Notorious RBG: the Gift of Her Story with Thanks to Her, Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

Notorious RBG cover - book by Irin Carmon
Notorious RBG cover – book by Irin Carmon

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is an enormously compelling figure.  How do I know this?  Authors Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik have given us the gift of this book, that’s how.  Described by the New York Times as “a cheery curio, as if a scrapbook and the Talmud decided to have a baby,” it is a lively, engrossing, humanizing introduction to a revered figure.

Born in 1933, six years before World War II, she remains, at 82, very much a part of our present, and our future.  Hers are the shoulders so many of us stand upon, proud of what we’ve fought for for today’s young women and men, parents and professionals, teachers, truckers and temps — all of it so much less than she faced down and conquered.  For all of us.

Beyond the exploration of her remarkable intellect and judicial virtuosity, Carmon reveals the warmth, spirit and personal moments that transform an icon into a person.  Her unlikely close friendship not only with Justice Scalia but also with his family, is intriguing, of course.  The genuine partnership she shared with her husband Mary for 56 years is a unifying thread through much of the book; the story of his last days one of the most moving.

Of course, threaded through the narrative are the legal and policy changes she championed and often brought from idea to reality — and, in recent years, fought, not always successfully, against the reversal of some of them.  From her days at Harvard Law School to those on the O’Connor Court, the impact of her passion and intellect is clear.

So.  If you want to have fun and be inspired at the same time, or need a gift for anyone who cares about women, or law and policy, or just loves a great story, this is it.  (Full disclosure: I DO know Irin but I never expected to write about the book until I read it.  Couldn’t help myself….)

Fem 2.0 Panel Video – At A Crossroads: Organizing the Next Generation of Feminists Online and Off


Thanks to the amazing Nerdette, who managed to participate brilliantly and shoot the panel at the same time, you can watch at least a portion of our Fem 2.0 panel. TanyaTarr, Jen Nedeau
and I were honored by a smart, challenging and provocative audience and
learned at least as much as we talked. As Tanya put it, "I just gained
300 more sisters. There's no other way to say it."

I also promised an updated set of links if many more posts appeared.  Here are a few:

Loryn C. Wilson's take on Womanism and the conference
Nerdette's post on Not My Gal, including this video, which she shot and edited
Our third panelist (and expert moderator), Jen Nedau's review
Veronica I. Arreola at Viva La Feminista describes her very interesting plenary appearance with Eleanor Smeal, Kim Gandy, Elisa Camahort Page and others.
Laurie White at Laurie Writes continues her phenomenal series of live session posts
more measured response from
Jill Miller Zimon at Writes Like She Talks has a second post with links to more than a dozen reviews of the Linkfluence presentation 
On TechPresident, Sairy Granger offers a different take on the Linkfluence map of feminist bloggers, presented at the conference.
There are also posts by Emily Kronenberger at New Wave Grrrl, FlashFree, DJ Nelson at All Diva Media  and, I'm sure, many more to come.

As you can see, it was an experience everyone wanted to share.

A Woman of Valor

Lisa_goldberg_cropped_2 Lisa Goldberg, 54 years old, died this week of a brain aneurysm.  When I heard, all I could think was “what a waste.”  While it’s always sad when someone dies, especially to those who loved them, Lisa, quietly (there are so few photos of her available online that I had to use this candid) and with great dignity, contributed so much.  President of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, she was responsible for funding many impressive programs.  Some dealt with Jewish issues, some with urban social change, and, as in the one through which I met her, some dealt with issues relating to women.

Wmc_logo_1 Two years ago, she had the foresight to issue a planning grant to support the launch of the Women’s Media Center, a project for women in journalism whose founders include Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, Eve Ensler and Marlene Sanders among other great pioneers.  In the time since, the Center has made great strides and become a force not only for women journalists but in the coverage of issues that matter to or involve women.

I didn’t know Lisa well – more admired her from afar.  Her role at Revson was remarkable, and her leadership made difference in a great many lives.  She was Best Woman at the wedding of a friend of mine — which I always thought was pretty cool.  Beyond a few conversations about the Center or books we loved, we didn’t have that much contact.

One incident though, to me, is typical of her.  I was “staffing” the early days of the Women’s Media Center and we were meeting at the Manhattan headquarters of the Revson Foundation.  Some material had not been printed, there was a blizzard, and I barely had time to get to the offices much less to Kinko’s.  Lisa’s staff helped me get everything printed, collated and bound without breaking a sweat – OR acting like they were doing me a favor (which they were…..)   I sent Lisa a note letting her know how great they had been.  Her response was typical of my perception of her.  She thanked me for letting her know, told me she had forwarded my note to the young women who had helped me and added how high her own regard was for each of them.  Again – quiet, unassuming and on the mark.

Of course there’s one other thing.  When someone dies suddenly, there’s always a moment of terror.  In this case, just as I always measure the deaths of older people by whether they were older or younger than my father was when he died, I was shocked to realize that Lisa was younger than I.  It’s a credit to her, though, that this thought was fleeting and quickly banished.  The loss of such a “woman of valor” is tough enough on its own.