Today, 19 September 2020, we mourn the departure of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Our heart aches at the devastating loss of this incredible icon of the law and Equality. She was a fore of equality, integrity and respect. Rest in power !
What can you say to a real superhero who had literally changed the course of history and time ? Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was nothing shower of a historical icon. She was such a fighter in so many different ways and advocate for women and for the institution of justice. Her strength was … extraordinary
Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a true icon of the women’s liberation movement in America. She has left an indelible legacy in the US and the rest of the world.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, also commonly known by her initials RBG was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 to 2020.
The 87-year-old from Brooklyn, New York City, is the second woman to have ever served on the US Supreme Court, and became the only female justice actually serving when Sandra Day O’Connor retired in 2006.
She trained at Cornell University and Columbia Law School before becoming a professor at Rudgers Law School and spent her legal career as an active advocate fro the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights.
Harvard’s Law School accepted 500 students in 1956. Ginsburg was one of only nine women at Harvard Law School and were asked by the dean why they were occupying seats that would otherwise be filled by men.
Despite her discomfort, self-doubt, and misgivings, Ginsburg proved to be a stellar student, making law review at Harvard in 1957, and then again at Columbia Law School, where she finished her studies in order to keep the family together when her husband graduated from Harvard and accepted a job in New York.
Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s impact will undoubtedly be felt for generations. Here are some of our favourite quotes from the Notorious RBG to all of us to continue her groundbreaking work to advance equality and protect the rule of law :
On her mother :
My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady, and the other was to be independent. The study of law was unusual for women of my generation. For most girls growing up in the ’40s, the most important degree was not your B.A., but your M.R.S.
— via ACLU
On change :
Real change, enduring change, happen one step at a time
On Reproductive Justice :
The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her wellbeing and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself.
When government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.
On Discrimination and equality:
If you’re a boy, and you like nursing, you would like to have a doll that’s okay … we should each be free to develop out own talents, whatever they may be, and not be held back by artificial barriers.
Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.
—via The Record (PDF)
On Her Legacy:
Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself. ‘Cause I’ve gotten much more satisfaction for the things that I’ve done for which I was not paid.
— From an interview with MSNBC
Today we mourn Ruth Bider Ginsburg. Tomorrow we fight for her legacy.
Thank you, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We’ll keep pushing our way into all the places we’ve yet to be invited.
Vote. Vote early. Vote safely. Vote for the change we need.
