Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg rightly holds the cover to this week’s People magazine. I haven’t read the full piece yet, but the write up they’ve posted sounds like they’ve done her justice. One of the things that set RGB apart was her focus on the future. Even with all she’d accomplished, she never rested on her laurels. Her eye was trained on how she could make things better, and, according to People, she was very aware that she was making it easier for the next generation to continue the work.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg may have only stood five-feet tall, but she was one of the fiercest fighters for equal rights. And that fierceness persisted even in the days before her death.
In this week’s PEOPLE cover story, longtime friend and neighbor Sanford Greenberg says that Ginsburg “was making plans to live” just two weeks before she died on Friday at the age of 87.
Ginsburg called Greenberg to prepare for a speech she promised to record for his upcoming End Blindness by 20/20 awards ceremony.
“She was preparing for the Court’s next term and swamped,” says Greenberg, 79, “but it was vintage Ruth— ‘Straight ahead. We’re going to get this done.’ She was making plans to live.”Ginsburg’s life can be summed up in one word: perseverance. The women’s rights icon lost her mother when she was just 17 years old, but she pushed on and attended Cornell University, where she met Martin Ginsburg, her husband of 56 years until his death in 2010.
Despite graduating at the top of her class (at Harvard Law), Ginsburg couldn’t find a job because firms didn’t hire women lawyers. Instead, she taught law while volunteering as a litigator for the ACLU, where, in the 1970s, she took on cases — five of which she won at the Supreme Court — that led the courts, step by step, to the conclusion that laws treating men and women differently were unconstitutional.
“She was so focused on making a case that would win over courts but also eventually win over the public,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a young lawyer at the time, says now.
Ginsburg’s belief that change would only be complete with public support is part of the reason she celebrated her icon status when she gained “The Notorious RBG” nickname in 2013.She was “very aware that she was paving the way for a new generation to take on the mantle and move forward,” says her former clerk Paul Schiff.
“Ruth didn’t think of it as work,” says Greenberg. “She always said, this is the most joyous thing I could do.”
I am no expert on Justice Ginsburg, but I did get the impression that she absolutely adored the law and her role in it, be it a volunteering her services for the ACLU or sitting on the Supreme Court. I don’t think the significance of her appointment to the court was ever lost on her. She made decisions that would make lives better for generations, and she did not take those lightly. She obviously loved her job, and we should all be so lucky to find that kind of fulfillment in life.
Following her death, her fellow Supreme Court colleagues penned their thoughts about her, each one proving the respect she had on the bench. I think she would be touched by their words, and by those of the women she fought for. Buzzfeed compiled some thoughts from women who took their grief to the steps of the Supreme Court Building, which transformed into a public memorial for Justice Ginsburg. Many of the comments made were those of gratitude to the work Justice Ginsburg did, but there was also a lot of fear expressed about what will happen next. Each woman acknowledged that, although they were scared, they had to move forward in Justice Ginsburg’s name. This is where I am right now. I know that even though I am terrified and hopeless, I can’t give up. I don’t know where the strength will come from, but I’ll find it.
Photo credit: WENN/Avalon and via Wikipedia
It was interesting to read the tributes from her colleagues. Her graciousness and humanity are such a stark contrast to the abominations in the Trump administration who are clearly salivating at the opportunity to erase her legacy even as they claim to grieve her passing. This dark timeline just got so much darker.
Nagini, the self-proclaimed advocate for women and girls, has not even acknowledged her passing.
Maybe that’s best, as any “tribute” she could make wouldn’t be anything but disingenuous.
She is too ignorant of the contributions and sacrifices of Justice Ginsburg, and any comment she makes would reflect that. She cannot in any possible way relate to the strength, courage, intelligence and quiet determination Justice Ginsburg possessed.
The statement from Clarence Thomas made me fall on the floor. It actually seemed heartfelt and sincere.
Today, she will lie in state at the Supreme Court. Friday, she will move to the Capitol Rotunda, the first woman to ever lie in state in either. (Rosa Parks lied in honor; there’s a distinction between military and government officials, which RBG was, and non-government citizens, which was Parks ) Even in death, RBG paves the way. I’m going to be crying for days. We have lost so much. She did so much.
I just wish I could go to Washington to pay my respects. I think there is a million of us crying, it’s not just us here in the states. It’s raw and visceral and real. There is a cute clip you can see on YT where Ali Wentworth describes the night she and George Stephanopolis found out. It’s funny but poignant, they and their 2 daughters cried for 45 minutes upon finding out.
I don’t know what we will do though. This is the end of Roe unless someone in the GOP does something surprising which thus far hasn’t happened. We can say goodbye to civil rights too, no conservative court will support either thing, not even justice Roberts who people seem to think will come through for us with Roe. 2 words: He won’t. The reason he would not vote against it is precedent and he did support it in that way in a recent decision. We cannot sit back and think he will continue to do so. He will find a way to make precedent look like it’s appropriate. Depressing after all those years we fought for reproductive rights. I feel like i should stock on the morning after pill or something.
I know. I am so terrified and feel sick. RBG was amazing and I want to grieve for her, but I am so scared of what will happen now that she’s gone and Trump is still in office.
Agreed. Between RGB’s passing and ICE sterilizing women, last week really was depressing. It’s painful to see the damage that’s been done and realize that, even though getting Trump out of office is our priority, all of this isn’t just going to go away with him.
I agree that we have to worry about all those things with a conservative Court, but let’s not forget that any cases concerning corporations will favor corporate power. There’s a lot of criticism of Citizens United, but I fear it will get much worse.
I cannot believe how people were posting negative stories about RBG only hours after her death, some said hundreds of people are dying, and thousands and thousands are oppressed because of her own decisions.
That she is only upholding values for white women/aka a white feminist and other negative stuff. Sigh. She is only human but her accomplishments spoke for themselves.
Hecate, that was beautiful. Thank you ❤️
“ Each woman acknowledged that, although they were scared, they had to move forward in Justice Ginsburg’s name. This is where I am right now. I know that even though I am terrified and hopeless, I can’t give up. I don’t know where the strength will come from, but I’ll find it.”
Yes, I agree. A very thoughtful post and I appreciate it.