Pictured Above: Over 100 people attended a St. Petersburg vigil for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 19. The vigil was organized by USF St. Petersburg students Rebecca Nero and Naya Payne.
Annalise Anderson | The Crow’s Nest
By Annalise Anderson
On Sept. 19, the day following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, people of the Tampa Bay community gathered in front of the St. Petersburg Judicial Building for a candlelight vigil in memoriam of the equal rights icon.
More than 100 men, women and children stood together in silence, faces glowing in candlelight, while various guest speakers offered condolences and words of encouragement. The air was heavy with the realization that the weight of Ginsburg’s legacy rests on the American people.
A photo display of Ginsburg gave mourners a place to lay flowers and pay their respects.
Among the seven guest speakers were St. Petersburg City Council member Darden Rice, state Rep.-elect Michele Rayner-Goolsby and Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith.
Jewish traditions were respectfully honored during the event. Ginsburg was the first Jewish female Supreme Court justice; her passing came the day before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
USF St. Petersburg students Rebecca Nero and Naya Payne arranged the event overnight upon hearing news of Ginsburg’s passing.
“We’re here tonight to pay tribute to a giant,” Nero said. “She’s an icon for women (and) for all of us. She’s a trailblazer.”
Nero is a political science senior and serves as president of the USF St. Petersburg chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action.
“Justice Ginsburg broke barriers in the legal field as a woman and she broke barriers for other women with her legal work,” Nero said. “It’s important that we come here and recognize that and appreciate what she’s done for all of us.”
If not for the inspiration of Ginsburg, Nero believes she would have never found herself where she is today.
Instead, she said she would have worked at Publix for the rest of her life, wondering how she could change the world.
“Upon discovering Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I realized that you can change people’s lives through practicing the law,” Nero said. “She has shown me what I want to do with my life and what my passion is.
“Young people would not be where we are without the work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She has paved the way for women. Because of Ruth Bader Ginsburg we are able to be lawyers, working mothers and to be feminists … (We are able) to do whatever we want and be whoever we want.”
Payne, also a political science senior, honors Justice Ginsburg for her work in LGBTQ rights.
“This is significant to all of us,” Payne said. “Of course, it means more to women and girls both here and around the country because Ruth Bader Ginsburg was such a feminist icon. But it’s also important to me, as someone who is LGBT, because the Justice has done so much to push queer rights forward, whether it be marriage equality in 2015 or workplace protection this year.”
Nero and Payne are grateful to those who helped arrange the event and to the support they received from the community.
“The event was a great success,” Nero said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “It filled my heart with joy to see how many people turned out for such an American hero. I’m really glad I could give a space for so many people to remember the legacy she leaves behind.
“Everything went according to plan, we were really lucky in that way and I attribute that to the help I received from everyone in the community to pull the event off.”
Payne said the event was more successful than he “could have ever imagined.”
“There seemed to be hundreds of people there,” Payne said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “It was amazing to see so many people come out for something so important.”
Dr. Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan, associate professor of political science at USF St. Petersburg and founding director of Center for Civic Engagement, was in attendance that evening to pay her respects and to support her two students, Nero and Payne.
“As I was there at the vigil organized by students, with so many young people, I felt encouraged even in a time of great, profound grief and sadness that young people are stepping up to carry the torch forward into the future,” McLauchlan said. “In her arguments, (Ginsburg) explained how equality would help women and men … (and that) shattering gender stereotypes would be helpful for everyone, not only women.
“Even before she became famous for her dissents and her dissent collar, she made a lasting contribution to promoting equality for women through her role as a litigant.”
McLauchlan reminds students to educate themselves and that “time is of the essence to get involved.”
According to Nero, this is a pivotal time for the nation and Justice Ginsburg’s death has changed the landscape of the upcoming presidential election.
“I know they call them ‘October surprises’ but we got a September surprise,” she said.
Payne also emphasized the gravity of the election.
“…So much is on the line this election. Especially for people of color, LGBT people, for women, for anybody who is marginalized … That’s why this is so important. People need to vote.”
Justice Ginsburg was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. She lost her battle with pancreatic cancer on Sept. 18. She was 87 years old.
Her death has rocked the nation, leaving Americans to wonder who will fill the contentious ninth seat of the Supreme Court.
On Saturday, President Trump presented Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee. With less than 40 days until the presidential election on Nov. 3, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell believes that “the Senate has more than sufficient time to process a nomination.”
