09/18/2020
Laura Taffet
This past Friday (September 18th), we lost the Great Dissenter, a fearless trailblazer, an iconic feminist, and an American hero – Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was the second woman to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and served for 27 years, until the day of her passing. She will become the first woman in history to lie in state in the US Capitol.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a leading force in securing women’s rights to:
- Obtain a mortgage without a male co-signer
- Open a checking account without a male co-signer
- Start a business without a male co-signer
- Get a credit card without a male co-signer
- Obtain a business loan without a male co-signer
- Obtain a job without gender-based discrimination
- Obtain / retain employment while pregnant
- Obtain birth control without having to obtain husband’s permission
- Not be forced to provide proof of sterilization to obtain / retain employment
- Pension benefits equal to male co-workers
- Equal consideration to be executors of their children’s estates
How did she get the nickname of the Notorious RBG?
Ginsburg was first crowned with her Notorious RBG moniker (a play on the nickname for rapper Biggie Smalls – the Notorious B.I.G.) back in 2013 when a New York University law student
created a Tumblr bearing the name to highlight Ginsburg's dissent in the landmark Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder
. In Justice Ginsburg’s dissent to the Supreme Court’s majority in Shelby County, she wrote:
“Throwing out preclearance [the Voting Rights Act] when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”
Her legacy continues, and we will boldly continue to carry that legacy forward.
Rest in Power, RBG.
