The late Justice Ginsburg will lie in state at the Capitol this coming Friday, making her the first woman to be honored that way.
The news of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing on Friday, September 19, at the age of 87 left Americans in shock. Her death prompted national mourning drawing thousands of people to the streets to mourn the feminist icon, especially here in Washington DC. Services in her honor are being held in the capital this week starting on Wednesday, including a private ceremony at the Capitol where Ginsburg will lie in state on Friday, September 23, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The Capitol ceremony signals her as the first woman to ever lie in state at the Capitol, an honor that befits the women’s rights champion and feminist icon who fought to achieve so much for women in the U.S. Ginsburg, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, was the second woman to be sworn into the Supreme Court after the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and the first female justice to pass away. Civil rights leader, Rosa Parks laid in state at the Capitol Rotunda when she passed away in October 2005.
Justice Ginsburg is only the second member of the Supreme Court to lie in state at the Capitol. The first justice was, according to the Capitol’s records, former Chief Justice and President William Howard Taft. He served as president from 1909 until 1913 and later served as Chief Justice from 1921 until his death in 1930.
The casket of Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state outside the Supreme Court until Thursday night for the public to pay their respects to the late justice and will be taken to the Capitol for a private ceremony on Friday morning. A private interment service is expected to take place at Arlington Memorial Cemetery next week, where she’ll be laid to rest next to her husband Martin D. Ginsburg.
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