Notorious RBG

      The Notorious RBG, better known as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was the second woman to be  appointed as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.                                                   She was born on the ides of March, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, to a low-income family. Despite their circumstances, her mother Cecilia Bader made sure to instill a value for education and independence in Ruth, and she excelled in her academics at school and participated in many student activities. Sadly, her mother, who had been struggling with cancer throughout Ruth's time in high school, passed away the day before her graduation. Her mother had never gone to college but worked at a garment factory to help fund her children's college career, an act that greatly inspired Ruth. She ended up being unable to attend her own high school graduation.                                                     However, her hard work paid off, and she earned a full scholarship to Cornell University. It was during her first semester that she met her future husband, Martin Ginsburg. Ruth graduated at the top of her class at Cornell in 1954, earning a bachelor's degree in government, and nine days later she married Martin.

      After he husband returned from military service, the two enrolled at Harvard University. As a new mother and a law student, Ruth had to face the additional strain of the unsympathetic, male-dominated Harvard law classes; out of over 500 students, only 8 were female. Regardless of the challenges she faced she continued to succeed and became the first female member of the Harvard Law Review. When she later transferred to Columbia Law school, she was again elected to that school's law review and graduated first in her class. Yet despite all of her academic achievements, she still faced gender discrimination as she looked for work.
     She continued to persevere in her legal career, teaching at Rutgers University during the 60s and Columbia law school in the 70s. At the same time, she was also the director of the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. During her time with this organization, she argued on six gender equality cases before the Supreme Court, winning five.
      By the 80s, Ruth's hard effort were finally recognized. First, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ginsburg to the US Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia, and 13 years later President Bill Clinton appointed her to the U.S. Supreme Court as a replacement for Justice Byron White. As a Supreme Court justice, she was characterized as cautious, exercising moderation and restrain in her decision making. She continuously showed herself to be a champion of gender equality and workers' rights, earning the Thurgood Marshall Award for her aid in civil rights and gender equality.
      Some of her historic rulings include the 2010 Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) in King v. Burwell, which was a big victory for President Obama, and Obergefell v. Hodges, a decision that made same-sex marriage legal.
      Her influence on the world of American politics and the world of civil rights and equal rights has not gone unnoticed; she was commemorated in the 2018 Sundance Film documentary RBG. She is currently serving as the Supreme Court's oldest justice, and according to most accounts, plans to stick around for a while.


Sources:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/how-ruth-bader-ginsburg-became-the-notorious-rbg-50388/
https://www.supremecourthistory.org/history-of-the-court/the-current-court/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg
https://www.biography.com/law-figure/ruth-bader-ginsburg