Justice Ginsburg speaking at Jones Day in Washington D.C. this past July. The photos of this discussion come from Duke Law’s summary of the event, which can be accessed by clicking the photo above.
By Brooke LePage ’19
Contributing Writer
One of the best things about being a post-grad in Washington, D.C. is that you never know who you’ll see on your way to work. One of my roommates bumped into Speaker John Boehner on the sidewalk outside our house, and another recently met Senator Bernie Sanders outside of a local coffee shop.
Being a Public Policy & Law major, nothing compared to the woman I met last Wednesday. Perhaps it was her pop culture celebrity, legacy on the court, or the hours and hours I spent during my last year of college reading her opinion in Ledbetter v. Goodyear, that made meeting Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg such an incredible honor. My senior thesis, Justice Ginsburg’s Call to Action: The Court, Congress, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, focused entirely on RBG’s scathing dissent in the infamous wage discrimination lawsuit that prompted Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Needless to say, I was elated and nervous to meet the woman who I believe to be responsible for so many of the rights I enjoy today.
The event was hosted by Duke Law School, and was packed with Duke undergrads, Duke Law students, and Duke alumni. Thanks to the generosity of a new friend, Matt Hamilton, I was invited to tag along. The line for the hors d’oeuvres wrapped around the entire room, only to be outdone by the line for the bar. We scrambled to get seats before they were all taken, and those long lines and the excited chatter seemed to evaporate when Justice Ginsburg walked in and took her seat. The conversation began with Justice Ginsburg describing to the audience (and even reciting a few bars from) the Opera by Derrick Wang, Scalia/Ginsburg. “It’s a story about people who have differing opinions, but who can still be great friends,” she explained. Throughout the course of the talk, she would often break from conventional metaphors and cite the plot of a favorite opera.
Inevitably, the topic changed to something with more gravitas, and Justice Ginsburg spoke on her greatest disappointment, Citizens United, and the Court’s latest earth-shattering decisions in Obergefell and King v. Burwell. On the topic of differing opinions, she said, “You’ll find the difference is between textualist interpretation and what I like to call reasonable interpretation,” prompting a few of us to chuckle in response. She spoke about her time at Harvard, then teaching at Columbia, and eventually the ACLU. “There were no women on the court. My family thought it would be a good thing for me to become a school teacher. That was a profession women could go in to. I wanted to be a lawyer because I thought I could help people,” she said, “so you have to put in the hours and put in the work to make your dreams come true.”
When the time came for open questions, my mind was racing with a million things to ask. Which case are you most proud of? Does the Constitution really contain the ever-elusive right the privacy? Where did you get your shirt? After three other audience members asked their questions, I felt my arm shoot up, and someone handed me a microphone. “What is the greatest challenge women in America still face? Is it reproductive rights like in Hobby Lobby or pay equality like in Ledbetter?” I asked. She closed her eyes, and took a moment to think. “Both, and more,” she replied, “It is important for young women in your generation not to forget that there are still rights that you need to fight for.” She went on the cite Lawrence and Ledbetter, two cases I had spent many late nights reading in my thesis cubby in the Raether Library. It struck me how lucky I am, that I am not without strong female role models in positions of influence. I’m sure for Justice Ginsburg this was probably yet another speaking engagement. For me, it was a chance to get some of the best advice in town.
Youlan Xiu, PBPL ’15, asking Justice Ginsburg what she believes to be the greatest challenge still facing women in America.