More than 30 people gathered outside of Unalaska's courthouse on Saturday evening for a vigil in honor of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer.
The 87-year-old justice served on the Supreme Court for 27 years.
Unalaskans stood in silence as clips of Ginsburg's speeches played over a loudspeaker. And a chorus sang Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah in Hebrew from her vigil at New York's Central Synagogue.
The mourners were mostly women, and they joined thousands across the nation as they grieved the loss of the feminist icon, who was the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court.
According to Ginny Hatfield, Ginsburg is one of the "most significant people" who has lived during her lifetime. She said Ginsburg has contributed so much to social justice, and that she's heartbroken that Ginsburg is gone.
"I feel like she's led the way for a lot of people — mostly women — to stand for what they believe in, and to be just and to be strong," said Hatfield. "She was as strong as she could be for as long as she could. And I'm very impressed by her ability to hang on, [although] I wish it had been a couple of months longer because I'm very fearful of what will happen now. But I think she's left us with a very good legacy and we can hopefully follow that."
Ginsburg's death opens a vacancy on the Supreme Court —the highest court in the federal judiciary— and President Donald Trump has expressed his haist to name a third Supreme Court justice in the final months of his first presidential term.
On Monday, Trump met with potential replacements for the position, who ultimately must be confirmed by a simple majority vote of the Republican-controlled Senate.
But in the days since her death, there have been calls for senators to wait until after Election Day, allowing the next president to nominate Ginsburg's replacement, a nomination that could have serious political and social ramifications.
"The thing that I noticed the most is how all the women that I know are completely devastated that this happened," said Holly Charlton. "And to me, it really speaks to the way that our government treats women. And that the death of one person could have such a serious impact on our rights really speaks to how delicate our rights are."
Elizabeth Mears — a long-time advocate for human rights and gender equality — said she came to the vigil downtown to mourn the death of "an amazing woman" with her fellow Unalaskans, and join in solidarity with people across the country who are scared of what the future holds. But, she said, it was also an opportunity to remember the message Ginsburg left behind, and to keep fighting.
"Being in this corner of the world and seeing people show up shows there are still people who care," Mears said. "Even if we seem a bit set off from the mainland here in Unalaska, we still come together and [will] continue standing up for our rights and keep working towards a better future."
Kale Bruner said while she can't speak to what will come next, she hopes that lawyers will follow in Ginsburg's footsteps to fight for gender equality and social justice.
"I felt like it was very important to take a moment to remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg because of all of the important work that she's done. And to also sort of acknowledge to myself that the work doesn't stop with her, and that it's never been one person's job to do the right thing," Bruner said. "Now we all need to remember to stand up."
As the vigil wrapped up and Unalaskans began gathering their signs and leaving the gravel parking lot of the courthouse, Sharon O'Malley — who is part of a haiku writing group — said she was inspired to write a haiku in honor of Ginsburg and her legacy.
"The light has gone out,
And now we stand in darkness,
Time to light the match."
