8 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
RBG remembered as ‘unparalleled voice for our better angels’
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Leaders across New York City mourned
the loss of Supreme Court Associate
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Brooklyn
native and champion of equal rights who
died Friday at the age of 87.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the
entire state is “absolutely devastated” by
Ginsburg’s passing, noting that “her life
was a testament that tough does not preclude
acting with respect, grace and dignity.”
“As an advocate, litigator, professor, and
judge, Justice Ginsburg was an unparalleled
voice for our better angels and
a singular force for equality and justice
throughout her extraordinary career,” the
governor said in a statement. “In an era
when women like her were asked why
they were ‘taking the place of a man,’ she
fought tirelessly to ensure our country
lived up to its founding ideals, especially
for all those marginalized by the status
quo — from women and communities
of color, to the disabled and the LGBTQ
community.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio followed suit with a
tweet in which he proclaimed Ginsburg’s
New York toughness and tenacity in character.
“Like so many of you, I’m crushed that
we lost an incomparable icon,” de Blasio
tweeted. “A daughter of Brooklyn. A tenacious
spirit who moved this country forward
in fairness, equality and morality.
She was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She never
backed down from a fi ght. Tonight her
hometown and world mourn.”
New York’s Senatorial delegation also
mourned her passing.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said that
Ginsburg “lived an extraordinary life” in
fi ghting “to ensure equal protection in our
laws, fearlessly dissented and defended,
and was a powerful role model for us all.”
“I’m devastated to hear of her passing,”
Gillibrand tweeted. “Th ank you, Justice
Ginsburg. Rest in power.”
Senator Charles Schumer, a fellow
Brooklynite and
Senate minority
leader, praised
Ginsburg as
a “giant in
American history,
a champion
for justice and a trailblazer
for women.”
“She would want us all
to fi ght as hard as we can
to preserve her legacy,”
Schumer tweeted.
He also said that her vacancy on the
bench should not be fi lled “until we have
a new president,” following the precedent
that Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell set in 2016 in not considering
President Barack Obama’s nomination of
Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court.
More reaction from New York politicians
“Ruth BaderGinsburg has left an indelible
mark on this country, and her loss
will be deeply felt. She will be remembered
for her brilliant mind, her razor
sharp wit, and her tenacious and lifelong
fi ght to protect the rights of women in
this country,” said Manhattan/Brooklyn
Congressman Jerry Nadler. “In a year
of incalculable loss, may we pause for a
moment to honor this remarkable woman
who never backed down from a fi ght and
was never afraid to stand up for what she
believed. I send my most heartfelt condolences
to her family, colleagues and loved
ones. May her memory be a blessing.”
“Tonight we lost a titan,” Queens
Congresswoman Grace Meng tweeted.
“Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was
a national icon who leaves behind an
incredible legacy of standing up for
& fi ghting for women’s equality.
Our country was fortunate to
have her sitting on the nation’s
highest court. Keeping her
family in my thoughts.”
“Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg spent her entire
life as a fi erce advocate
for women’s rights &
equality for all,” Brooklyn
Congresswoman Yvette
Clarke wrote on Twitter.
“Brooklyn has lost our hometown
hero. America has lost a champion
for social justice and fairness. Each day
we will strive to be more like her. May she
rest in peace.”
“Justice Ginsburg was an inspiration
to countless women including me. I am
privileged to have known her and my
heart goes out to her children,” tweeted
Manhattan/Queens/Brooklyn
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.
“We have lost a giant in the history
of our nation with the passing of
Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Bronx/Queens
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-
Cortez tweeted, pivoting to the anticipated
battle over fi lling Ginsburg’s seat. “It is
heartbreaking that in her fi nal moments
she was, as are many others, preoccupied
with what would happen aft er her
passing. Now is not the time for cynicism
or hopelessness. Th ere is and continues
to be political possibility to preserve
our democracy & move forward. It will
require each & every one of us, from the
streets to the Senate, to grow in courage,
strength, and strategy. But it is possible.”
“A daughter of Brooklyn, Justice
Ginsburg spent her life tirelessly advocating
for the rights of the vulnerable
and marginalized in our society,
from women to the
LGBTQ+ community,”
said Brooklyn Borough
President Eric Adams.
“We owe her a tremendous
debt of gratitude,
and send our
love and prayers to
her family and all
those devastated by
this loss.”
“Justice Ruth Bader
Ginsburg’s legacy as a
jurist was
incredible – inspiring, progressive and just.
Her impact on the court was tremendous
in scope and in value as we strive for
an America that lives up to its promise,”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
“Her resilience seemed unmatchable as she
worked to fulfi ll that promise. Her passing
in this time, in this moment of history, is
an unfathomable loss which will reverberate
with the volume of her legacy, her volumes
of work, for many years to come.”
A transcendent champion of equality
Born on March 15, 1933, in Brooklyn,
Ruth Bader grew up in the neighborhood
of Midwood area and would go
on to graduate from James Madison
High School. She later graduated from
Cornell University and married law student
Martin Ginsburg.
In 1956, the Ginsburgs relocated to
Massachusetts and Ruth became a student
at Harvard Law School. Excelling
in a male-dominated environment, she
became the fi rst woman named to the
Harvard Law Review.
Th ey then returned to New York aft er
Martin was hired by a law fi rm, and
Ruth became a student at Columbia Law
School, where she graduated in 1959.
Over the next 20 years, she would serve
as clerks to various judges and as the
director of the American Civil Liberties
Union’s Women’s Rights project, arguing
for cases in support of gender equality
in America.
President Jimmy Carter appointed RBG
in 1980 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia. She served there
for 13 years until President Bill Clinton
nominated her to the Supreme Court in
1993; the Senate overwhelmingly confi
rmed her nomination in a 96-3 vote.
During her 27 years on the nation’s
highest bench, Ginsburg became an icon
for equal rights cases, siding with the
majority on landmark decisions promoting
gender equality as well as the legalization
of same-sex marriage.
“Th e Notorious RBG,” as fans called
her, became a cultural icon in recent
years for her legacy and legal rulings.
A feature fi lm, “On the Basis of Sex,”
dramatized her career as a civil rights
attorney on the silver screen, and in
2018, she was the subject of the biographical
documentary “RBG.”
Kate McKinnon also
popularized her further
with a hilarious
imitation on “Saturday
Night Live.”
Biographical information
sourced frombiography.
com.
Photo by Todd Maisel
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