Felix P@felix_p

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Sharron Frontiero and Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sharron Frontiero was a young lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force when she got married in the early 1970s and found out she couldn't get a housing allowance for her husband, a benefit her male colleagues automatically received. She sued the federal government for gender discrimination. Attorney Joe Levin, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, brought the case to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was then with the ACLU's Women's Rights project. Ginsburg argued Frontiero v. Richardson before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, her first time appearing there, and won 8-1. It was one of the first successful gender discrimination lawsuits in American history, ruling that military benefits couldn't discriminate based on gender. Sharron didn't attend the trial because she didn't know she could. In 1999, she met Justice Ginsburg on the Supreme Court steps with her husband and son Nathan. Ginsburg invited them into her office. Nathan recalled she was so small, 'like walking on broken glass,' but when she spoke, the room fell silent. Sharron described her soft voice as 'a central engine in the universe.' Before leaving, Ginsburg hugged Sharron and said, 'It's all right to be a hero.' Sharron had been humble, only wanting 'to get her money back,' but those words helped her accept her role. After Ginsburg passed away in 2020, Sharron and Nathan sat down at StoryCorps to remember that moment. 🥹

3mo

Felix P@felix_p

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Sharron Frontiero and Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sharron Frontiero was a young lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force when she got married in the early 1970s and found out she couldn't get a housing allowance for her husband, a benefit her male colleagues automatically received. She sued the federal government for gender discrimination. Attorney Joe Levin, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, brought the case to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was then with the ACLU's Women's Rights project. Ginsburg argued Frontiero v. Richardson before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, her first time appearing there, and won 8-1. It was one of the first successful gender discrimination lawsuits in American history, ruling that military benefits couldn't discriminate based on gender. Sharron didn't attend the trial because she didn't know she could. In 1999, she met Justice Ginsburg on the Supreme Court steps with her husband and son Nathan. Ginsburg invited them into her office. Nathan recalled she was so small, 'like walking on broken glass,' but when she spoke, the room fell silent. Sharron described her soft voice as 'a central engine in the universe.' Before leaving, Ginsburg hugged Sharron and said, 'It's all right to be a hero.' Sharron had been humble, only wanting 'to get her money back,' but those words helped her accept her role. After Ginsburg passed away in 2020, Sharron and Nathan sat down at StoryCorps to remember that moment. 🥹

3mo