Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been heavy on my heart and mind since her passing last Friday night. She really has become such an American icon over her 87 years. It's been inspiring seeing the tributes to her on both social and mainstream media.
A friend of mine went to lay flowers at the Supreme Court to honor both RBG and to dedicate a flower to special women in her life. I was touched to be one of the women she chose to include in that.
When I think of the powerhouse that RBG was, I am a bit in awe. Another friend posted this list on social media, along with the comment that no matter which side of politics you are on, all women owe a lot to the trailblazer we call Justice Ginsburg.
Looking at this list, I'm reminded of the many times, even now in 2020, women still struggle for true equality, despite how far we have come. What comes to mind are the number of times I've called about some account for our family, however the account happens to be in my husband's name. On those calls, I can't tell you the number of times I've heard "Since the account is in his name, can you put him on the phone so we have him verify that we can speak to you?" I get the idea of account verification and appreciate it to a degree, but it frustrates me and makes me feel like a second class citizen every time... especially since they seem to have no problem cashing the checks when I write and send them in!
I grew up in the '70s & '80s and saw my own mom as a trailblazing working mom, ahead of her time. I recall times she talked about getting criticized for that and the rise in her position which she worked hard to achieve.
I remember when I just had my first born and was looking for a "mommy and me" group, and some chastising I heard from stay at home moms about being a working mom myself. I remember thinking, "Parenting is hard, shouldn't we all just be on the same team?"
Ruth Bader Ginsburg fought for all of that. And much much more. We thank her for her many years of service to our country and all of us for her time on the Supreme Court and every fight that she fought to allow us our human rights and privileges!
For my teacher friends out there, here are some digital resources if you are wanting to honor the legacy of RBG in your classroom.
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Supreme Court Justice Mini Bio video (3 minutes) created by Biography.com
- Myhero.com's Multimedia Resources & Lesson Plans on Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Newseum's "Women Who Shaped the Supreme Court" lesson plans
- There are many RBG links & lesson plans at Resources for History Teachers
- Bookroo's list of "14 Kids Books About Ruth Bader Ginsburg"
A final word: It's been overwhelming and disheartening to see how quickly our loss of "The Notorious RBG" has become a political conversation given her passing & ultimate replacement so close to the election. To that, I say the best way to honor her is this:
RBG quote created by @Eco With Em at https://www.facebook.com/ecowithem/posts/3598148363580564--she has a very poignant and insightful post about the loss of RBG on her Facebook page from September 20th, equating the current times with the Australian wildfires from January and how perhaps we all have the seeds of change inside us that take so much upset to have them come to grow. It was a powerful nature metaphor for dealing with difficult times & can be found at https://www.facebook.com/ecowithem, Screenshot list from unknown, Letter block photo credit @Ann Mooradian
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