Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a feminist icon.  She was the 2nd woman to sit in the supreme court, following Sandra Day O’Connor. She advocated for gender discrimination and women’s rights. Where would we be without her? 

R.B.G. was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, to a low-income Jewish family. Celia Bader and Nathan Bader were her parents. Joan Bader (Ruth) had an older sister named Marilyn who tragically died at the age of six from meningitis. R.B.G. was just 14 months at the time. 

Already no stranger to loss, Ruth Bader Ginsburg lost her mother to cancer as a teenager. Her death was pronounced the day before Ruth’s high school graduation. 

R.B.G. attended Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, and Cornell University. At Harvard Law she was one of only 9 women in a class of 552 men. She tied for first place in her class. After graduating college, Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her law career as an advocate for women’s rights and gender equality.

She was one of a kind, changing the way law saw gender. She ensured that women had the right to financial independence and equal benefits. She won many arguments before the supreme court.

She is famously quoted for saying, “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of my brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”

Later on in 1933, she was appointed to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton. Before getting appointed, women couldn’t get a credit card, weren’t allowed to get a mortgage without a husband’s signature, and were not able to buy a car. 

“We all admired the confidence she had into changing the world, to make it a better place for all citizens! Her legacy will remain and will be passed on forever!”  said student Zahra Hussaini.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was such an inspiring woman. She was first diagnosed in 2009 with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for a recurrence. She died September 18, 2020 in Washington D.C.

A video with Trevor Noah paying his respects to R.B.G. can be found here: instagram.com/tv/CFcCXtBHnYe/?igshid=16vnsv8c6xthy   

Notorious R.B.G., may you rest in power.  

 Works Cited: 

Brockell, Gillian. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lost Her Mother to Cancer as a Teen. It Made her Work That Much Harder.” Washington Post.

Biskupic, Joan and Ariana de Vogue. “Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Dead at 87.” CNN.