Patricia Brennan Demuth - Who Was Ruth Bader Ginsburg?

Like every kid, Ruth always looked forward to her birthday. When the special day came along, she and her mother loaded up bags of ice cream. Then they brought the treats to the place where Ruth celebrated all her birthdays. It wasnt filled with balloons or wrapped presents. It was at a nearby orphanagea home for children who didnt have parents.

Sometimes Ruth wished for birthday parties like her friends had. But the smiles on the children always changed her mind.

Life wasnt always easy for Ruths family, either. Her parents were hardworking immigrants. They rented an apartment in Brooklyn, New York. But Ruths mother taught her to care for others who had even less. It made Ruth want to do something when she grew upsomething to change peoples lives.

But how could a girl make a big difference? When Ruth was a child, girls faced lots of closed doors. Back then, there were policemen, mailmen, and firemen. Doctors, dentists, pilots, lawyers, soldiersnearly all were male.

Ruth never dreamed that one day shed beat the odds and become a lawyer. But thats what she did. And it was just the beginning.

Ruth was tiny, soft-spoken, and always polite. Yet when it came to standing up for peoples rights, she was a warrior. She fought to change laws to give women an equal chance in society.

One by one, she opened doors. Then she walked right through many of those open doors herselfall the way to the Supreme Court!

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg became so famous that millions still know her just from her initials: RBG.

The Supreme Court sits in Washington, DC, our nations capital. Its part of the judicial branch of government. The other two branches are the legislative branch (Congress) and the executive branch (which includes the president). A group of nine judges, called justices, sit on the Court. There are no juries. The justices have the final say on matters of law in the United States.

The framers of the Constitution wanted the Supreme Court to be independent of politics. So justices are allowed to hold their jobs for life. They cant be removed for making unpopular decisions.

The Supreme Court has a big job to do. It makes sure the Constitution is followed by Congress, the president, and all fifty states. Its decisions affect the lives of all Americans.

The Supreme Court in August 2020 (from left to right): Elena Kagan, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Brett M. Kavanaugh, John G. Roberts Jr. (Chief Justice), Clarence Thomas, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Neil M. Gorsuch

CHAPTER 1

An Immigrant Family

The future judge known as RBG was born a frisky baby on March 15, 1933. Her birth name was Joan Ruth Bader. But as a baby, she kicked so much that her big sister, Marilyn, nicknamed her Kiki (say: KICK-ee). Later, at school, she started going by her middle name because there were so many Joans in her class. Ruth was the name that stuck.

Ruth grew up in Brooklyn, a bustling part of New York City. She lived with her parents, Nathan and Celia Bader, on the bottom floor of a two-family house. Their landlady lived right above them. Their block was filled with hardworking immigrant families like theirs.

Ruths shy, gentle father had been born in Ukraine (near Russia). Nathan was forbidden from going to school there because he was Jewish. In the United States, he went to night school to learn English and become a citizen.

Ruths mother, Celia, was born in America just months after her family arrived from Poland. They were also fleeing because they were Jewish. Young Ruth learned early from her parents to treasure Americas freedoms.

Like the other fathers in the neighborhood, Nathan Bader left for work each morning. Nathan made a living selling fur hats and coats. But in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, most Americans were too broke to afford them. Nathan had to work late just to make ends meet.

Celia stayed home to raise her two daughters. Sadly, when Ruth was two, her six-year-old sister died. After that, Celia pinned all her hopes on little Ruth.

Immigrants in New York City

Millions of immigrants flooded into the United States at the beginning of the 1900s. Terrible hardships, including religious prejudice, drove most immigrants to leave their homelands. About one-third of the newcomers stayed right in New York, where they first landed at Ellis Island.

Ellis Island

At that time, most mothers hoped their daughters would grow up to marry some Prince Charming. Not Celia. She believed in womens rights. As a young woman, she had marched in a parade to get women the right to vote. She raised her daughter to be independent. More than anything, she wanted Ruth to get a good education.