Hispanics to pursue their dreams, even in the face of lingering, albeit subtle, racial discrimination. Despite the progress made in integrating the Hispanic population in America, he stressed the need for a more diverse judicial system that includes a greater number of Hispanic people.
“In the 4th Circuit, one out of 31 Circuit judges is Hispanic,” said Cantero. “Only one county court judge in Duval is Hispanic, and, of the 15 judges on the 1st District Court of Appeal, there are no Hispanics.”
For his efforts in furthering the interests of the local Hispanic American population, Cantero received an award from attorney Arthur Hernandez, member of the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board, for his “leadership, inspiration and support.”