Glorious, Victorious RBG

Through her work as a lawyer in the 1970s, Ruth Bader Ginsburg racked up a string of victories at the Supreme Court that gradually produced more equality under the law between men and women and boys and girls.But Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not always victorious. If she were, I would not have had the opportunity to title my book I DISSENT! Here is what she said at her confirmation hearings back in 1993 about the long road to victories in women's rights and other fields:

"Generally, change in our society is incremental, I think. Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."

This is a patient woman, and her patience has led to important victories in making this a more just nation. You sow seeds, care for them, wait, and maybe--not all the time, but enough of the time--you get the results you're after. You may lose at first, but you plant those seeds and think ahead.And so in her dissent--her loss--in the Lily Ledbetter case in 2007, Justice Ginsburg explained why her colleagues on the Supreme Court were wrong to rule against women workers who were fighting to get paid the same as men. Congress agreed. The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was the first piece of legislation President Obama signed when he took office.And in 2013, Justice Ginsburg dissented when the Court refused to uphold lower court rulings that approved of the University of Texas' approach to increasing enrollment by African American and Hispanic students. By 2016 the case had made its way back to the Court--and this time the Court upheld the approach. This time RBG did not have to dissent.Glorious, Victorious RBG. Step by step she has made a difference, one disagreement at a time.This marks the close of this series of posts, which started with Glorious, Adorious RBG. I've still got so much great material in my research file that couldn't make it into my book, so from time to time, I may be sharing more Glorious RBG tidbits--only they won't necessarily rhyme. Glorious, Adorious, Not-Furious, Not-Spurious, Expurgatorious, So-Curious, Meritorious, Luxurious, Laborious, Stentorious, Non-Injurious, Victorious--those are enough rhyming monikers for one person.And this: I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark is now out in the world!(Photo of RBG at the typewriter is from the Supreme Court of the United States; photo of RBG in profile is by Mary Altaffer/AP)