Long before she became Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she was Ruth Bader, a member of the 1950 class at James Madison High School in Brooklyn. She played in the school orchestra, and worked as the features editor of the school newspaper.

What You Need To Know

  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg graduated from James Madison High School in 1950

  • The school dedicated its law program’s mock courtroom in RBG’s honor in 1994

  • James Madison High School is planning several ways to honor RBG, including a unity garden, a mural,  and possibly trying to get a street named after her

Jane Carbonaro-Arrabito graduated from James Madison in 1986. She got to meet Justice Ginsburg in 1994, when the school dedicated its Law Program’s mock courtroom in her honor.

“She was personable. She was very down to earth,“ Carbonaro-Arrabito remembers.

Carbonaro-Arrabito is a real estate attorney who constantly thinks about what RBG did for women and equality.

“I do my piece every day and represent not only females, [but] single females, buying homes and help them apply for mortgages on their own. Every time we close on a deal, and they’re doing it on their own, I remember Justice Ginsburg,“ said Carbonaro-Arrabito.

Justice Ginsburg’s name is on the courtroom door and her portrait hangs inside, a reminder to future lawyers and judges in Madison’s Law Program of what someone who started out like they did can achieve.

“Inspiration of a woman of power, who grew up in the neighborhood — they are growing up in and walk the same hallways,”  said Principal Jodie Cohen. “They are walking in and are able to really be just so influential in our county.”

Daniza Tazabekova, an 11th grader who wants to be a lawyer and possibly a judge just like Ginsburg, said she feels inspired when she walks her school hallways.

“The fact that she went to Madison High School just makes everything a bit real … the fact that she graduated from this school and she went on to have this powerful legacy,” said Tazabekova.

Like many Americans, the students here feel empowered by RGB‘s work on women’s rights and equality.

For 11th grader Eleni Dadian, it was Ginsburg‘s dissent in 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Voting Rights Act, that impressed her the most.

“The Voting Rights Act has to do with everyone. Whether you are a white male, or whether you’re a Black woman, or you’re a lesbian — it doesn’t matter. It affects you in some way,“ said Dadian.

The school is now planning several ways to honor Ginsburg, including a mural, a unity garden, and possibility renaming a street after her.

Perhaps the biggest honor will be the success these students achieve, motivated by her legacy.

“As I grow up, I definitely want to me as successful as RBG and to have the impact that she had," said Tazabekova.