Ruth Bader Ginsburg, rest in peace

In my profession as a visual arts instructor, my favorite course was Color Theory. Based on color theory, I have a wish for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died yesterday, September 18, 2020, at the age of 87.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was affectionately referred to as RBG. She was a warrior for justice, an advocate for women’s rights, gender equality, the rights of workers, and the separation of church and state, who for twenty-seven years she served on the Supreme Court.

Her seat is empty now. How and who will fill it will affect our nation as we move forward. My hope is for a replacement that continues RBG’s fight for human rights and justice.

I think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in color theory terms. Let me explain. There are two color systems. One, called subtractive color, relates to paint and pigments. In school, we all learned the primary colors in paint are red, yellow, and blue. From these, all colors are made. But if you mix the primaries, they cancel each other out and produce a muddy gray. The additive color system used in computers, neon signs, and theatrical lighting has different primary colors. They are red, green, and blue. When additive system primaries are mixed, they produce white light.

I think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg “RBG” as the additive light system. The sum of her colors illuminates how we move forward to attain greater respect for women’s rights, gender equality, and justice for all. Her life is her message. In law school in the late 1950s, she juggled her life as a mother, a wife, and a law student, one of only eight female students in a competitive class of five hundred men. Although the top of her class, she found upon graduation, as a female, she could not get the lawyer position she deserved. She persevered and taught law, becoming the first female tenured professor at Columbia in 1972 and co-founded the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In 1980 she was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and in 1993 she was confirmed to the Supreme Court where she served for the last twenty-seven years.

She could not have attained those accomplishments had she not known her worth and stayed focused on her goals to make the world a better place.

RB Ginsburg shines as white light, the presence of all colors. May she rest in peace, and may her light illuminate our way forward.