2020
LBJ Liberty & Justice For All Award
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn on March 15, 1933. She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954, and has a daughter, Jane, and a son, James. She received her B.A. from Cornell University, attended Harvard Law School, and received her LL.B. from Columbia Law School.
Justice Ginsburg served as a law clerk to the Honorable Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1959–1961. From 1961–1963, she was a research associate and then associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure. She was a Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law from 1963–1972, and Columbia Law School from 1972–1980, and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California from 1977–1978.
In 1971, she co-founded the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU's General Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980. She served on the Board and Executive Committee of the American Bar Foundation from 1979-1989, on the Board of Editors of the American Bar Association Journal from 1972-1978, and on the Council of the American Law Institute from 1978-1993.
She was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. President Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and she took her seat August 10, 1993.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, right, receives the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award from Lynda Johnson Robb, left, and Luci Baines Johnson. LBJ Foundation photo by Jay Godwin.
"Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been aptly described as the Thurgood Marshall of gender equality law, and her contributions to American jurisprudence cannot be overstated. She is a fiery champion of justice, providing good reason why she is so widely regarded as a cultural icon and inspiration to millions."
- Larry Temple, Chairman of the LBJ Foundation
WASHINGTON, DC – On Jan. 30, 2020, the LBJ Foundation awarded its most prestigious honor, the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award, to Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States. A lifelong advocate for human rights and gender equality, Justice Ginsburg has dedicated her life to dismantling discrimination and preserving the rule of law.
Larry Temple, chairman of the LBJ Foundation, said: "Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been aptly described as the Thurgood Marshall of gender equality law, and her contributions to American jurisprudence cannot be overstated. She is a fiery champion of justice, providing good reason why she is so widely regarded as a cultural icon and inspiration to millions."
The LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award was held Thursday evening, Jan. 30, at the Library of Congress in Washington. Following the award presentation by Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, Justice Ginsburg was interviewed on stage by Mark Updegrove, the president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation.
The evening also featured a performance by legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor. Other prominent guests included Bill Moyers, White House Press Secretary for President Johnson; Nina Totenberg, NPR's Legal Affairs Correspondent; Golden Globe-nominated actress Constance Wu, Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor, and Emmy Award-winning co-host of ABC's The View Sunny Hostin, who read passages culled from writings throughout Justice Ginsburg's groundbreaking career; and harmonica virtuoso Frédéric Yonnet.
Highlights
Justice Ginsburg on Civility
Justice Ginsburg on Polarization
Readings by Sunny Hostin, Holland Taylor, and Constance Wu
Tribute by Bill Moyers
"There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves."
- President Lyndon B. Johnson
Established by President and Mrs. Johnson in 1969, the LBJ Foundation is a nonprofit organization comprised of a board of trustees and administrative staff that supports the LBJ Presidential Library and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.
The LBJ Presidential Library, operated under the auspices of the National Archives and Records Administration, maintains the archive of President Johnson's administration and political career and promotes his legacy while providing, in his words, "a springboard for the future" through public programming aimed at addressing the issues of our time. The Foundation enhances the Library by directing public programming, administering the museum's store and admissions operations, and directing grants for researchers and scholars.
The LBJ School of Public Affairs embodies President Johnson's living legacy by nurturing leaders and public servants in the hopes that they will pursue what he called "the oldest, most basic mission of our country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man." The Foundation provides financial support for the school for the outstanding education it offers its graduate students in public policy and government affairs, community outreach, and global initiatives.
All bearing our 36th President's name, these three institutions—the LBJ Foundation, the LBJ Presidential Library, and the LBJ School of Public Affairs—preserve Lyndon B. Johnson's consequential legacy while pursuing his hopeful vision for the future.
