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Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Legacy She Left Us

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An inspiration, a pioneer, a hero, a leader, a role model, a queen—these are words I’d use to describe Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

About a year ago, I watched the movie, On the Basis of Sex. If you haven’t heard of it before, it is based on a landmark case that Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued, starting the trajectory for the rest of her career and life.

I remember being so inspired by her character in the movie. That’s why last weekend when I heard that she passed away, on September 18, 2020, I immediately insisted upon watching the movie for date night.

This time when the movie was over, I wanted to learn more. More about her life, more about her achievements, more about the real-life person.

Last week, when I sat down to write my blog, I didn’t feel like I had the words to do her justice. This week, I spent hours reading articles and watching videos on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s accomplishments and powerful words. The more I learn, the more I am blown away by how far she pushed women’s rights initiatives in her lifetime. Though I don’t agree with every single one of her opinions, I find myself so inspired by the incredible leader and woman she was and how she spent her lifetime fighting for the privileges my generation gets to take advantage of.

Famous for being a crusader for women’s rights, Ginsburg broke down barriers for women by taking male clients with cases that assumed/assigned gender roles and discriminated on the basis of sex.

“Men and women are persons of equal dignity and they should count equally before the law.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ginsburg’s passion for women’s rights came from a series of pivot points between high school and college.

  • First, her mother died of cancer the day before her high school graduation. She was influenced by her to be a strong woman.

“My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  • Second, she was encouraged by her husband, Martin “Marty” Ginsburg. She met Marty at Cornell, where she had earned a scholarship. Later, when Marty went to Harvard Law School, she followed. When Marty was diagnosed with cancer, Ruth attended his classes as well as her own, all while taking care of their first child.

“He was the first boy I ever knew who cared that I had a brain.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“If you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it. I had a life partner who thought my work was as important as his, and I think that made all the difference for me.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  • Third, she was awakened on her legal study in Sweden where feminism was flourishing and women could have both a career and a family.

“A gender line…helps to keep women not on a pedestal, but in a cage.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

She graduated from Columbia Law School in 1959, first in her class.

“Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Post-graduation, she became a law professor and co-founder of the Women’s Rights Project (WRP) at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). It was here that she began to tackle women’s rights issues one case at a time.

“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

In one of her many landmark cases, Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, she argued for a widower who wanted to be able to take care of his son and was not receiving the same benefits a women in his position, as a caregiver, would. The decision on this case marked a turning point in history in the way that the Constitution is interpreted in gender equality cases. It represented a legal opinion consistent with the future vision of the American household.

“Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

President Carter nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, in 1980. 13 years later, President Clinton nominated her to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. She was the second woman appointed to the high court.

“I surely would not be in this room today without the determined efforts of men and women who kept dreams alive.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

On a landmark case in 1996, United States v. Virginia, she convinced all but one judge that the Virginia Military Institute’s practice of excluding qualified women from admission solely on the basis of sex, was unconstitutional.

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Later in life, she grew in popularity from her dissenting opinions. She became bolder in her dissents as the Supreme Court turned more conservative. In 2013, she dissented when the Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act. Her dissent went viral, and she became known as the “Notorious RBG.”

“Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Throughout her time on the Supreme Court, she battled colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, the loss of her husband, the fracturing of three ribs, and cancerous growths in her left lung. She insisted that she keep her post and that she would not retire.

“When I’m sometimes asked ‘When will there be enough (women on the Supreme Court)?’ And my answer is: ‘When there are nine.’ People are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg died of cancer at the age of 87, leaving us with a legacy to protect. Because of her efforts women can now use credit cards, sign mortgages, and serve on juries, and a military woman can get equal family housing and benefits for her husband.

“I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability.”

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

For more information on the life and accomplishments of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, here are the references I used to create this post:

I also highly recommend the movie On the Basis of Sex. You can purchase for download on Amazon.com.

If you like what you read here, follow @genuinesunshineblog on Instagram and look for new posts here at genuinesunshineblog.com every Sunday to start your week with sunshine!

Cheers!

Sarah

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