Ginsburg to be memorialized with statue in hometown Brooklyn

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Saturday, September 19, 2020
Politicians react to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death
President Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Mayor Bill de Blasio are among the many who reacted to the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

NEW YORK -- A statue of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be built in her native Brooklyn, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday.

Ginsburg died Friday of complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87. A legal trailblazer and champion of women's rights, she became the high court's second female justice in 1993.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said that he'll appoint a commission to choose an artist and oversee the selection of a location for the statue.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A life in pictures

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Vice-President Al Gore is sworn in Monday, Jan. 20, 1997, in Washington by Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with his wife Tipper Gore looking on.
Ron Edmonds

In a statement, Cuomo said the statue will serve as a physical reminder of Ginsburg's "many contributions to the America we know today and as an inspiration for those who will continue to build on her immense body of work."

Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn in 1933 and grew up in the borough's Flatbush neighborhood. She first gained fame as a litigator for the Women's Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.

WATCH: More on the life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

David Novarro has more on the life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The governor said that Ginsburg "selflessly pursued truth and justice in a world of division, giving voice to the voiceless and uplifting those who were pushed aside by forces of hate and indifference."

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg does not need a seat on the Supreme Court to earn her place in the American history books," then-President Bill Clinton said when he announced her appointment. "She has already done that."

PHOTOS: Tributes to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

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A couple pauses outside the Supreme Court Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Washington, after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon