With photos by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now
HOUGHTON -- A group of local concerned residents gathered at the Miner's Statue Park in Houghton recently to honor the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG).
It was a quiet candlelight vigil, disturbed at times by the noise of passing traffic. Nevertheless, Valorie Troesch, retired attorney and member of the League of Women Voters of the Copper Country (one of the event sponsors), thanked those who participated for their attendance and spoke about some of Justice Ginsburg's important accomplishments.
"Right now, most of us are probably feeling a mixture of great sadness and also fear of what will happen next," Troesch said. "But tonight, I want to take a few minutes to dwell only on the remarkable life and career of Justice Ginsburg and how she made a difference for all of us. And I want you to hear her words rather than mine."
Troesch pointed out that Ginsburg took on legal cases that would would contribute to achieving equality between men and women.
"Ginsburg argued that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution required equal treatment of men and women," Troesch noted. "And -- to make her point -- she argued that the 14th Amendment worked both ways for men and women. In 1971, she successfully briefed the case Reed v. Reed -- in which the US Supreme Court decided that an Idaho law saying that men must be preferred to women in appointing administrators for estates violated the equal protection clause. Then in 1972 she won another federal case that said bachelors -- men -- could not be prohibited from claiming a tax deduction for the care of aged parents, something that had been allowed only for women previously. The court cited the Reed case as the grounds for its decision. So you see, limited issues in these cases but they were building important precedents. That was the work of Ginsburg."
In arguing gender discrimination cases before the Supreme Court in the 1970s, Ginsburg won five out of six of them, Troesch said.
Other highlights of RBG's life and legal work cited by Troesch include the following:
-- appointment to the US Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter in 1980;
-- nomination to the US Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993;
-- three Supreme Court cases in which RBG dissented with strong words.
Troesch noted one of RBG's dissents that has been quoted in the news accounts of her death last week: "In 2013, the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act by deciding that voting issues based on race were no longer a problem and that states with histories of voter suppression would no longer be required to get federal approval before changing their election laws. Ginsburg wrote: '[t]hrowing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.'"
Troesch also expressed her own admiration of Ginsburg in this tribute: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of the great jurists in our nation’s history. She was also an exceptional human being. She was able to do something many of us -- myself likely included -- could not do, and that was to be friends with the people with whom she had the most fundamental disagreements with on cardinal issues. She was best friends with Antonin Scalia, perhaps the justice most philosophically opposed to Ginsburg on the court. She wrote: 'Collegiality is crucial to the success of our mission. We could not do the job the Constitution assigns us if we didn’t -- to use one of Justice Scalia’s favorite expressions -- get over it.'"
Participants in the vigil also shared their own thoughts and feelings about RBG with Keweenaw Now.
Hancock resident Miriam Pickens, who helped organize the vigil, said she was delighted at the turnout for this event honoring RBG.
"It was a quiet peaceful time to be present with others who also loved her and everything she represented. Her loss is a blow to democracy," Pickens said. "During these Covid-19 times, people are pretty stressed because when something terrible happens, especially on top of everything else, we can’t find comfort the way we human animals are meant to -- in the company of friends. It was really nice to be among the simpatico to mourn her loss. It was also important to take this time not to think about McConnell’s response but to purely focus on her legacy and her loss."
Paul Mitchell, lay minister, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, also commented on the vigil.
"I think this vigil was a chance for our whole community to pause amidst all the politics and the challenges of the pandemic to mourn the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg," Mitchell said. "Her tenacity, wide ranging thought and eloquence in speaking her truth was spectacular. We were mourning her passing and celebrating her life. In the coming days I think she'll be our inspiration as we dive back into our social and political challenges."
Linda Belote and her husband, Jim Belote, of Hancock also attended the vigil.
"In spite of the pandemic, Jim and I had to attend this vigil for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She has single handedly done more to achieve equality for women in modern times than anyone else or any 2 other people together," Linda said. "The entire group was subdued and social distancing was really honored. I was moved by the communal spirit that was present. Oh how I loved and will continue to love and admire the energy, intelligence and the spirit of Ruth B G!"
Among the vigil participants was Elizabeth Flynn, co-director of the Elaine Bacon Literacy Program, who spoke of RBG's place in history as a hero.
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become an iconic hero, especially for women of all ages," Flynn noted. "She recognized dramatic changes in women’s position in society and supported legal action to reflect those changes. Such a loss. Her work will live on, though. Thinking of what she was able to accomplish gives me hope that others will follow her and lead out of these dark times."
In her talk to the group, Valorie Troesch added some words of inspiration for following RBG's example.
"Where do we go from here?" Troesch asked. "Joyce Vance, a law professor and former US Attorney, advises this: We should honor the life of RBG, American hero, by refusing to give in, refusing to back down, fighting for the civil rights of all people and demanding our leaders honor the rule of law. This is our fight now."
Inset photo: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. (Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
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