Hey there Gold Star Revolution Squad! It's Friday, which means that it is time to announce our Friday Star of the Week.
Future Stars of the Week will be chosen from reader nominations! But since we are at the beginning of this project, I will be the one nominating our Friday Stars of the Week until the time when nominations from readers start to roll in. Please send me your nominations, and please see the end of this post for more details on how to do that!
This week I am again honoring another person posthumously. That person is none other than the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020).
I was inspired to honor Justice Ginsburg as this week's Star of the Week because I myself worked as a lawyer for many years. I was very unhappy being an attorney, but that is a story for another post.
Even though I left the legal profession, it does not keep me from appreciating legal greatness when I see it. So I thought it would only be fitting today to appreciate the second woman ever to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
You may have already read plenty of Ruth Bader Ginsburg tributes, but I hope you'll stick with me here. My goal is to make this a lighthearted tribute that focuses less on her legal accomplishments and more on what made her uniquely human, while bringing attention to some lesser known facts about her.
Unless you've been living under a rock for awhile, you must know about Justice Ginsburg's nickname, the Notorious RBG, which was inspired by the rapper Biggie Smalls, who was also known as The Notorious B.I.G. But did you know that RBG and Biggie actually had a few things in common? Both of them were born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. Also, the year 1993 was very important in both their lives. It was the year that Biggie released his first album, and it was also the year that RBG became a Supreme Court Justice. RBG claimed that she was not bothered at all by the Notorious nickname.
A lesser known fact about Justice Ginsburg is that she had also received the nickname “Kiki” as a baby because she kicked her legs non-stop!
I'm sure that you've probably heard all about RGB's workouts and about the number of push-ups she did every day. She was definitely a fitness junkie. But did you also know that Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan started using RGB's trainer as well? What a trail blazer RBG was!
I am fascinated by RBG's friendship with the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. What open mindedness it must have taken for the two of them to put their massive ideological differences aside in order to simply enjoy each other's company as human beings. Their relationship is a timely reminder to us all that is it possible to love other people even when we vehemently disagree with them. A reminder to look for the good in other people, even when it is difficult to do so.
Ginsburg and Scalia even traveled together and once had their picture taken on an elephant while on a trip to India:
Did you know that their friendship even inspired the creation of an opera called Scalia/Ginsburg? Both justices were known to be huge fans of opera. The opera was originally written in 2015 but recently had a couple of sold-out virtual performances in East Naples, Florida during the COVID-19 pandemic. RBG loved opera so much that she appeared twice as an extra in two operas, once in a powdered wig and full costume and once as herself.
You probably won't be surprised to learn that Justice Ginsburg was the first Supreme Court Justice to officiate a same-sex wedding. She performed the wedding ceremony of Michael Kaiser, the president of the Kennedy Center, and his husband John Roberts on August 31, 2013.
RBG was even a fashion icon! She was known for wearing "statement collars" along with her judicial robes. Whenever she authored a majority opinion, she wore a gold and cream collar when the decision was announced. But RBG was most well known for her black “dissent collar” that she wore every time she voted against a Supreme Court majority decision.
Two of my favorite RBG quotes are these:
“When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.”
― Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
― Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The second one seems particularly needed in today's world, which is becoming more and more polarized. As the old proverb goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
I wanted to honor Justice Ginsburg by helping people to remember her and express their love for her. I was inspired to create just a few memorial products in her honor. You can find them in this collection on Zazzle.**
There are so many more things that could be said about this legal pioneer. She faced both discrimination and cancer so many times over the course of her career that I lost count of them all. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a strong, intelligent, amazing woman who has left us a legacy that will last as long as humans remain on this planet. Rest in peace RBG. Let's all do our best to make RBG proud!
Would you like to nominate yourself or someone you care about to be our next Star of the Week? To read the rules about the nomination process and get more information about the free gift that U.S. winners will receive, please click here. Then submit the Nomination Form!
**If you click through any of the links on this page and make a purchase from Zazzle, I will receive two separate commissions: one for being the designer of the product and another for referring the sale to Zazzle.