Ruth Bader Ginsburg, nicknamed the Notorious RBG, passed away Friday, September 18. Ginsburg lived to the age of 87, and she lived her life fighting against gender discrimination. RBG, as she was widely known, served on the District of Columbia’s Court of Appeals until President Bill Clinton appointed her to the Supreme Court in 1993.

Throughout her lifetime, Ginsburg accomplished goals that seemed impossible. Born and raised in New York, she attended Harvard Law School as one of only nine women in a class of over 500 men. She bravely conquered her role as a student while also fulfilling her roles as a wife and mother. Ginsburg even had a book written in her honor, also titled The Notorious RBG.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent a lifetime flourishing in the face of adversity. Even her exceptional academic record was not enough to shield her from the gender-based discrimination women faced in the workplace in the 1960s,” Oyez, a multimedia website said. 

After graduation, Ginsburg fought to obtain merely a clerk job, which she held for two years before law firms began offering her jobs. During that time the men around her made a much higher salary performing the same amount of work. 

“My mother told me to be a lady, and for her, that meant be your own person, be independent,” Ginsburg said.

 Ginsburg always held herself to these standards and refused to let a court full of men intimidate her. In the early 1970s, Ginsburg founded the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project. 

“[Ginsburg] successfully tackled laws that treated women as second-class citizens,” the ACLU website said. 

From 1970-1980, Bader accepted a role as a member of the ACLU’s (American Civil Liberties Union) general counsel. She later became the Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 1993, she became a Supreme Court Justice. This momentous accomplishment made her the first Jewish Justice of the Supreme Court and the second woman. 

Ginsburg not only fought to obtain women’s equal rights but also fought alongside those who the law discriminated against. She possessed a deep love for everyone she encountered. Despite identifying as a liberal, she befriended Antonin Scalia, a Conservative Justice, and they became extremely close. Their friendship revealed Ginsburg’s soft heart and exemplified getting along with people who differentiated from her beliefs.

“Like many pals, Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg could have a pretty good argument now and then, but not let it affect their close friendship,” NPR said. 

Though Ginsburg passed, her legacy will live on forever. Ginsburg helped kickstart the destruction of gender discrimination and normalities. She fought every case with equality in her mind. The notorious RBG, known as a hero, friend, and role model to all who knew her, changed lives with her strong and kind spirit.