Ladies; if you ever had your own bank account without a male co-signer, leased an apartment or had a mortgage in your own name, consented to your own medical treatment, had a job while pregnant or while taking care of children, or even played a sport in school, you can thank Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is due to her courage, charisma, and spirit that women have the place they have in society today.
RBG, unfortunately, passed away last Friday at the age of 87 after battling a recurrence of pancreatic cancer. She continued her work on the bench until the very end, fighting for cases of equality and justice.
RBG was nominated by President Bill Clinton and was the second woman to ever serve on the bench. She got her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and attended Harvard law school as one of the only few women in her class. She continued to excel at Harvard while simultaneously taking care of her husband, who was battling cancer, and her newborn daughter, before transferring to Columbia Law School to graduate.
She continuously fought for gender equality and women’s rights and fought many cases before the Supreme Court before serving on the bench herself. RBG became popular in American popular culture for her passionate dissents in numerous cases. Earning her the nickname of Notorious RBG. She is an inspiration for someone who created an impactful change on a nation through her grit and perseverance.
In her honor, I would like to leave this article with my personal top five favorite quotes of hers that everyone should live by;
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“My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.”
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“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
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“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”
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“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.”
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“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”
May her memory be a blessing and her words continue to live for generations to come.