By Mildred Robertson
Today we mourn the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who succumbed to a long battle with cancer. Ginsburg was only the second woman to sit on the highest court in the land.
Both
a champion for justice and progress, Ginsburg led the fight for equality under
the law. Her tireless advocacy, unending service, and trailblazing spirit opened
the door for women and girls across the country to aspire to, and achieve seats
of power in government and business. Her efforts, however, were not confined to
seeking justice for women. She was equally committed to securing justice for all.
Nominated
by Bill Clinton in June 1993, Ginsburg was confirmed in August. Her appointment
to the Court followed a legal career as an advocate for the advancement of gender
equality and women’s rights. Before taking the bench, Ginsburg had already won
multiple cases argued before the Supreme Court.
Her
passing comes at a pivotal time in our nation’s history. If the Joe
Biden/Kamala Harris ticket is successful, it will be the first time that a
woman, no less a Black woman, is a heartbeat away from the levers of power in
the United States. It remains to be seen whether America is ready to make that
leap. While Kamala is neither the first female candidate to vie for either president
or vice president of the United States, a successful Biden/Harris ticket would
nonetheless be a huge departure from political norms in the U.S. The success of
such a ticket is made possible, in part, by the work of Justice Ginsburg and
others like her.
Justice
Ginsburg’s passing also adds to an already fracas 2020 Presidential campaign. The
airwaves have been awash in advertisements attempting to establish uncertainty
about the efficacy of our political system. Both political parties are
embroiled in a flurry of activity to determine how to maintain the power to
fill the vacant seat, while doing as little damage to candidates caught up in
tight races across the country. Voters
are carefully watching, and many are mobilizing to respond to how the White
House and the Senate handle this vacancy with less than two months until the
national election. The question is, will our Congress respond in a way that
honors her memory and her body of work, or will her passing be the catalyst for
a major challenge to our democracy.
As
the nation pauses to honor Ginsburg, a folk hero sometimes referred to as “the Notorious
RBG,” the words spoken in a 2018 documentary about her life powerfully exemplify
her passion for justice. Ginsburg paraphrased the 19th Century
abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sarah Grimke, stating, “I ask no favor
for my sex; all I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our
necks.”
Those
words…that legacy resonate as women still struggle to meet their potential in a
world that maintains a double standard, and black people struggle just to live.
The question is, will America live up to Ginsburg's call for justice and allow
women and minorities to stand in liberty, or must we fight to remove the weight
of oppression to gain justice and equality.
She
will be missed—but will not be forgotten. May the "Lioness of Equality" rest in
Glory and may her work stand through the winds of change.
