ruth bader ginsburg

Levan Ramishvili/Flickr (Public Domain)

Hundreds plan to plank outside the Supreme Court for Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s birthday

The Notorious RBG is turning 86.

 

Emily Bloch

Tech

Posted on Mar 11, 2019   Updated on May 20, 2021, 5:22 pm CDT

Michelle Howell was playing dominoes with a group of close friends when she suddenly had a “lightbulb moment.”

The Director of Partnerships and Branding for The Outrage—a popular activist apparel company—suddenly had an idea for how to celebrate Women’s History Month.

“By celebrating a woman who has relentlessly fought for justice for 60-plus-years,” Howell told The Daily Dot. “One of our favorite icons and the OG feminist.”

On March 15, hundreds are expected to gather on the steps outside the Supreme Court building to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on her birthday. And they’ll probably break a sweat.

The Outrage is organizing “Plank Like RBG,” to take place on the Supreme Court Justice’s 86th birthday.

“We will take over the steps of the United States Supreme Court to revel in the celebration of all celebrations,” Howell said. “Together as a community, we will plank like RBG, showing our respect to the most supreme woman.”

The Daily Dot reached out to the Supreme Court’s Public Information Officer to ask about the event, but Justice Ginsburg declined to comment.

The idea to plank in honor of Ginsburg draws from a viral photo of the then-85-year-old planking from June.

Ginsburg’s regular one-hour workouts are practically as notorious as her court rulings over the years, prompting a book deal for her personal trainer, Bryant Johnson, who she called the “most important person in her life” and merchandise.

“Our ‘Plank Like RBG’ collection has been one of our most popular collections since its launch,” Howell said.

In interviews, Ginsburg has made it very clear that she works out to stay healthy, and stays healthy to stay a part of the Supreme Court as long as she can.

“It’s not about how much RBG can bench,” Johnson wrote in his book, “The RBG Workout.” “It’s about making sure she feels good enough to stay on the Supreme Court bench.”

Scenes of Ginsburg working out in her “super diva” sweatshirt in the documentary, “RBG,” also struck a chord with viewers.

“The people are ready to plank it up!” Howell said. She and her team are expecting “hundreds, if not thousands” of people to show up on the 15th. Within the first 24 hours of launching the event page on Facebook, over a thousand people responded that they were interested in attending. To prepare, Howell is working with the Supreme Court’s security department for safety measures.

“RBG planks day in and day out so she can keep dissenting,” Howell said. “I mean, come on, what would we do without her?”

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*First Published: Mar 11, 2019, 6:29 am CDT