Honoring RBG by Fighting Harder
The flood of emotions as I try to write something about the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg is overwhelming. Nothing seems worthy of her.
As a female attorney, I cannot fully convey the impact she had on me. Role models are essential. Just ask any individual or class of people who have not had them. I attended commencement exercises at the University of Kansas in 2018, and was moved to tears to see the number of female law school graduates, their children in tow, wearing Justice Ginsburg’s iconic white lace color with their graduation gowns. Role models matter, and she mattered greatly.
Professionally, Justice Ginsburg was a rock star in the legal profession, and a leader of the feminist movement deserving a place in our children’s history books. When she graduated #1 in her law school class in 1959, from no less than Columbia Law School, she had door after door slammed in her face because she was a woman (and, gasp, a mother). Nevertheless, she persisted, and became the first tenured woman at Columbia University. In 1970, she founded Women’s Rights Law Report, the first law journal in the U.S. focused on women’s rights. In 1972, she founded the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project.
In her work with the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, Justice Ginsburg participated in hundreds of gender discrimination cases, arguing six cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and winning five. She developed the critical strategy of targeting discrimination policies on a micro level, rather than swinging for the fences. That strategy allowed her to strategically change discrimination laws in this country. A strategy that benefited all genders and races.
We have no doubt that Justice Ginsburg would be with us today if she could, because we know what a fighter she was. There is no doubt that she fought for us until her last breath. Every one of us needs to grieve her loss in our own way, and then we need to get after it. The best way to honor her memory is to fight to preserve her legacy. Every day from now until November 3, 2020, when you are feeling physically and mentally exhausted, think about RGB, and keep going. Those of us at Rideshare2Vote will not let up. We are fighting discrimination against voters every day, and will continue to work to make sure that everyone in this country gets a voice in our Democracy, regardless of race, gender, wealth, religion or disability. Your support has been overwhelming this year. Thank for continuing to support our Mission and the legacy of Justice Ginsburg.
Jody L. Johnson
PAC President
