Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
October 4, 2019
The first museum retrospective explores the American legal system and civil rights movements through the lens of the personal experiences and groundbreaking career of the first Jewish female Supreme Court justice.
“Fight for the things that you care about but do it in a way that will lead others to join you”
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has captured the public’s imagination with her commitment to marginalized voices and steadfast advocacy to expand the promises of freedom to all Americans. An exhibit examining her varied roles as a student, wife, mother, change-making lawyer, judge, women’s rights pioneer and pop culture icon, has opened at the National Museum of American Jewish History.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg was organized by the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and follows the book by the same name by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik. The exhibit parallels her life, from her childhood apartment in Brooklyn, to college and law school, to her family commitments and to the Supreme Court bench. Three-dimensional environments highlight key moments in Justice Ginsburg’s personal and professional story, arranged in sections with titles inspired by Notorious B.I.G.’s lyrics. These scrapbook-like settings feature archival photographs and documents, historical artifacts, contemporary art, media stations, and gallery interactives.
Continuing the museum’s commitment to showcasing the lives of everyday people and Jewish-American stories that transcend religion, culture and nationality, the exhibit is a reminder that the freedoms promised here in Philadelphia – just steps away from where the United States was founded and the U.S. Constitution established the Supreme Court – are the right of every person in the country.
Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg kicks off a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, and is on display through January 12, 2020. Join the festivities by posing with props in front of the graffiti wall and taking photos at the bench with the backdrop of the Supreme Court.
