Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg leaves more than just a legacy

The Supreme Court Justice was a force for women’s rights and a pop culture icon

Baylynne Brunetti/ Asst. Opinion Editor

There are no words that can begin to describe the impact Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg left on our country. She was an inspiration in my pursuit of law and a huge role model, as I am sure she was for many other women. It is hard to grapple with the fact she has passed and that we now face an already tumultuous election with more uncertainty than we had before: the fear of women’s rights being toyed around with as a political pawn brings a dystopian-like feeling to an already disheartening year.

 For those who do not know, Justice Ginsburg was a huge force in the battle for gender equality. She entered Harvard Law School in 1956 as just one of a few women enrolled in a class of 500. After graduating top of her class from Columbia Law School, she was denied positions at law firms strictly because of her gender. She famously went on to become a professor where she fixated on gender and law relations. After gaining notoriety in the field over this, she was brought on as a founder of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. Here, she used her brilliant legal expertise to argue gender equality cases in the front of the Supreme Court. 

Her work was recognized everywhere, which led her to serve in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, where she served for 13 years until 1993, when Bill Clinton appointed her to the Supreme Court of the United States. She was the second woman to ever be nominated to the Supreme Court. Her work did not stop when she made it to the high Court. She became notorious for her scathing dissents from her conservative colleagues as she advocated for women’s rights. 

The mourning taking place is not just for an incredible judge. The mourning taking place is the fact that her life’s work could be in jeopardy. Just days before her death, as she realized this would be one of her last moments, Ginsburg dictated this statement to her granddaughter Clara Spera: “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” On her deathbed, Justice Ginsburg was worried for us. She did not die at peace: she died in a state of worry for what she was leaving behind. 

The loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left a gaping hole in our democracy, one that dims the light at the end of the tunnel on the quest for gender equality in the United States. There is a fight ahead of us that will be comparable to the fight for gender equality in the 1970s.  The best way we can honor Justice Ginsburg is to vote. To keep our eyes open, to remain educated and diligent. She fought hard for us and now it is time for us to fight for her legacy. 

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