Dozens honor Ginsburg at vigil outside R.I. Supreme Court

PROVIDENCE — For 10-year-old Lily Ramos, it was how Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ignored her detractors and pursued her dreams in spite of adversity.

For 61-year-old Donna James, it was “her tenacity, her grace, her humanity,” and how she stood up for the LGBTQ community.

For state Rep. Kathleen Fogarty, D-South Kingstown, it was how she fought tirelessly for women’s rights.

The justice, who died Friday of complications related to pancreatic cancer, changed the course of history through her legal work and touched the lives of countless individuals along the way.

“I really looked up to her, because she just did what she wanted to do with her life, and I feel like everyone should be able to do that,” said Ramos, who sat on the steps of the Rhode Island Supreme Court with her mother Saturday night as dozens gathered around them for a candlelight vigil. “Everyone should have the freedom to do that.”

The vigil was the second held in Providence since Ginsburg’s death was announced Friday night, showing the impact of the justice’s death on the local community.

“What she meant to me, as one of many women that ran during this recent election, is to put your fears aside, walk in your truth,” said Tarshire Battle, who ran for Pawtucket City Council this year with the support of a political action committee called It’s Her Time. “She left a blueprint for women in all facets of society.”

Besides an expression of gratitude for the life Ginsburg lived and grief over her loss, the vigil Saturday night also was an opportunity to rally those who believe in the same values for which Ginsburg fought.

“Even stronger than the sadness that we’re holding in our hearts right now, I see strength, I see resolve and I see determination,” said Jennifer Douglas, a state Senate candidate for District 34 and organizer of Saturday night’s vigil. “I haven’t been able to cry yet because my fears have muted my sorrow. Tomorrow I might cry, but then I’m going to organize.”

Talk of President Donald Trump’s administration pushing forward a nominee has already begun swirling around Washington, and liberal advocates worry that the confirmation of a conservative justice would tip the balance of the Supreme Court for years and lead to rollbacks of progressive legal decisions, in particular Roe v. Wade, the 1973 court case that established a woman’s legal right to have an abortion.

Activists have started to mobilize in Rhode Island.

A coalition of groups organized a rally Sunday in Burnside Park to protest a potential confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee before the presidential election.

“We have to stand up. We cannot slide back to the days before Roe v. Wade,” said Fogarty, after kneeling to write a message to Ginsburg on a board that was encircled by candles outside the Licht Judicial Complex, home of the state Supreme Court. “We need to keep fighting for women’s rights and that’s what I’m most concerned about.”

When asked what she wrote on the board, Fogarty said: “I thanked her and I said, ’We’ll take it from here.’"