Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be honored with a statue in her hometown of Brooklyn

AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

A statue honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be built in her hometown of Brooklyn.

New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement on Sept. 19, just one day after Justice Ginsburg died from complications due to pancreatic cancer at the age of 87.

Cuomo said he would appoint a commission to select an artist and determine a selection process for the statue to honor Ginsburg, who served on the Supreme Court for 27 years.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

“While the family of New York mourns Justice Ginsburg’s death, we remember proudly that she started her incredible journey right here in Brooklyn,” he said in a statement. “Her legacy will live on in the progress she created for our society, and this statue will serve as a physical reminder of her many contributions to the America we know today and as an inspiration for those who will continue to build on her immense body of work for generations to come.”

The governor also ordered state landmarks, including One World Trade Center and the Kosciuszko Bridge, to be lit in Ginsburg’s favorite color, blue, on the night of Sept. 19.

Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn in 1933. She attended public schools and eventually earned a full scholarship to Cornell University. After marrying her husband, Martin Ginsburg, who was known as Marty, she fought her way into Harvard Law School as one of only nine women in her class. She transferred to Columbia University’s law school for her final year when Marty, who was a year ahead of her in law school at Harvard, got a job at a law firm in New York.

As an attorney, Ginsburg championed women’s rights and took on cases to defend them. In 1971 she argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court that the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution applied to women as well as ethnic minorities.

“The words of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause — ‘nor shall any state deny to any person the equal protection of the laws.’ Well that word, ‘any person,’ covers women as well as men. And the Supreme Court woke up to that reality in 1971,” Ginsburg told NPR in an interview.

President Jimmy Carter named Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. Ginsburg’s continued hard work and judicial record continued to earn her praise and eventually, in 1993, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Supreme Court as the second woman on the bench after Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander

Justice Ginsburg’s body will lie in repose at the Supreme Court starting Sept. 23. After an outdoor viewing for the public on the court’s steps, she will also lie in state at the Capitol — the first woman in U.S. history to be honored in this way. (Rosa Parks was lain in “honor,” not in state, at the Capitol Rotunda in 2005.)

Private services for the family will be held afterward, and Ginsburg will be buried next to Marty, who died in 2010, in Arlington National Cemetery.

Good News, News
, , , , ,

Related posts

larry david and richard lewis
Larry David's tribute to Richard Lewis perfectly captures their lifelong friendship
Andre Braugher holds his Emmy award
Emmy-winning actor Andre Braugher dies at 61
Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry fans pay tribute at Chandler Bing’s New York apartment
Matthew Perry arrives at the 2022 GQ Men of the Year Party
Nick at Nite to air special 'Friends' episodes featuring Matthew Perry

About the Author
Marie Rossiter
Marie is a freelance writer and content creator with more than 20 years of experience in journalism. She lives in southwest Ohio with her husband and is almost a full-fledged empty nest mom of two daughters. She loves music, reading, word games, and Walt Disney World.

From our partners