Ruth Bader Ginsburg aka RBG (Women who changed the world series)

In this engaging episode of "Check This Out!", hosts Amy and Cece continue their series on "Women Who Changed the World," focusing on the inspiring life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG). Listeners will learn about Ginsburg's trailblazing journey as the first female tenured professor at Columbia Law School and the second woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. With a deep commitment to women's rights and civil liberties, Ginsburg co-founded the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU, fought tirelessly against gender discrimination, and became a pop culture icon known as "the Notorious RBG." 

Join Amy and Cece as they explore RBG's early life, from her Jewish upbringing in New York to her groundbreaking achievements in a predominantly male legal field. They highlight key historical milestones for women's rights that coincided with Ginsburg’s career, including the Equal Pay Act and Title IX. As they uncover Ginsburg's legacy through her impactful dissents and major court rulings, listeners will be invited to appreciate her significant contributions to gender equality and justice.

To wrap up the episode, Amy and Cece recap key facts about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, encouraging kids and their grownups to continue exploring her legacy. The episode concludes with a heartfelt poem celebrating Ginsburg’s commitment to justice.

#RuthBaderGinsburg #NotoriousRBG #WomensRights #WomenInHistory #SupremeCourt #CheckThisOutPodcast #Trailblazers #CivilRights #PodcastForKids #YouthEducation #HistoryMatters #Empowerment #GenderEquality #InspiringWomen #Historypodcastforkids 

Transcript

Welcome to Check this out! Podcast for kids 

And their grownups where we explore people, places, ponderings and past moments from history that shape the world around us.  My name is Amy Contreras, and I’m Cece.  

Today we are continuing our series on 

Cece: Women Who Changed the World 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is our subject for this week’s episode of Check this out!  Like many of the women we have featured in our podcast she was a trailblazer.  

Cece: How mama? 

Well I’ll give you more details in a minute, but just a few ways she blazed a trail were that 

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first female tenured professor at Columbia Law School 
• She was the second woman to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court
• She co-founded the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and served as the ACLU’s general counsel until 1980
• She spent much of her career fighting for women’s rights and civil rights and became famous for her “dissents”
  • Cece: More on that later 

Did you know that Ruth Bader Ginsburg has a nickname in pop culture?  

Cece: No, what is it? 

The notorious RBG. 

Cece: Haha thats funny 

I like it too.  Over the course of her career she became a bit of a cultural icon.  I even have a coffee mug with her face on it, if you can believe it!  

Cece: I’ve seen it!  

Well I suppose I should tell you a little bit more about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and why we remember her as a woman who changed the world.  

Cece: I’m excited to learn more! 

But first, I want to remind everyone to take a second to subscribe to the podcast and make sure you follow so you’re the first to get new episodes and information!  If you know of another history lover who you think would enjoy our podcast, whether its another family or a teacher, please share the word!  The more the merrier at the Check this out Podcast!  

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get back into talking about the star of today’s episode! Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born to a Jewish family in New York in 1933.  

Cece: That was a long time ago!  

It was! She was born Joan Ruth Bader.  She grew up to become Justice Ginsburg, and sat on the United States Supreme court from the time she was appointed by President Clinton in 1993 until her death in 2020.  

Cece: Thats a big job! 

Now before I keep going… 

Cece: Listeners keep your ears open! 

Because at the end of the episode we will recap 3 facts about Ruth Bader Ginsburg that you can continue to research on your own.  

Cece: Let’s get started.  

As a child Ruth grew up in a traditional Jewish household.  She had an older sister who died of a sickness when she was young.  Young Ruth grew up going to synagogue and participating in other traditional Jewish events and activities.  She was a good student and excelled at her studies as a young girl.  After graduating from High School she attended Cornell University and got her bachelor’s degree.  

Cece: Good for her! 

While she was at college she met her future husband Martin Ginsburg.  They married in 1954.  Ruth and Martin eventually had 2 children together.  After she graduated from Cornell, Ruth got into Harvard Law School.  Do you want to know something crazy about her law school class? 

Cece: Tell us! Tell us! 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of only 9 women in a class of 500 law students.  

Cece: Why Mama? 

Justice Ginsburg was at Harvard Law School from 1956 to 1958.  This was a time before gender equality had made significant progress in the United States.  Many schools in the 1950s still didn’t even allow women to enroll.  Along with the other women in her law school class, Ruth often faced discrimination because she was a woman.  She was even asked to explain how she felt about taking a spot in the law school program instead of a man.

Cece: Oh my goodness 

When you understand that during her time in Law School she was consistently put down for being a woman it helps to understand her eventual focus on fighting for women’s rights. 

Check this out 

If you’re listening to this podcast today you may not even be aware of how much women’s rights have progressed in the last 50-60 years in the United states.  

Cece: What do you mean mama? 

Here are a few examples!  

1963 Was when the Equal Pay Act was passed by Congress. This was the first time people were promised equitable wages for the same work, regardless of the race, color, religion, national origin or sex of the worker.

1972 Title IX was passed.  This prohibits sex discrimination in all aspects of education programs that receive federal support, such as for sports.  

It wasn’t until 1974 that women were allowed to apply for and own a credit card in their name under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.  This same act also allowed women to get home mortgages in their own name.  

Up until 1975 and the passing of Taylor v. Louisiana states could block women from serving on juries 

1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. Before then women could be fired from their job just for being pregnant.  

I share all of this because it gives context to the world in which future Justice Ginsburg attended law school.  These protections for women wouldn’t happen for another 20 years, some with the help of Justice Ginsburg herself.  

Cece: Oh thats important 

Back to her in law school.  Ruth and the other women were even excluded from certain parts of the library.  She transferred from Harvard  to Columbia Law School in 1958 for her final year. During her time at law school, she was such a good student she made both the Harvard and Columbia Law Reviews.

Cece: She sounds really smart 

She was, and she worked HARD!  Even though she graduated at the top of her class she struggled to find work after law school.  Here is a quote from her about that time.  

“In the fifties, the traditional law firms were just beginning to turn around on hiring Jews. … But to be a woman, a Jew, and a mother to boot, that combination was a bit much.”

Cece:  that didn’t stop her!  

In 1959 she started working as a law clerk and she worked in that role for a couple of years.  From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. In 1963, Ginsburg began as a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law and taught classes until 1972, she then served as a professor at Columbia Law School from 1972–1980. 

Cece: She had a lot of jobs.  

She did! And that isn’t even all of them.  

She got involved with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and helped found their Women’s Rights Project in 1971. At the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, she was the main architect of a campaign against gender stereotyping in the law.  She argued and won 5 major Supreme Court cases during the 1970s for gender equality. 

Cece: Wow 

When she was teaching law at Rutgers she became pregnant with her 2nd baby.  She hid her second pregnancy by wearing baggy clothes so no one could tell she was pregnant. Because remember, they could have fired her just for being pregnant!  

Cece: That is not ok! 

I know, but her plan worked.  Her contract was renewed before her baby was born.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter named Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She worked in that role for 13 years before getting appointed to the Supreme Court by president Bill Clinton in 1993.  

Do you want to hear one of my favorite quotes from RBG? 

Cece: Yea! 

“When I’m sometimes asked ‘When will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court]?’ and I say ‘When there are nine,’ people are shocked. But there’d been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.”

Cece: Wow I love it 

Me too :) 

Here are some other fun facts about RBG

• After she graduated Columbia she got a job as a typist, and when she became pregnant, she lost even that job.  Do you think that may have inspired some of her focus on gender equality? 
  • Cece: Probably 
• RBC loved her husband very much and she has said "What made Marty so overwhelmingly attractive to me was that he cared that I had a brain," she said.
• She learned Swedish early in her career so she could work with Anders Bruzelius, a Swedish civil procedure scholar when she was working on the Columbia international law project 
• She traveled to sweden and lived there while working on her columbia project.  She was also inspired by how swedish women worked, learned, and contributed to society.  
• She dealt with cancer 5 times in her life! In 1999, pancreatic cancer 10 years later, lung cancer in 2018, and then pancreatic cancer again in 2019 and liver lesions in 2020. During that time, she endured chemotherapy, radiation and, in the last years of her life, terrible pain from shingles 

Justice Ginsburg’s time on the supreme court of the united states was marked by several key decisions and impact.  She also became known for her famous “dissents” 

Cece: What does that word mean mama? 

The word dissent is to disagree. Specifically with the supreme court when the Supreme Court decides on a case, they issue a majority opinion. The majority opinion explains why the majority of justices decided to judge the case the way that they did. But in a lot of cases not all of the justices agree that the decision was right. When this happens one or more justices will file a dissent that gets shared along with the majority opinion. In a dissent, the justices who disagree with the ruling explain why they disagree.

Cece: That makes sense 

In addition to writing dissents Justice Ginsburg is known for wearing decorative neck collars that demonstrated when she was dissenting.  You can check out pictures of her wearing her dissent neck collars on our instagram @checkthisout_podcast4kids 

Cece: I’ll take a look! 

One of Justice Ginsburg’s early supreme court decisions that is well remembered was United States V Virginia.  The court case was a challenge to the male-only admissions policy at the Virginia Military Institute.  She ruled for gender equality.  

She also, along with the supreme court, tried cases about voting rights and the separation of church and state.  

She stayed on the supreme court even when she struggled with health issues and was an active member of the supreme court when she passed away in 2020.  

RBG had a career of overcoming obstacles, fighting for women’s rights, trailblazing in new places that women had not historically been represented, strong dissents, and an impressive career as an attorney, and judge.  

Cece: Was there anything she didn’t do?  

She kept busy throughout her life and career!  

Cece: Let’s recap some of her achievements!  

True or False: Her law school class at harvard was made up of all women!  

False: There were only 9 women in her class of 500 law students 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg learned how to speak another language while working on her project at columbia law.  Which language was it? 

1. Italian
2. Latin
3. Swedish 

If you said C, swedish, you’re correct! 

True or False:  Ruth Bader Ginsburg never married, and instead focused on her career.  

This is false! She met and married the love of her life Martin Ginsburg when she was at undergrad at Columbia.  They had 2 children together and stayed married until Martin’s death in 2010.  

Ruth Bader Ginsburg worked for an organization that advocated for equal rights of others and was a co-founder of their Women’s Rights Project.  She served as the general counsel for this organization until she became a judge in 1980.  The organization was called 

1. The ACLU 
2. The NAACP 
3. The SCLC

If you said A you’re correct. The American Civil Liberties Union, otherwise known as the ACLU was where Ruth Bader Ginsburg did a lot of her work before becoming a supreme court justice.  

What president appointed her to the Supreme Court? 

1. Barack Obama 
2. Bill Clinton 
3. Jimmy Carter 

The answer is B! Bill Clinton appointed Justice Ginsburg to the supreme court in 1993.  

Great job remembering everything we’ve talked about in this episode!  

Now let’s recap a few facts about her that you can continue to check out on your own! 

Fact #1: Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second woman, and first Jewish woman, to serve on the Supreme Court.  Her time on the supreme court was marked by strong advocacy for women’s rights.  

Do you know who the first woman was to serve on the supreme court? 

Cece: No

Sandra Day O’Connor!  

Fact #2: Justice Ginsburg was one of only 9 women in her harvard law school class of 500 students.  And while she was top of the class and on harvard law review she ultimately transferred law schools and graduated from Columbia Law School.  

Fact#3: When she was younger, ruth bader ginsburg lived a short time in sweden, learned swedish and observed the impact of gender equity protected by law, including law school classes where 25% of the class was female, vs the 2% rates in the United States.  

Cece: What was your favorite fact? 

We have a book at our house about Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Little People, Big Dreams and when Cece and I read this book I also love the role her mother played in her focus on her education and self improvement.  Her mother died right before she graduated from highschool but the impact of her mother on the life she built was undeniable.  

We love learning about women who changed the world and the impact their legacy has left on the world around them.  We encourage you to continue to learn more about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and why we consider her a woman who changed the world!  

But before we let you go, we don’t just love talking about history and cool people and storied. 

Cece: We also love to rhyme! 

Here is a poem we wrote for you about ruth bader ginsburg

Ruth spent her life in pursuit of justice 

She got into law school and fought against malice

An equality advocate  with wisdom so bright,
Her heart was full of courage, shining the light. 

From swedish lands and law school halls 

She found her way to the highest court of all 

A woman seated in the supreme courts fray

She battled for rights in a bold, fierce way.

From the ACLU and trying all types of cases 

Her dissents and impact served many faces 

The notorious RBG, a name we revere,
Her legacy of change will always be near!

Thanks for listening to another episode of Check this out!  Here at the “check this out” podcast we know there is a lot of information and it can be overwhelming to find accurate information! This podcast is a tool for you to help you do something called “citing your sources”. As you get older and do projects for school you’ll learn that certain types of websites or information sources aren’t verified or have evidence and documentation to back them up.  On “check this out” we use verified sources to build the stories you hear about.  

Verified sources are materials or information that have been confirmed for accuracy, and credibility through an evaluation process!  Our sources for this week's episode are women’s history.org, NPR, supremecourt.gov, the harvard gazette, columbia law school, PBS, and boston public library.  

Cece: Thanks for listening, see you next episode! Don’t forget to subscribe.  

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ruth-bader-ginsburg?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7dm-BhCoARIsALFk4v9W5H7BWmKSBWi2xrsqf9MtgNEy8m1X8YYL5sU6puMKQRSQEF04GeMaAti3EALw_wcB 

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/100306972/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-champion-of-gender-equality-dies-at-87 

https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographyginsburg.aspx 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg 

https://women.ca.gov/the-notorious-rbg/ 

https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/remembering-legacy-ruth-bader-ginsburg-59 

https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/womens-rights-movement/detailed-timeline/ 

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/09/harvard-community-reflects-on-the-life-achievements-of-ruth-bader-ginsburg/ 

https://www.bpl.org/blogs/post/ruth-bader-ginsburg-dissents-whats-a-dissent/ 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/5-of-ruth-bader-ginsburgs-most-powerful-supreme-court-opinions