Essex County dedicates a memorial bust of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
NEWARK, NJ — Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. dedicated memorial busts of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and U.S. Rep. Peter Rodino in the lobby of the Essex County Martin Luther King Jr. Justice Building in Newark on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
“We have named buildings and fields and created statues and markers to highlight our history and remember the people who shaped the development of Essex County and our nation. This will keep the legacies of those who came before us alive and remind future generations about the people who impacted us,” DiVincenzo said. “Placing busts of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Peter Rodino alongside John Lewis in the lobby of the Martin Luther King Jr. Justice Building highlights people who have contributed to our nation and represents the diversity that makes our country great. Both Ginsburg and Rodino dedicated their lives to public service, advocated for equal rights and conducted themselves with honesty and integrity.”
“Thank you, Joe D., for this wonderful tribute to my father,” said Rodino’s son, Peter Rodino III. “It is very fitting to dedicate his bust in the lobby of this outstanding building where I hope it will inspire fairness and kindness to all those who see it.”
“What we are doing today is celebrating the DNA of people who gave public service,” said Judge Glenn Grant, administrative director of NJ Courts.
“I am proud to join the county executive to honor giants in our history. Peter Rodino distinguished himself by leading our country through one of its most difficult times. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg embodies fairness and justness,” N.J. and Essex County Democratic Committee Chairperson LeRoy Jones said.
Ginsburg was nominated by President Bill Clinton to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 and served as an associate justice until she died in 2020. Earlier, she was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 1980 to 1993. Throughout her legal career and as a judge, Ginsburg was an advocate for gender equality and women’s rights.
Rodino served as the U.S. representative for parts of Essex and Hudson counties for 20 terms from 1949 to 1989. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving member of the House of Representatives from New Jersey, a record he kept until 2021. He gained national recognition for chairing the impeachment hearings of President Richard Nixon and was an advocate for civil rights, public safety and immigration reform. He died in 2005.
Both bronze busts were created by Jay Warren, from Oregon.
Photos Courtesy of Glen Frieson
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