Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s ‘dissent’ collar, judicial robe, bobblehead, among objects heading to Smithsonian

Justice Ginsburg’s white lace jabot (L) and her black robe from Maison Blanc (R) are two of the artifacts the late justice’s children are donating to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. (Photos by Jaclyn Nash, courtesy of the National Museum of American History)
(JTA) — The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s children have donated dozens of objects that symbolize her time on the court and her role as a pop culture icon to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
The objects include her famous “dissent” and “majority” collars, which she famously liked to wear to telegraph her votes on cases; her judicial robe; a bobblehead and Legos of her likeness; as well as various documents and awards.
The museum, which has enshrined the donations in its permanent collection, posthumously awarded the late justice with its Great Americans Medal on Wednesday at a ceremony honoring her achievements.
The medal “has honored those who have not only made a lasting impact in their fields but those whose philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors set them apart,” read a press release from the Smithsonian. Past recipients of the award include Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw, Cal Ripken Jr., Billie Jean King, Paul Simon and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The virtual tribute for Ginsburg featured a biographical film narrated by Gloria Steinem and testimonials from President Jimmy Carter, Chief Justice John Roberts, Barbara Streisand and Oprah Winfrey, as well as a conversation between the museum’s director, Anthea M. Hartig, and the justice’s children, Jane and James.
Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 and served until her death on Erev Rosh Hashanah in 2020. The Washington Post reported that Ginsburg’s family invited curators from the Smithsonian to her chambers a few weeks after she died.
“There was always an understanding there, that the Smithsonian would be a big part of where some of the more significant items would go,” James Ginsburg said. “That Mom kept all of this stuff does not surprise me. That was in her nature. She was someone who preserved things.”
—
The post Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s “dissent” collar, judicial robe, bobblehead, among objects heading to Smithsonian appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Ye debuts ‘Heil Hitler’ music video that includes a sample of a Hitler speech
- 2
Opinion It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump
- 3
Culture Cardinals are Catholic, not Jewish — so why do they all wear yarmulkes?
- 4
Fast Forward Student suspended for ‘F— the Jews’ video defends himself on antisemitic podcast
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture How one Jewish woman fought the Nazis — and helped found a new Italian republic
-
Opinion It looks like Israel totally underestimated Trump
-
Fast Forward Betar ‘almost exclusively triggered’ former student’s detention, judge says
-
Fast Forward ‘Honey, he’s had enough of you’: Trump’s Middle East moves increasingly appear to sideline Israel
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.