RBG A to Z: The Life of an Icon from ACLU to Gen Z: Excerpt
Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a feminist icon, liberal superhero, and trailblazer. RBG A to Z: The Life of an Icon from ACLU to Gen Z by Jo Stewart provides a comprehensive understanding of the incredible life of RBG.
The book covers her humble beginnings in Brooklyn to her days at Harvard Law School in the Supreme Court. While there, she championed issues like equal pay, gender equality, reproductive rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, and more. She had a hand in many of the laws now in place. More than just a list of accomplishments, she became a pop culture icon, soon known as the Notorious RBG.
RBG A to Z: The Life of an Icon from ACLU to Gen Z is the quintessential guide of a renaissance woman.
We are delighted to feature this excerpt!
N is for Notorious RBG
When NYU student Shana Knizhnik set up a Tumblr account dedicated to Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
she couldn’t have imagined the impact her idea would have. Dubbing Ruth “Notorious RBG” proved to be a masterstroke, as Justice Ginsburg (and her admirers) embraced her new nickname with glee. What started as a Tumblr account soon became a New York Times best-selling book and a full-scale cultural phenomenon. Playing on the stage name of legendary rapper Christopher George Latore Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G.), Ruth’s new nickname reflected her reputation for crafting dissenting opinions that raised eyebrows. Even though Biggie Smalls was killed in the late 1990s, the revered rapper’s cultural influence is still strong. Although no one could have predicted that an elderly Supreme Court justice would be united in name with one of the biggest artists of the 1990s gangsta rap scene, their shared influence on pop culture lives on.
- In an interview with NPR, Ruth admitted she had a large supply of Notorious RBG shirts, which she liked to gift to people.
- After coining Notorious RBG in 2015, Shana Knizhnik went on to become a lawyer (just like Ruth) and worked at the American Civil Liberties Union (just like Ruth).
- Ruth was more than comfortable with sharing the “notorious” moniker with rapper Biggie Smalls, as they were both from Brooklyn. “It seems altogether natural,” she said.
- In her speech accepting an honorary degree from the University at Buffalo, Ruth said: “It was beyond my wildest imagination that I would one day become the ‘Notorious RBG.’”
Printed with the publisher’s permission: Smith Street Books
RBG A to Z: The Life of An Icon from ACLU To Gen Z
An illustrated A to Z celebrating the unparalleled impact of the phenomenon that is RBG.
This intricately illustrated and fastidiously researched book unpacks the life of RBG, who herself was larger-than-life. It explores Ruth’s early days growing up in Brooklyn, New York, in her family home; her time at Cornell, where she was first in her class, and Harvard, where she was the first female member of the Havard Law Review; her persistence in fighting for gender equality, and the indelible impact she had on the world.
Featuring jaw-dropping illustrations, track Ruth’s rise as one of the US’s most important and celebrated judges, the impact of her legacy for women, her contribution to law and the unparalleled phenomena that is Ruth Bader Ginsberg. This book looks at the life of one of the most inspiring, influential figures in recent history – all in a brilliantly illustrated A to Z format.
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Category: On Writing
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