Supreme Court Justice, humanitarian and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away Friday in a loss felt by the entire nation. In a statement released by the Supreme Court concerning the passing of RGB, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said, “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence, that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a prominent activist for women’s rights. Between launching the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project to fight for Women’s Equality and being a blazing advocate for women’s education, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fiercely fought and devoted her life to women’s equality and justice. In doing so, she has been a role model for millions of women of all ages.
Justice Ginsburg attended both Harvard Law School and Columbia Law School, and was the first woman to be hired with tenure at the latter. Of her education, Ginsburg once stated, “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.” Justice Ginsburg was an incredible trailblazer and took monumental strides towards progress in the United States of America.
Justice Ginsburg spent a large portion of her career teaching law at various prestigious universities. Although she worked as a law clerk to a judge in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York in 1959, Justice Ginsburg’s career as a public government official didn’t begin until 1980, when she began her term as Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Justice Ginsburg held this seat until 1993, when, on Aug. 10, 1993, Justice Ginsburg was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice—the second woman to ever hold a seat on the Supreme Court. She would go on to hold this position until her death on Sep. 18, 2020.
Justice Ginsburg had an admirable life, but it was to no amounts an easy one. She grew up in a period during which women were still fighting for equal quality, supported her husband and their family during his time in school, and battled two different types of cancer. Justice Ginsburg successfully survived her encounter with colon cancer in 1999 but had been battling pancreatic cancer since her diagnosis in 2009. Justice Ginsburg’s fight with metastatic pancreatic cancer was one that she ultimately lost, but her efforts were vigilant, and she did not let her trials and tribulations stop her from living a rich life.
Justice Ginsburg is succeeded not only by her two children and four grandchildren, but also by the many generations she has deeply inspired. Justice Ginsburg has been a role model for many and will continue to live in American history as a prominent figure of true justice and freedom.
Rest in power, RBG.
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