Thank you to all the District Presidents for hosting fabulous Fall Meetings this year whether via zoom or in-person. Each one was informative, creative, and well-done. The world-wide pandemic has shown that Nothing Stops a Clubwoman!!!
In line with our theme Districts Through the Decades, I would like to highlight two female U.S. Supreme Court Justices who have definitely Elevated the World. Let these wonderful women inspire you!
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, aka as “RGB”, was born in New York City on March 15, 1933, to a father who was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Cornell University in 1954, married a month later, and had a baby all before starting Harvard Law School. Once there, she was asked by the Dean, “Why are you at Harvard Law taking the place of a man?” Ruth later transferred to Columbia Law School because her husband got a job in New York City. While in law school, Ruth cared for her baby daughter, nursed her husband who was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and still graduated first in her class. When she became a law professor at Rutgers Law School in 1963, she was told she would be paid less than her male colleagues because she had a husband with a well-paid job. Her second, and last, child was born in 1965. During her distinguished career, Ruth worked as a law professor, was general counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, served as a judge for thirteen years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and was the second female to serve as U.S. Supreme Court Justice when she was appointed in 1993. Ruth died on September 18, 2020, at the age of 87, after a courageous battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Amy Coney Barrett
Amy Coney Barrett, aka “ACB”, was born on January 28, 1972, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the oldest of seven children. To encourage her in practicing for a grade school spelling bee, her Dad sang, “Anything boys can do, girls can do better.” Amy went on to attended Rhodes College (my alma mater) in Memphis, Tennessee. Amy stated that when she went to college, “[I]t never occurred to me that anyone would consider girls to be less capable than boys.” (Wow! Things have definitely changed since RGB started in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s). She then went to law school at Notre Dame University where she graduated first in her class in 1997. After graduation, Amy married a fellow law student, settled down in South Bend, Indiana, and had seven children (two which were adopted from Haiti and another with Down Syndrome). During all this time, Amy worked as a law professor at Notre Dame Law School where she was named “Distinguished Professor of the Year” three times and then served as a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit for three years. In 2020 Amy became the first mother of school age children to serve on our nation’s highest court when she was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. During her confirmation hearing, Amy recognized the achievements of RGB, stating, “I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg’s seat, but no one will ever take her place. I will be forever grateful for the path she marked and the life she led.”