Rest in Power to the Notorious R.B.G.

2020 continues to be the most brutal timeline. Supreme Court Justice, civil rights champion, and beloved feminist icon, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died at 87 years old.

In a year that saw the deaths of 200,000 Americans from COVID-19, the passing of fellow icon Congressman John Lewis, along with countless heartbreaking stories of people struggling during this miserable year, losing Ginsburg doesn't feel awful; it's one more name signed away in a book that should engulf in tragic flames – her loss is a gut punch to the American soul. 

Thanks to her unwavering support of women's rights, even being dubbed the "Notorious R.B.G,” Ruth Bader Ginsburg smashed the glass ceiling at a time when women weren't in law, and weren't given a place in the social justice conversation. She was an advocate for the American Civil Liberties Union, ensuring a strategy ensuring the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection regarding gender. "I had the good fortune to be alive and a lawyer in the late 1960s when, for the first time in the history of the United States, it became possible to urge before courts, successfully, that society would benefit enormously if women were regarded as persons equal in stature to men.'" And work for these marginalized groups never stopped. 

Forever dedicated to the people

From same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care, abortion, and affirmative action, Ginsburg was the lifeline keeping historic cases off the back burner and into laws that changed America. "Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature," said Chief Justice John Roberts. "We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her -- a tireless and resolute champion of justice."

She held a straightforward opinion with the clarity and weight of her legal arguments. Because she experienced discrimination early in her career, Ginsburg was a voice of reason for the underserved. Shirts like "You Can't have the Truth, Without Ruth" empowered her resolve to help change anti-discrimination laws, including leading the liberal block to pass same-sex marriage across the nation. Despite Justice Kennedy being the front of the ruling, Ginsburg was the voice of the narrative. 

Appointed in 1993, by President Bill Clinton, Ginsburg served as the senior-most Justice, championing a progressive ideology. Always the voice of reason and emotional clarity, Ginsburg, long a thorn in the side of the Conservative cabal, is already getting the business by resident ghoul, Mitch McConnell, who's released a statement saying, "President Trump's nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate." 

Politics as usual with the gop

Ginsburg fought to stay alive to see Joe Biden get elected. She told her granddaughter she wanted her replacement to come after the election, stating, "My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed," she dictated to granddaughter Clara Spera before her death.

We all already know what the political horror show will be in the interim. You'd think Trump and McConnell would take the high road, making a statement on letting it happen after November, but let's be real. Thankfully, a few senators like Chuck Grassley, Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney have stated they won't vote for a new Justice until January. 

President Trump offered a few quick words stating, "She led an amazing life. What else can you say?" He continued on Friday. "She was an amazing woman whether you agree or not she was an amazing woman who led an amazing life." Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden used phrases like, "giant in the legal profession" but remained aware of McConnell's precedent, when he and his band of stoolies refused to consider Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland back in 2016. Biden said, "there is no doubt, let me be clear that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider."

The icon for the underserved

Ginsburg fought her way through five different cancer battles, with a recent diagnosis when a biopsy showed liver lesions. Ginsburg kept a public face and stayed on top of chemo treatments. "I have often said I would remain a member of the Court as long as I can do the job full steam," she said in July 2020. "I remain fully able to do that."

Despite being tiny in size, Ginsburg was a fierce, dominant, outspoken combatant against tracking backward politically. Never a fan of Trump, Ginsburg stayed critical of the president the entire time. At one point, Trump suggested she should recuse herself in cases involving him. She didn't. Always a razor-sharp arbiter of pushing the conversation into new depths, we're at a loss without her guidance. It's already apparent given the tweets, texts, and Facebook statuses, not only mourning her death but mourning her place in the American cultural legacy. 

The sting of losing her runs deep. The most significant way we can honor this incredible woman's legacy is to ensure her seat is filled with the next powerful voice – one that's optimistic, thoughtful, and without fear – just like the Notorious R.B.G. 

Please get out the vote. Please do it for Ruth.