Late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg‘s children will donate her famous “dissent” collar and other key possessions to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
Her Maison Blanc black robe, a black leather briefcase with her initials inscribed on it, three other collars, and a dozen briefs for cases will be donated to coincide with the museum honoring her posthumously with the Great Americans Medal.
“This generous donation helps us tell more fully the complex history of the United States and Justice Ginsburg’s connections to pivotal moments in women’s history, especially the fight for gender equity,” said Anthea Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Ginsburg typically wore her dissent collar on days when she issued forceful dissents in the high court, but she also wore it the day after former President Donald Trump won the 2016 election.
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The museum will preview the collar and other donated keepsakes during a ceremony on Wednesday to honor her with the Great Americans Medal, which honors those who had a “lasting impact in their fields” and participated in notable “philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors.”
The ceremony will be the museum’s capstone Women’s History Month event, during which the museum will play a tributary video narrated by Gloria Steinem about her life and career. The video will feature remarks from former President Jimmy Carter, Chief Justice John Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, and others. Ginsburg’s two children, Jane and James. will accept her award and participate in the ceremony.
So far, no plans have been announced for the exhibition of the donated artifacts, but the museum will be expected to archive them and make them available online.
“It is an honor to steward these objects and histories at the nation’s flagship museum as they reinforce our belief in utilizing history to enhance civic health,” Hartig added.
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Ginsburg became the second woman appointed to the high court in 1993 and died in 2020 at the age of 87. Trump rushed to replace her with Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Ginsburg has been widely considered a feminist and liberal icon.
The Senate is mulling appointing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, she would become the sixth woman and first black woman to serve on the high court.
