7-Imp’s 7 Kicks #709: In Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September 20th, 2020 by jules
Hello, dear Imps. It seems like it wasn’t that long ago that I was saying that I had plans for a Sunday post that I was temporarily setting aside so that I could mark the death of an American luminary. I’d like to do this again. I’m taking this space here today, given the news of the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to mark this profound loss.
On social media, I noticed that various children’s book illustrators were paying tribute—with either previous illustrations of Ginsburg or ones they’d drawn on the spot when they heard the sad news this weekend. I’m sharing some of those here today. (I know there must be many, many more, but here is just a small handful.)
Pictured above is a painting from illustrator Rahele Jomepour Bell, who says this is “the piece of her I made while I was thinking about her.” Here are some more tributes. …
an organization dedicated to flipping the Senate.
Dasha tells me her drawing was inspired by Elizabeth Baddeley’s RBG drawing tutorial. In 2016, Baddeley illustrated Debbie Levy’s I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark. I wrote about that book here, if you’d like to read more about it, and I have some art from it here. Here is one of the spreads from that book, featuring Ginsburg as a child:
make their mark on the world. So she took Ruth to the library.”
(Click spread to enlarge)
And below is the beautiful cover, illustated by Eric Velasquez, of Doreen Rappaport’s Ruth Objects: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, published earlier this year:
[Note: Please see the comments for a few more tributes, added after this post went up.]
Note for any new readers: 7-Imp’s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome.
I think I’ll skip my seven separate kicks this week (though readers are welcome to leave theirs).
RBG paved the way for countless women. Her death is a tremendous loss, and 2020 is testing us all, isn’t it? That’s about all I’ve got in me today—except to say: Thank goodness she was here and accomplished all that she did. May she rest in peace.
Thank you, Jules, for making this space for RBG this week. Gutted. Thankful what she did not only for women but for all.
Luminary describes her well.
IMy only kick for this week is that Oregon got rain, the smoke cleared and the fires are getting under control…2020 is a beast.
Jone: YOU GOT RAIN! Definitely something to celebrate.
Another tribute from illustrator Christophe Jacques.
See here from author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFVb6YWBQSG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
This is a really fine tribute to RBG, Jules. That she was so loved and respected that she made it into a children’s picture book to inspire young generations is a testament to the strong, principled person she was.
May her memory be a blessing — and the call for dissent she labored for.
I didn’t want to believe the news when I first heard about her passing. It’s a wonderful sight to see this tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg here on 7-imp. Thank you Jules for sharing his collection of art, is powerful.
Jules – thank you so much for this tribute to RBG. So gutted, but I guess we all thought she was going to live forever, that is how super-human she has always seemed. (Certainly hoped, anyway.) I texted my law school BFF one word when I heard of her passing & of course she knew instantly what I was texting about. This year continues to be a tough one with losses that affect all of us.
Jone – what a giant relief the rain has been! So thankful!
RBG meant so much to so many, and as a lawyer, she meant so much to me for so many reasons – especially in her dogged perserverance in fighting for what’s right – her famous dissents were a part of that continued fight for justice & equality for all, as she said: “”Dissents speak to a future age. It’s not simply to say, ‘My colleagues are wrong and I would do it this way.’ But the greatest dissents do become court opinions and gradually over time their views become the dominant view. So that’s the dissenter’s hope: that they are writing not for today, but for tomorrow.”
Another of her quotes that I have carried close to my heart in my work, and one that is helping me move forward with hope: “Waste no time on anger, regret, or resentment, just get the job done.”
My kicks today are all my thanks and gratitude to her for paving the way for so many of us, and everything she did to make our world more equal. May her memory be a revolution.
Stay safe and well Imps!
Rachel, that is so eloquently put. You have me wiping my eyes. Hugs.
Another tribute from illustrator Lauren Castillo.
Thank you for sharing all these lovely tributes! May we all follow her example by fighting for what we believe in and helping others.
My tribute to Ruth Vader Ginsburg is a sketch of her three year-old self from a photo posted earlier this year on her 87th Birthday.
These are inspiring and beautiful and a wonderful tribute to role model and hero who changed the world for ALL of us.
Thank you!
Rest in Peace, Ruth Bader Gisnburg
Hi Jules
Here’s another.
@nikkimcclure on Instagram
Take care everyone!
Nikki
I love this so much, Jules. The children’s literature community is the best place in the whole wide world. Thank you so much.
Hugs, Little Willow, Allison, and Margie.
Gretchen, where is your image?
Nikki, thanks! Here is Nikki’s, everyone: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFVXj7EBEJs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Another tribute from Jade Orlando: https://www.instagram.com/p/CFXuWawHnM9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
Thanks also, Tom and Annelouise!