Lightbringers Harriet Tubman & Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Message tonight is about being a nice human!
For this month we are looking at historic and present day people who brought or bring hope and light to the world. This is the time of year when we bring in the light to our homes our families and our hearts. We are going to meet two brave women who brought change into our lives. They are true heroines.

These women are light bringers, people who bring wisdom, hope and faith to our world. 

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman, born Araminta Ross, c. March,1822 – D March 10, 1913. She was an American abolitionist and humanitarian whose life was defined by her transition from an enslaved woman to a legendary "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, a Civil War hero, and a suffragist. 

Harriet was born into chattel slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland, she was one of nine children of Ben Ross and Harriet "Rit" Green.
From age five, she was frequently "hired out" to other masters as a nursemaid and field hand, where she faced regular physical abuse.

At approximately 13, she suffered a permanent head injury when an overseer threw a heavy metal weight that struck her skull. This caused lifelong seizures, severe headaches, and narcoleptic ‘sleeping spells’ that she interpreted as divine religious visions. 

Harriet suffered from lifelong headaches, seizures, and narcoleptic 'sleeping spells' caused by a childhood head injury. These spells could strike at any time, even during dangerous rescue missions.

In 1849, fearing she would be sold after her owner’s death, Tubman escaped alone to Philadelphia.

Harriet became the ‘Moses of Her People.’ Despite the risks of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, she returned to Maryland at least 13 times over the next decade. She personally led approximately 70 people—including her parents and siblings—to freedom in the North and Canada.

She famously stated, "I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger". 

Harriet Tubman navigated a gauntlet of physical, legal, and environmental obstacles during her 13 known missions on the Underground Railroad between 1850 and 1860. 

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 the ‘Bloodhound Law’ mandated that escaped slaves be captured and returned even from free Northern states. It forced Tubman to lead her ‘passengers’ further north into Canada to ensure their safety.
Professional slave catchers and their dogs patrolled both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. Tubman herself was a wanted fugitive with a bounty on her head.

While many sources cite a legendary $40,000 bounty for Harriet Tubman's capture, this figure is considered an exaggeration, likely amplified by abolitionists to highlight her importance. Historians suggest no actual official reward poster existed at that amount, the real bounty was smaller but still significant, with slave owners offering rewards that, by 1856, reportedly totaled $40,000 when combined. 

Fugitives often traveled 90 miles or more on foot through thorny thickets, marshes, and deep forests.

Missions were often conducted in winter or unseasonably cold weather to utilize longer nights, leading to exhaustion and hunger. 

Harriet often began her journeys on Saturday nights, knowing that runaway notices could not be published in local newspapers until Monday, giving her and her group a crucial 48-hour head start.

Having worked with her father as a youth, Harriet had expert knowledge of the local landscape, including rivers, swamps, and forests where groups could hide during the day. She followed rivers that snaked northward and used the North Star as a primary navigation guide.

Harriet Tubman used a sophisticated array of tactics drawing on her wilderness expertise, intelligence networks, and strict operational discipline to guide dozens of enslaved people to freedom.

Keeping large groups, including infants and the elderly, quiet and hidden was a major challenge. She sometimes used ‘sleeping powder’ or paregoric to quiet crying babies. The groups limited to 15 people. 

Some escapees occasionally had second thoughts due to fear or fatigue. Harriet famously carried a pistol to both protect the group and encourage any who considered turning back, as a defector could reveal the entire network.

She faced the repeated heartbreak of being unable to rescue everyone; for instance, she was unable to save her sister Rachel, who died before a rescue could be finalized.

Harriet frequently used disguises to avoid suspicion, posing as a frail, elderly woman, a man, or a middle-class free Black person.

She used specific songs, such as "Go Down Moses," altering the tempo to communicate whether it was safe to proceed or if danger was nearby. She also mimicked owl calls as a signal.
Tubman relied on a vast, trusted network of "stationmasters" and abolitionists (both Black and white) for safe houses, provisions, and job placement in the North and Canada. 

During the American Civil War, she served the Union Army as a cook, nurse, and laundress before becoming a scout and spy.
In June 1863, she became the first woman in U.S. history to plan and lead an armed military assault. The raid liberated more than 750 enslaved people in South Carolina. 

After the war, she settled in Auburn, New York, where she purchased land from Senator William H. Seward. She married Civil War veteran Nelson Davis in 1869 and adopted a daughter, Gertie.

She became a prominent activist for women’s suffrage, working with leaders like Susan B. Anthony. She also founded the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged and Indigent Negroes on her property in 1908.

Tubman died of pneumonia in 1913 at age 91 and was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery. In 2024, she was posthumously promoted to the rank of one-star brigadier general in the Maryland National Guard.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020) was a pioneering legal giant, born in Brooklyn, who overcame sexism in law school to become a top graduate, co-founded the ACLU Women's Rights Project, served as a federal judge, and was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by President Clinton, tirelessly fighting for gender equality until her death, leaving a legacy as a cultural icon for justice. 

Early Life & Education 
1933: Born Joan Ruth Bader in Brooklyn, NY.
1950: Graduates from James Madison High School; mother dies.
1954: Graduates from Cornell University, marries Martin Ginsburg, attends Harvard Law.
1956: Enrolls at Harvard Law School, one of 9 women in her class.
1959: Transfers to Columbia Law School, graduates tied for first in her class. 

Legal Career & Advocacy 
1960s: Clerkships, then joins Columbia Law faculty; co-founds ACLU's Women's Rights Project.
1970s: Becomes ACLU's General Counsel, argues landmark gender discrimination cases (like Reed v. Reed), writes briefs.
1980: Appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. 

Supreme Court & Later Years 

1993: Appointed by President Bill Clinton as the second woman on the Supreme Court.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's 27-year tenure on the Supreme Court was defined by her rigorous commitment to gender equality and civil rights. Her most significant opinions include landmark majority rulings that reshaped constitutional law and forceful dissents that often spurred legislative action. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's greatest legacy is widely considered to be her transformative role as the ‘architect of the legal fight for women's rights,’ fundamentally shifting the United States' legal framework to recognize gender equality as a constitutional right. 

Long before joining the Supreme Court, Ginsburg revolutionized the law by systematically dismantling state and federal statutes that discriminated on the basis of sex. 
The "Incremental Strategy": As director of the ACLU Women’s Rights Project, she purposefully chose cases that demonstrated how gender discrimination harmed both women and men, forcing the all-male Supreme Court of the 1970s to recognize that sex-based classifications were often unconstitutional.
Constitutional Theory: She is regarded as perhaps the greatest constitutional theorist on gender equality, proving that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment must apply to sex-based discrimination. 

On the bench, she expanded her vision of "Equal Citizenship" to protect other vulnerable groups. 
Disability Rights: She authored the majority opinion in Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), which secured the right for people with mental disabilities to live in their communities rather than being unnecessarily institutionalized.
Dissent as a Tool for Change: Her "fiery" dissents, such as in Ledbetter v. Goodyear, served as a roadmap for future legislation like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. 

‘Notorious RBG’

Ginsburg became a rare judicial pop-culture icon, inspiring younger generations to pursue social justice. 

Her signature "dissent collars" and her "Notorious RBG" persona symbolized a steadfast commitment to principles even when in the minority.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg used her collars (or jabots) as a "visual lexicon" to communicate her judicial positions and personal values. By wearing them, she and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor purposefully "feminized" the traditionally male judicial robe. 

The Famous "Dissent Collar" 
Appearance: A dark, armor-like neckpiece featuring spiky, metallic, finger-like projections.
Origin: A limited-edition glass stone necklace from Banana Republic, gifted to her in a swag bag when she was named a Glamour "Woman of the Year" in 2012.
Meaning: Ginsburg called it "fitting for dissent" because it was "black and grim". She famously wore it on the bench when delivering a dissenting opinion and, notably, the day after the 2016 presidential election. 
 
Majority Opinion Collar: A gold and yellow sunburst-style collar with delicate beaded drops, gifted to her by her law clerks. She wore it specifically on days she announced a majority opinion for the Court.
The South African Collar (Favorite): A delicate, white beaded woven collar from Cape Town. This was her favorite piece; she wore it for her official Supreme Court portrait and for major events like President Obama's State of the Union addresses.
The Pegasus Collar: A spiky, feathered metal bib necklace from Stella & Dot. She wore it for the 2018 official Supreme Court photograph, signaling her return to duty after a fall that fractured her ribs.
The "Family" Collar: A four-layered jacquard collar by M.M.LaFleur, with the inner neckline embroidered with her husband Marty’s quote: "It's not sacrifice, it's family". Each layer represented a member of her immediate family.
The Stiffelio Collar: A bold black-and-white replica of a collar worn by Plácido Domingo in the opera Stiffelio, purchased from the Metropolitan Opera gift shop. 
In 2025, many of these iconic pieces continue to be celebrated in exhibits like "RBG Collars: Photographs by Elinor Carucci" at the Jewish Museum in New York.


“A fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center bought this “Pride collar” for the Justice from a bead weaver in Ecuador. Ginsburg first wore it on the bench in 2016, prompting several journalists to ask if she was wearing it to send a political message. Ginsburg was a champion of LGBTQ rights during her career.’ Time Magazine - https://time.com/5914834/ruth-bader-ginsburg-collars/  

Continuing Honors: Her legacy remains active through numerous 2025 initiatives, including the NYSBA Ruth Bader Ginsburg Memorial Scholarship and the ACS Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scholar Award. 

She demonstrated that one could combine a high-powered career with a supportive family life, famously noting that the most important career decision a person makes is the partner they choose. Her lifelong friendship with her ideological opposite, Justice Antonin Scalia, remains a model for maintaining civil discourse despite profound disagreements. 

During this holiday season, be present, be the hero!
Remember keep your heart open and aligned with the energy of LOVE!

Auriel Grace

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