RBG

In 1954 she graduated at the top of her class at Cornell University.  In 1956, her first year of law school at Harvard University, her husband was diagnosed with cancer.  She was one of only nine females in a class of 500.  Even though she was told she shouldn’t have taken a man’s spot by being there, she helped her husband with his studies, while he was sick, and still maintained her position at the top of the class.  She later transferred to Columbia University, when her husband accepted a position at a law firm in New York, and graduated first in her class in 1959.

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

After fighting her way through school, and proving her worth, she then fought for a job. 

She clerked for a judge, then was offered a teaching job at Rutgers University Law School in 1963, a position she held until accepting an offer to teach at Columbia in 1972. There, she became the first female professor at Columbia to earn tenure.  She directed the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union during the 1970s. In this position, she led the fight against gender discrimination, of women and men, and successfully argued six landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1980. 

In 1993, she was the second woman ever to win a seat as a Supreme Court Justice.

She will Be first woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol.

Yep, you had to know I would be writing about her.  The reasons why are too long for this space, but I will share a couple, beyond the obvious fact that without her, nothing would be as it is today.

Reason one.  Her style, that was a dignified statement.  She had a vast collection of collars (jabots).  Three of the most famous were her “Majority Opinion, a yellow jabot that was gift from a clerk, the “Favorite” a simple white jabot from Cape Town, South Africa and of course my favorite, “Dissenting Opinion” a black and gold number, a powerful piece that communicated her condemnation.  She was a 5’1”, Jewish, female, powerhouse that voiced her opinion always, even if it was by just donning a simple accessory for the day.

“Dissents speak to a future age…that’s the dissenter’s hope: that they are writing not for today, but for tomorrow.”-RBG

Reason two.  This quote: “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.”  Nothing needs to be added.

May we fight for what we care about, dissent, even without being respectful, and read to shape our dreams and make them come true.  “When will there be enough… when there are nine.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg, may her memory be a blessing.

Upcoming Events: 9/30 Story Time on the Lawn at 10am, 10/3 We will be closed, 10/6 Adult Book Club at 6:30 onsite and zoom.