RUTH BADER GINSBURG WISDOM AND MORE

[Barbara]

A movie about RBG, 'On the Basis of Sex', came out in 2018, starring Felicity Jones as RBG and Armie Hammer as Marty. And RBG herself made a cameo.

[Barbara]

For her entire life, Ginsburg cited her mother as her greatest inspiration, but tragically, Celia never got to see her daughter become a living legend. Like so many people in Ginsburg's life, her mother was diagnosed with cancer, and succumbed to the illness before Ruth graduated high school

[Barbara]

RBG wanted people to remember her as: "Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability....And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has."

[Barbara]

RBG's recolleciton about Harvard Law School:
"I had no time to waste, because Jane was 14 months when I started. So my time was used very efficiently, for classes, for studying after class, then come home at 4 p.m. to take care of Jane. I didn’t have time for any socializing, except on weekends."

[Barbara]

At her students’ request in 1969, Ginsburg started teaching a seminar on women and the law.

[Barbara]

Before RBG was added to the Supreme Court, there was only one bathroom on site — for men. Once she was appointed, however, they got a woman's bathroom. Said RBG, "Justice O'Connor no longer had to go back to her chambers when the need arose."

[Barbara]

"Our goal in the '70s was to end the closed door era. There were so many things that were off limits to women, policing, firefighting, mining, piloting planes. All those barriers are gone. And the stereotypical view of people of a world divided between home and child caring women and men as breadwinners, men representing the family outside the home, those stereotypes are gone. So we speak of parent -- rather than mother and wage earner rather than male breadwinner."

[Barbara]

After RBG got a reduction in her Civil Service pay after revealing she was pregnant with her first child, Ruth wised up. During her second pregnancy—which coincided with her first year as a professor at Rutgers University—she did everything she could to conceal the fact that she was expecting.

[Barbara]

Little Ruth Bader (nicknamed Kiki) was special from the very beginning. She practiced the piano tirelessly and she read voraciously/ She also got into trouble now and again. Her parents sometimes caught her climbing on the roof of their garage, or maybe throwing rocks at mean kids from the neighborhood.

[Barbara]

On the light side: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a baton twirler in high school. She liked reading mysteries by Amanda Cross and Dorothy L. Sayers. RBG liked classic movies, golfing, water skiing, and horseback riding.


Ruth (left) in high school

[Barbara]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a collection of lace jabots from around the world.

[Barbara]

Following her appointment to the Supreme Court in 1993, Ginsburg deviated from court tradition by wearing a French robe d’avocat, as opposed to the traditional American judicial robe.

[Barbara]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first Jewish justice since the 1969 resignation of Justice Abe Fortas.

[Barbara]

RBG's life was turned into a documentary RBG and a feature length movie called On the Basis of Sex.

[Barbara]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent a considerable part of her legal career as an advocate for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights.

[Barbara]

When RBG was diagnosed with cancer, she underwent surgery that was followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During the process, she did not miss a day on the bench.

[Barbara]

RBG was a foodie. Her consumption of a meal has been described as “a slow motion version of eating, the ultimate ladylike eating. However, it all disappears. All of it. Every last lick of it. . . . She eats real food and plenty of it.” 😊

[Barbara]

RBG's mother Celia Bader introduced her to the appetizing goods at Russ & Daughters. (The legendary shop for Jewish specialty foods — in particular, smoked fish — on a Lower East Side).

[Barbara]

RBG continued to places orders with Russ & Daughters for shipment to her home in Washington D.C., when she threw parties. RBG said: “Even before I heard the word feminism, it made me happy to see that this was an enterprise where the daughters counted just like sons counted."

[Barbara]

RBG's mom often took her to Kings Highway branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, above a Chinese restaurant. Ever since, RBG associated the smell of Chinese food with the pleasure of reading.

[Barbara]

In the Ginsburg home, RBG's husband Marty was the chef. “To the eternal appreciation of our food-loving children . . . Marty made the kitchen his domain and became chef supreme in our home,” Justice Ginsburg recalled.

.

[Barbara]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a playful side, with some humorous moments including being an extra in Washington National Opera productions, failing her driving test five times, and being called "the Notorious R.B.G.".

[Barbara]

Friends say Martin Ginsburg worked behind the scenes to help persuade Mr. Clinton to nominate Judge Ginsburg for the Supreme Court, calling on leading scholars to write to Mr. Clinton and his counsel.

[Barbara]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg stamp

[Barbara]

RBG was a fitness inspiration: she worked out rigorously with her personal trainer well into her 80s. Her workout routine became so well-known that it was even featured on Saturday Night Live.

[Barbara]

Ruth Bader Ginsburg enjoyed Italian food, seafood, different Asian cuisines, and the quintessential New York bagel with smoked salmon.

[Barbara]

RBG's daughter, attorney Jane Ginsburg, is a renowned authority on intellectual property law and a staunch defender of authors’ rights.

[Barbara]

RBG's son James Steven Ginsburg is an American music producer. .He is founder and president of Cedille Records, a classical label.

[Barbara]

While Ruth was attending Harvard Law, her husband Marty was diagnosed with cancer in his final year. Ruth helped Marty with his studies, including taking notes and typing his papers.

[Barbara]

In 1972, RBG co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union's Women’s Rights Project and Martin Ginsburg became their home’s chef. “Marty realized how important that work was,” she said. “In those years, Marty took over the kitchen entirely, and I was phased out of it, to the everlasting appreciation of my food-loving children.”

[Barbara]

RBG's daughter Jane recalled “the law” becoming a “fifth member” in their family. “I don’t remember exactly at what point, but I was certainly still in high school when I got involved reading briefs and editing briefs, so it was very much a family enterprise."

[Barbara]

Referring to the 2018 film 'On the Basis of Sex' RBG's daughter Jane notes, “I was not more politically engaged than my mother. The movie makes me seem as if I was rebellious and politically engaged and pushed my mother to be more radical than she might have otherwise been. There was never a point where my mother had any doubt about ... not only the justice but the desirability of the course she was pursuing.”

[Barbara]

Recipes published by the Supreme Court spouses in memory of Martin Ginsburg. From the website of The Supreme Court Historical Society: Chef Supreme is more than just another cookbook, it is a tribute. Full of recipes, photos and fond tales, this cookbook was created by the Spouses of the Justices of the Supreme Court in memory of Martin Ginsburg.