The legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Aaron Strong, staff writer

Born March 15, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, Ruth Bader Ginsburg made exponential growth advocating gender equality and the rights for all Americans. She was an exceptionally good student and excelled in her time. She graduated from Cornell University, and later went to Harvard University. During the 1970’s, she was the director of the Women’s Rights Project, and went on to argue cases on the Supreme Court. In 1993, she was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Supreme Court, and became the second woman on the Supreme Court. When She was appointed, she began to do wonders for the Women’s Rights Movement, and all the people in need in America.

After she was appointed to the Supreme Court, she participated in several life changing Supreme Court cases. One of them was the United States vs. Virginia case that took down the male-only admission to the VMI, or Virginia Military Institute. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was involved in the case, and propelled the Women’s Rights Movement further. Throughout her work on the Supreme Court, she achieved great things.  She continued to advocate for the justice of women and affected how they would be thought of in the future. The Supreme Court Olmstead vs. L.C case in 1999 was about proving that the segregation of people with disabilities violated title two of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ginsburg helped prove that people with disabilities should not be treated any differently than anyone else. Justice Ginsburg created an atmosphere that was suitable for everyone’s needs.  

When asked what Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s greatest achievement was, Mrs. Barrowman, an AP Human Geography teacher from Joliet West responded, “I think that her greatest achievement might have been infiltrating pop culture. The notorious RBG in a sense made female intellect trendy.” The teacher then explained that Ruth Bader Ginsburg changed the way she was thought of while doing it her own way. She did not conform to what anyone wanted her to be.  She did and learned what she knew she could, and did it with style. Changing the way people thought of her  impacted the Women’s Rights Movement then, and will continue to impact the Women’s Rights Movement in the future. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg greatly believed in the Women’s Rights Movement and led others to follow her path until her death, and I believe that everyone who believed in her will continue on her path to justice and equality, and create a plethora of progress for everyone of the future. 

After her death, many people who had inspired Ruth Bader Ginsburg were shocked and felt great despair after she had died. Later in the interview, Mrs. Barrowman said, “She led a long great life, one dedicated to upholding the law of the greatest country of the world.” Former President Barack Obama thought, “It was my honor to preside over her confirmation hearings, and to strongly support her accession to the Supreme Court. In the decades since, she was consistently and reliably the voice that pierced the heart of every issue, protected the constitutional rights of every American, and never failed in the fierce and unflinching defense of liberty and freedom.” Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an incredible person with an impeccable drive for gender equality, and fought with everything that she had until the day she died. That is the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.