The Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg created a powerful reaction due to her enormous influence on the Court and our nation. Justice Ginsburg fought for and won important victories that made ours a more equal society.

"Women's rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy," she once stated. Comments reflective of her fierce advocacy for gender equality.

Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes referred to her as, "a tremendous titan and warrior in a small physical body." Furthermore, "may we all actively challenge injustice and dissent against unfairness in memory of RBG… the epitome of strength."

While she is greatly missed, Justice Ginsburg has left us a treasure trove of important decisions and statements articulating her vision and ideals that will be with us forever. 

 The full article can be accessed here: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/opinion/sunday/ruth-bader-ginsburgs-advice-for-living.html

 In 2016, she wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times entitled, "Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Advice for Living." Here, she gives credit to so many for her achievements in life especially the early experiences she had raising her own daughter. "My success in law school, I have no doubt, was in large measure because of baby Jane," she wrote.

Assistant Legal Director Katherine Dwyer provided her thoughts on the life and career of this remarkable woman. "Justice Ginsburg was a trailblazer, and the impact she had in the struggle towards gender equality cannot be overstated. Moreover, she was a woman of strong convictions and beliefs and her steadfastness to those convictions earned her the "Notorious RBG" moniker. Her work as an attorney and later a Supreme Court Justice was her passion and her calling. In that respect, she reminds me of so many of our staff here at DCF, who work long and hard on a daily basis to improve the lives of others because this is more than a job, it's a calling. Rest in Peace, Justice Ginsburg. You are sorely missed."

Some of Justice Ginsburg's most memorable quotes are as follows:

- "We should learn ... to do our best for the sake of our communities and for the sake of those for whom we pave the way." 

- "So now the perception is, yes, women are here to stay. And when I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court]? And I say when there are nine, people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that."

- "So that's the dissenter's hope. That they are writing not for today, but for tomorrow."

- "I didn't change the Constitution; the equality principle was there from the start. I just was an advocate for seeing its full realization."