Little Ruthie's Big Dreams
On a sunny morning in Brooklyn, New York, in 1933, a little girl named Ruth sat at her kitchen table, her legs swinging as she read the newspaper. The smell of fresh bread filled the air as her mama, Celia, worked in the kitchen.
"Mama, why can't girls do all the things boys can do?" little Ruth asked, her bright eyes looking up from the paper.
Celia smiled warmly at her daughter. "My dear Ruthie, you can do anything you set your mind to. Don't let anyone tell you different."
Ruth lived in a cozy brick house in Brooklyn with her mom, dad, and big sister Marilyn. Their neighborhood was filled with the sounds of children playing and shopkeepers calling out to customers in friendly voices.
Fun Fact: Young Ruth loved to read so much that she would often walk to the library while reading a book!
Every Saturday, Mama would take Ruth to the public library. It was Ruth's favorite place in the whole world! While other kids played hopscotch outside, Ruth would sit for hours, lost in stories about brave heroes and smart judges.
"Books are like magic," Ruth would say. "They can take you anywhere!" ✨
But life wasn't always easy for little Ruth. Sometimes, she noticed that boys got to do things that girls couldn't. At school, boys could be class monitors, but girls couldn't. This made Ruth's forehead scrunch up in thought.
"It's not fair," she would tell her mama.
These were some of the important things Mama taught Ruth:
Be kind to others
Work hard in school
Stand up for what's right
Never give up on your dreams
Help people who need it
One day, while Ruth was doing her homework, her mama got very sick. Even though Mama had to stay in bed, she never stopped encouraging Ruth to study hard.
"Education is the key to everything, Ruthie," Mama would say, her voice soft but strong.
The night before Ruth's middle school graduation, Mama had to go to the hospital. Ruth wanted to stay with her, but Mama insisted she go to the ceremony.
"Make me proud, my little Ruth," were her mama's last words.
Even though Ruth was very sad when her mama passed away, she remembered everything her mama taught her. She studied extra hard and got the best grades in her class.
Ruth wrote in her diary: "Dear Mama, I promise to make the world a better place, just like you taught me."
At night, Ruth would look out her bedroom window at the twinkling Brooklyn stars. She dreamed big dreams about helping people and making things fair for everyone.
"One day," she whispered to herself, "I'm going to be someone who makes a difference." ⭐
Ruth's father watched his daughter grow stronger every day. "My Ruthie," he would say, "you have your mama's spirit. Nothing can stop you."
And he was right. Little Ruth from Brooklyn was just beginning her amazing journey. She would grow up to become one of the most important judges in America, fighting to make sure girls and boys had the same chances in life.
As Ruth finished elementary school at PS 238, she carried her mama's words in her heart: "Be independent, be brave, and always believe in yourself."
Young Ruth knew that being different wasn't bad - it was what made her special. She would spend her whole life proving that little girls from Brooklyn could do anything they set their minds to.Dreams Take Flight at Cornell
The autumn leaves danced around Ruth as she stepped onto Cornell University's beautiful campus in 1950. Her heart beat fast with excitement - she was one of the few women students there!
"Welcome to Cornell!" a friendly voice called out. It belonged to a tall young man with kind eyes and a warm smile. "I'm Martin Ginsburg, but everyone calls me Marty."
Special Moment: Ruth always said meeting Marty was like finding her best friend and true love all at once!
Ruth and Marty became great friends right away. They both loved books, jokes, and talking about big ideas. Marty thought Ruth was the smartest person he'd ever met.
"You're going to change the world someday, Ruth," Marty would say with a grin.
College life was different from Brooklyn. Ruth studied harder than ever before. Her favorite things about Cornell were:
Learning new ideas every day
Making lifelong friends
Writing for the school newspaper
Dancing in ballet shows
Spending time with Marty
But some people still had old-fashioned ideas. One day, Ruth's professor said, "Women don't need to be in college. They should just get married!"
Ruth sat up straighter in her chair. "Watch me do both," she thought to herself.
"Dear Mama," Ruth wrote in her journal, "I wish you could see me now. I'm learning so much, just like you wanted."
In their last year of college, Marty asked Ruth a very special question: "Will you marry me?"
Ruth's eyes sparkled. "Yes!" she said. "But I'm still going to chase my dreams."
Marty laughed. "I wouldn't have it any other way!"
After graduation, Ruth and Marty got married. Soon after, they had a beautiful baby girl named Jane. Ruth was now a wife, a mother, and a student - and she was great at all three!
"How do you do it all?" her friends would ask.
Ruth would smile and say, "One step at a time, with lots of help from Marty." ⏰
Marty's Special Rule: He learned to cook because he said, "Ruth's time is better spent studying than cooking!"
Even with a baby to take care of, Ruth kept studying hard. She knew she wanted to be a lawyer - someone who helps make sure rules are fair for everyone.
"You can't be a lawyer and a mother," some people told her.
But Ruth remembered what her mama taught her: nothing is impossible if you work hard enough.
Every night, after putting baby Jane to bed, Ruth would study until her eyes got tired. Marty would bring her coffee and say, "You've got this, Ruth."
Together, they showed everyone that when people help each other, amazing things can happen. Ruth's time at Cornell wasn't just about learning from books - it was about learning that love and support make dreams possible.
As Ruth packed her bags for law school, she looked at baby Jane sleeping peacefully and thought about all the little girls who would come after her. She was going to make sure they had every chance to follow their dreams too.
The next chapter of Ruth's adventure was about to begin, and she was ready for whatever challenges came her way. Fighting for Justice at Harvard Law
In 1956, Ruth walked into Harvard Law School with her head held high. The huge library with tall shelves full of law books made her eyes wide with wonder.
But on her first day, the dean called all nine women in her class to a special dinner. Ruth remembers his words clearly:
"Why are you taking a place that could have gone to a man?" he asked them.
Ruth sat up straight and thought to herself, "I'll show you exactly why I deserve to be here."
Ruth's Daily Schedule:
Taking care of baby Jane
Going to class
Studying late at night
Helping Marty when he got sick
Making time for family
Life got really hard when Marty became very sick. He needed special medicine and lots of rest. But Ruth wouldn't give up! She went to all her classes AND all of Marty's classes too.
"How do you stay awake?" her friend asked one day.
Ruth smiled and said, "I only sleep for three hours, but I make them count!" ⏰
She wrote down all the class notes for Marty and taught him everything he missed. At night, she would rock baby Jane while reading her law books.
"Dear Jane," Ruth wrote in her diary, "Someday you'll understand why Mama works so hard. It's to make the world better for you."
Even though it was tough, Ruth did amazingly well in school. She became the first woman to work on the Harvard Law Review, a very special school magazine!
"You write better than most of the boys," her professor said, surprised.
Ruth just nodded. She knew being good wasn't enough - she had to be the best.
When Marty got better, he got a job in New York. Ruth needed to move with her family, but Harvard wouldn't let her finish her degree there. So she went to Columbia Law School instead.
"Sometimes you have to adjust your path," she told Jane, "but never give up on your destination."
Fun Fact: Ruth finished top of her class at Columbia! She tied for first place with another student.
But even after doing so well in school, Ruth found that law firms didn't want to hire women lawyers. One after another, they told her no.
"We've never hired a woman before," they would say.
Ruth would think, "Well, there's always a first time!"
Finally, a kind judge named Edmund Palmieri gave Ruth her first job as a lawyer. He saw how smart and hardworking she was.
"Judge Palmieri," Ruth said one day, "thank you for giving me a chance."
He smiled and replied, "Thank you for proving me right."
This experience taught Ruth something important: sometimes you have to be the first person to do something, so others can follow after you. She decided then that she would help make the law fair for everyone, especially women.
As Ruth worked late into the night at her new job, she thought about all the doors that had been closed to her. Soon, she would start opening those doors - not just for herself, but for everyone who came after her.Making Laws Fair for Everyone
The year was 1972, and Ruth had a big idea. She wanted to help make laws fair for both women and men. So she started something special called the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU.
Ruth sat at her desk one morning, looking at letters from people who needed help. She picked up one from a man named Stephen Wiesenfeld.
"My wife died having our baby," Stephen wrote. "Now I want to stay home to take care of him, but the government won't help me like they help mothers who lose their husbands."
Ruth's eyes lit up. This was exactly the kind of case she was looking for!
Ruth's Clever Plan: She knew that to make things fair for women, she had to show how unfair laws hurt everyone - both girls and boys, moms and dads.
"Marty," she said to her husband that evening, "I think I found another important case."
"Tell me about it while I make dinner," Marty replied with a smile. He always cooked because Ruth wasn't very good at it!
Ruth worked on many important cases. Here are some of her favorites:
• Sally Reed's case about being a mom in charge of money
• Stephen Wiesenfeld's case about being a dad who stays home
• Susan Vorchheimer's case about going to an all-boys school
• Sharron Frontiero's case about military benefits
• Craig v. Boren about fair rules for everyone
Ruth had a special way of talking to judges. She didn't yell or get angry. Instead, she told stories that helped them understand why unfair laws hurt everyone. ️
Ruth's Famous Words: "Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
One day, a young lawyer asked Ruth, "How do you win so many cases?"
Ruth smiled and said, "I help the judges see what's right, one small step at a time." ⚖️
She won five out of six cases at the Supreme Court! That's like getting an A+ on almost all your tests.
People started calling Ruth the "Thurgood Marshall of women's rights" because, like him, she was changing unfair laws to make life better for everyone.
Did you know? Ruth worked so hard that sometimes she only slept for two hours! But she never gave up because she knew her work was important.
By 1980, Ruth had helped change over 300 laws that weren't fair to women. But she wasn't done yet! She taught other lawyers how to fight for fairness too.
"Everyone should...
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