by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a soldier on multiple fronts—legal, social, personal, and even in the gym.
To get her law degree, and later to get a job, she faced blatant discrimination. For example in 1956 when only she and eight other females joined a class of 491 males at law school, the dean chastised the women for taking slots that, in his view, should have gone to men. Despite that and other discouraging incidents, plus the self-doubt they produced, Ginsburg graduated first in her class.
Prejudice and lower pay
Her stellar student performance apparently was not enough to persuade the several law firms and courts where she applied for work that she was a worthy candidate. One prospective employer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, said that although Ginsburg’s accomplishments were impressive, he just wasn’t ready to hire a woman. He asked the professor who had recommended her, Albert Sachs, to send him a man instead.
After Ginsburg endured a number of such rejections, Sachs convinced U.S. District Judge Edmund L. Palmieri to give his former student a chance as a law clerk. Palmieri did so, and thereafter Ginsburg received some job offers from law firms, but at salaries much lower than for men doing the same work.
It’s unlikely that even the admiring professor who championed the brilliant young woman could have predicted her eventual rise to the top legal spot in the United States—Supreme Court Justice–where Ginsburg served for 27 years–yet another example of her resilience and dedication.
Kids, cancer and bench-pressing
Amidst the demanding grind of education and career, Ginsburg managed to raise two children and to care for her husband Martin Ginsburg, helping him get through law school during his bouts with testicular cancer. Later in life she battled her own illnesses, beating pancreatic cancer four times, and never missing a day of work during many of the difficult treatments.
When her physical strength waned, the 100-pound octogenarian hired personal trainer Bryant Johnson, an Army Reserve sergeant, to help her build it back up. Bench-pressing 70 pounds, Ginsburg bested two of Johnson’s younger clients, her fellow Justices 56-year old Elena Kagan and 78-year old Stephen Breyer. Her fitness feats earned her a rib-splitter tribute sketch on Saturday Night Live from comic Kate McKinnon and endless teasing from one of her highest profile fans, TV talk show host Stephen Colbert.
‘Lead others to join you’
Ginsburg’s warrior legacy goes far beyond those personal victories. Her first-hand experiences with gender-based discrimination urged her to strategically argue and win a remarkable number of cases that have directly and profoundly affected the lives of countless women as well as men. The Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a book that was later made into a documentary film, further immortalized and popularized her. She serves as a role model for intelligence, perseverance, and first-class sass, inspiring new generations of girls and women to follow in her trailblazing footsteps.
On September 18, 2020 Justice Ginsburg passed away from complications of metastatic pancreas cancer. During her 87 years she fully lived up to one of her best-known quotes:
“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in such a way that will lead others to join you.”
Please visit Sass101.com again soon for more articles about Justice Ginsburg:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s top 10 fights for women’s rights
First-class sass: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s truth to power
SOURCES:
Supreme Court of the United States
Tribute: The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Katerina Lorenzatos Makris, a career news reporter and fiction author, is Sass101.com’s founder and editor.
Her fiction includes 17 novels for Simon and Schuster, E.P. Dutton, Avon, and other major publishers (under the name Kathryn Makris), as well as a teleplay for CBS-TV, and a short story for The Bark magazine.
She has written hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, RescueDiva.com, AnimalIssuesReporter.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner).
While specializing in animal and environmental issues, Katerina has covered a wide range of additional topics such as hurricanes, elections, 12 capital murder trials, and last but not least, women’s issues.
Her hundreds of interviews include HRH Princess Irene of Greece, Pres. George H.W. Bush, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nader, Sissy Spacek, Ted Danson, the real Col. Sanders, and Benji the Dog.
Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press).
Please email Katerina at sass101info AT yahoo DOT com with any questions or comments. [We spell out the address that way to try to foil spammers. ? ]
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