Ruth Bader Ginsburg, PBK Convocation, 1974

Grinnell’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa has a tradition of hosting a convocation speaker at the end of each year, an event that also serves as a ceremony to recognize those students invited to join PBK and to celebrate the achievements of those who have won particular awards/prizes given out annually by the chapter. On May 6, 1974 (50 years ago, this week), a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the PBK convocation address, in Herrick Chapel, on the theme of “Equal Rights and Responsibilities for Men and Women as Constitutional Principle.” These pictures are from a class visit, on that trip, and a more informal discussion she held in the evening with students at the Forum lounge. In 1974, Ginsburg was serving as general counsel for the Women’s Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, and as a law professor at Columbia University.