Flowers, signs, tears pay tribute to Ginsburg at court building
Mourners dropped off bouquets and gathered outside the Supreme Court early Saturday in quiet tribute to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Homemade cardboard signs and a collection of flowers blanketed the court’s grounds.
Hours earlier, hundreds of people had turned out after hearing of Ginsburg’s death. They wept and sang in a candlelight vigil, packing the high court’s steps in a spontaneous memorial.
Scores of candles flickered in the nighttime wind as people knelt to leave flowers, American flags and handwritten condolence messages for Ginsburg, who died of metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87 after 27 years on the court. Prayer candles with Ginsburg’s photo on them were also left on the steps.
Several times, dozens in the crowd broke out into song, singing “Amazing Grace” and “This Land is Your Land” as others embraced one another and wiped tears from their eyes. At one point, the crowd broke into a thunderous applause — lasting for about a minute — for Ginsburg.
“Thank you RBG,” one sign read. On the sidewalk, “RBG” was drawn inside a pink chalk heart.
Jennifer Berger, 37, said she felt compelled to join the large crowd that gathered to pay tribute to Ginsburg’s life.
“I think it is important for us to recognize such a trailblazer,” she said. “It is amazing to see how many people are feeling this loss tonight and saying goodbye.”
Many said that, to them, it was a solemn celebration of Ginsburg’s legacy in shaping American jurisprudence, and it should not be corrupted by the political fights bound to flare up across the street in the Capitol in the days to come.
“We, as citizens, have a responsibility to mourn her, and stand together and show that we care about human life, which is something I think we’ve lost in the last six months,” said David Means, who was quietly discussing the justice’s legacy in the court’s plaza. “We need to be here — for anyone who ideals and pro” fight over the this is the place to be for anyone who believes in American ideals and pro” gress in this country.”
While the looming fight over the
justice’s replacement was deliberately set aside by many who gathered to pay their respects, an unmistakable sense of loss remained for others, for whom Ginsburg had became a hero over the course of their lives.
“I’m an old person, and what scares me is the fact that — without appropriate justices — that people who are in their twenties or thirties won’t have the same kind of freedom and experiences that we had and the choices we could make,” said Michael Friedman of Washington. “The rights that we’ve come to enjoy and that are important to us could just as easily be taken away from us now as not.
“I felt like she always brought wisdom and common sense and had a sense for what people really wanted,” he added. “And I think that we’re going to miss that.”
Ginsburg spent her final years on the bench as the unquestioned leader of the court’s liberal wing and became something of a rock star to her admirers. Young women especially seemed to embrace the court’s Jewish grandmother, affectionately calling her the Notorious RBG, for her defense of the rights of women and minorities.