When I heard the news last night of Justice Ginsburg’s passing, I immediately thought of you, my colleagues at the Women’s Fund. I am writing to share with you how devastated I am by the loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was exceptional in so many ways, but for me, it is her fight for equal justice, and in particular, for the rights of women under the law, that is her enduring legacy. She was a role model for me, as she was to countless other women and men, and she changed my life, though she didn't know it.
During law school, I was fortunate to receive a fellowship (one which Kim also received), which gave me the opportunity to work at the ACLU's Women Rights Project where Justice Ginsburg had served as founding director a generation earlier. It was there that she litigated some of the most critical cases in the fight for women's equality -- cases she won, by out-thinking, out-working, and out-smarting her opponents. She had a quiet and dignified demeanor, but she was a relentless fighter at a time when many of her goals seemed unreachable. In her theory of equal justice, and in her legal work, she explicitly linked rights for women to LGBTQ rights and rights for people of color.
Some of the things she fought for surely have not yet been achieved, and there has been a backlash that puts some of her achievements in jeopardy, something Justice Ginsburg herself recognized. But she continued to fight for equality and justice for all people. I hope you will feel as inspired as I do by her example, as we work together to continue this fight.
