Who was Ruth Bader Ginsberg?

Ruth Bader Ginsberg was born in New York in 1933.  She is also known as RBG. 

She grew up in Brooklyn during a difficult time in America.  She encountered discrimination because she was Jewish and a woman.  She saw signs in the country that said, “no blacks, and no Jewish people allowed”.  Ruth wanted to change this because it was wrong.   

What did she do to change this?

Ruth decided to become a lawyer to fight injustice. She went to Cornell University and then Harvard and Columbia Law Schools.

Along the way Ruth faced many obstacles, but she persisted.  In the 1950s, there were few women lawyers.  At Harvard Law school there were only 9 women out of 500 students in their program.  However, Ruth excelled in law school and graduated at the top of her class. 

After graduation, she had a hard time finding a job.  But she persisted! She clerked for a judge in New York and then worked as a professor in law school.  First, at Rutgers Law School in 1963 and then at Columbia Law school.  Ruth was the first female law professor at Columbia to receive tenure in 1972. 

RBG’s major accomplishments

She accomplished many historical achievements in her lifetime.   

In 1980, President Carter appointed her to the U.S. Federal Court. 

In 1993, President Clinton appointed her to the U.S. Supreme Court. She was the second woman and the first Jewish woman on the Supreme Court  

In 2009, she worked with President Obama on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to combat pay disparities between men and women.  

Why is RBG an inspiration?

Ruth has become a popular icon because she championed women’s rights and equality for all.  She also brought fashion and style to the Supreme Court by wearing lace and decorative collars on her robe. 

In 2020, when she died, she became the first woman in U.S. history to lie in state at the white house.  RBG is beloved because she fought for inequality and made our country a better place.