The Notorious RBG By: Kristen Bradish

    If you just took a quick glance at the title, it might sound like I'm about to talk about the rapper Biggie Smalls. But just to clarify, this is about RBG, not BIG. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has long been a prominent role model in my life and it pains me to see her pass at a time when her country needed her the most. Before I get into her legacy on the bench, I'm going to reminisce about the impact RBG had on my life. The first quote I had ever heard from her was one that I did not realize was said by her until years later. I had seen in an interview that someone had asked a supreme court justice, "When will there be enough women on the court?" To which she responded, "When there are nine." This may seem radical but when you think about it, the courts had been composed of men since the creation of the United States as women were seen unfit for judiciary work, or any work for that matter. For hundreds of years, men ruled the courts, the presidency, congress... the list goes on. Each branch had more old white men than the government could handle. And for many years, this was normal. It was normal for women to stay at home with the kids while the men went off to work. It was normal for women to be disenfranchised. It was normal for them to be barred from college. Nine men had ruled the Supreme Court for hundreds of years, but the thought of nine women on the bench was somehow impossible to imagine. Many people believed Ruth to be radical. Apparently, these people's definition of radical was wanting equal rights for everyone regardless of sex or race. 

    Ruth fought tirelessly for the rights of both men and women. One of the first things she did on the Supreme Court was declare that the Virginia Military Institute could not remain an all-male institution and would need to allow qualified women an equal opportunity in admissions. But even before being on the Supreme Court, she was fighting for women's rights in the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) by founding the Women's Rights Project. The project was aimed at helping empower poor women, women of color, and immigrant women subjected to gender bias. Through community outreach and advocacy, the project focused on ending workplace discrimination, violence against women, and promoting opportunities for equal education. Before Ruth, women were not allowed to sign for their own house mortgages or get a credit card. They had to have a man co-sign with them because it was believed that a man should handle the finances. Case after case, she broke down gender discrimination. Ruth Bader Ginsburg advocated for access to abortion and civil rights and soon became well known for her scathing dissents as the Supreme Court saw a growing movement towards the right. Even when she was in the minority, many of her dissents were used to change laws. Her dissents brought her a large gathering of supporters who referred to her as the Notorious RBG. 

    No matter what your views are on politics, equal rights should not be a Republican versus Democrat debate. We're all human, shouldn't we all be treated equally? Why should something as basic as gender, something we cannot control, have an impact on what we can and cannot do in life? Everyone's goal is to have the freedom and choice to pursue their own interests and careers. And thanks to Ruth, America got a little closer to reaching that goal.

P.S. Ruth is buried next to her to husband in Arlington Nation Cemetery if anyone wants to pay their respects at her grave.

Works Cited: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/23-ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes-that-will-make-you-love-her-even-more_n_57a8b256e4b0aae2a5a0887b 

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/100306972/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-champion-of-gender-equality-dies-at-87