Like many, we are deeply saddened by the death of our “Notorious RBG.” An outstanding jurist, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a force unlike any other as a leader in our nation’s continual quest to become a more perfect union. In her own words, “Think how the constitution begins: ‘We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union’, and one of the perfections is for the ‘we the people’ to include an ever enlarged group.”
For the American Association of University Women, her words reflect equality and equity that are the very heartbeat of our organization: “Women belong in all the places where decisions are being made.” In her first appearance before the Supreme Court in 1973, RBG noted, “Sex like race, is a visible, immutable characteristic, bearing no necessary relationship to ability.” And in her closing argument that day, RBG used a stark quote from abolitionist Sarah Grimke, “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”
On getting older, Ruth reported, “I’ve learned two things. One is to seek ever more the joys of being alive… and, at my age, one must take things day by day.”
“In my life, what I find most satisfying is that I was part of a movement that made life better, not just for women. I think gender discrimination is bad for everyone, it’s bad for men, it’s bad for children.”
And finally, “Hope springs eternal. If I lose today, there’s hope that tomorrow will be better.”
May that be so.
Thank you, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for adding so much to the lives of American citizens – men, women and children. Rest in peace…
Jane Terwillegar, President
American Association of University Women
of North Carolina