The Boston Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence quickly organized a vigil to mourn together the passing of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sunday, September 20, in Copley Square.
“It’s easier sometimes to process pain and sorrow if you’re doing it with others. So we want to have a community so the people here don’t feel like they’re isolated and they’re alone in their grief,” organizer Sandra Music told Boston’s CBS station WBZ-TV 4.
The Sisters invited attendees to bring their own candles and lighters or matches, and asked them to wear masks, socially distance within their pods and dress warmly on one of the last, chilly and for many very sad nights of the summer.
Reports WBZ:
Many attendees felt a deep sense of loss.
“A fierce advocate in this nation for justice. Especially for the role and plight of women and for the LGBTQ community, so there is pain on many levels tonight,” said Rev. Donald Wells.
Even as Ginsburg was honored, there was an urgent message about the immediate political future.
“If you have not registered to vote, the time is now. Regardless of what type of politics you fall on, we need to vote like our lives depend on it, because frankly my dear, they do,” said organizer Lida Christ.
In addition to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the organizers said they also wanted to remember all of those who have perished in the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a related statement on GLAD’s (Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders) website, GLAD Executive Director Janson Wu wrote:
Justice Ginsburg blazed a trail for gender justice and the equal treatment of women and LGBTQ people. And in her 27 years of service on our nation’s highest court she held steadily to a conviction that our Constitution is there to protect the rights of all, especially those who are vulnerable to the whims of the powerful.
As a lawyer Ginsburg set a shining example of what it means to advocate fiercely for those who have been left out of the protections of the law. She inspired countless others to fight for justice – including all of us at GLAD.
It’s that inspiration that we must follow now.
Wu included a link to a list of contact information for US Senators, including Majority Leader McConnell, and urged everyone to ask them to honor RBG’s “dying wish was that she not be replaced on the Court until the next presidential term begins.”
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