Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18, 2020. Ginsburg was a trailblazer in her profession, as only the second-ever woman to serve on the US Supreme Court. She was an advocate of gender equality, a pop culture icon, and a role model for all women.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87 due to complications related to pancreatic cancer.

Ginsburg served as a justice on the Supreme Court for 27 years after being appointed by President Bill Clinton. Before her time as a justice, she earned her Bachelor’s degree at Cornell. She then attended Harvard before transferring to Columbia Law School, where she graduated top of her class. Ginsburg experienced sexism throughout her education and her career as Law was not a profession women normally chose at the time. Her experiences pushed her to fight for gender equality so she and all women would be treated fairly in her position. After graduating from Law school she struggled to find a job. Eventually, she became the second-ever female Law professor at Rutgers University. Despite landing the job at Rutgers her fight against sexism continued as she had to fight for her pay to be equal to the men employed at Rutgers. After eventually joining Columbia as a Law Professor, she co-founded the Women’s Rights Project of ACLU. This is where she took on litigation of gender equality cases and fought the problem one law at a time, slowly changing the landscape of our legal system to recognize women’s equality in the workplace.

Before making her mark in law, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Neither of Ruth’s parents went to college but instead worked hard and pushed their children to better their lives through education. Her mother, Celia Bader, lost a battle to cancer and passed away while Ruth was still in high school. Ruth’s mother was a great influence on her and instilled the hard-working attitude Ruth carried on throughout her whole life.

While attending Cornell University Ruth met and married her husband Martin D. Ginsburg. After graduating from Cornell the couple’s first child Jane was born. Eventually, Martin took a job as a tax lawyer in New York. This led to Ruth transferring from Harvard to Columbia where she became the first woman to become a member of both schools Law Reviews. She then went on to have a law professor at Rutgers University followed by Columbia. During her tenure at Columbia, she took 6 cases before the supreme court winning 5 of them. After her impressive success against the supreme court in the 70s, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the US Court of Appeals in 1980 where she would work for the Supreme Court. This led to her eventual nomination, by President Bill Clinton, to join the Supreme Court in 1993.

In Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing, she leaves behind two children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Her daughter Jane Carol Ginsburg is 65 years old with two children and pursuing a career as a lawyer. Her son James Steven Ginsburg is 55 years old with two children and a grandchild. James is currently a record label executive. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes history one last time as she is the first woman ever to lie in state at the US Capitol. Mourners held a candlelight vigil on Saturday, September 18th outside of the Supreme Court. A private ceremony at the Capitol was held for Ginsburg on September 25th. Thousands lined up outside the Supreme Court to pay their respects as Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose Wednesday, September 23rd, with many still mourning outside the building over the weekend.