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The 9/11 attacks on the U.S on September 11, 2001 were arguably the most tragic events in the history of the country. Airliners crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. More than 2,753 people were killed in the New York attacks, 256 on the four planes, and 125 at the Pentagon. While all Americans suffered an indescribable feeling of horror and loss on that fateful day, African Americans were no less impacted by this American tragedy.
Accurately documenting and highlighting the impact of 9/11 on African Americans has been a challenging task. Complicated by the politics of race and the tendency to either ignore or obscure the African American presence in events of national importance the nation has been slow in recognizing African American victims of 9/11. Some have referred to this lack of acknowledgement as the “white washing of 9/11.” The presentation of 9/11 as largely premised around white heroics minimized the role of African Americans.
Almost from the outset, memorialization of 9/11 reflected “white washing.” This is evident in the initial statute honoring members of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) killed in the attack. It featured three white firefighters. In 2002, the New York Times reported that 12 Black firefighters were among the 343 firefighters killed in the attack. In 2011, the tenth anniversary of the attack, Time Magazine published a ten-year commemorative issue, Beyond 9/11 which included no photos of identifiable African Americans.
To address these omissions, relatives of survivors have been at the forefront of efforts to preserve the memory of Black victims of the 9/11 tragedy. In the case of the 12 African American firefighters killed on 9/11, Irene Smith, mother of Leon Smith, a firefighter at Ladder 118 in Brooklyn, New York, has been active in preserving their memory. Likewise, Ethel Henry, now 96 years old, does not miss an opportunity to honor the memory of her son William Henry. Henry was a 20 year veteran of the fire department and was based in Rescue 1 in Manhattan. The names of the 12 Black firefighters killed in the attacks include, Gerard Baptiste, Vernon Cherry, Tarel Coleman, Andre Fletcher, Keith Glascoe, Ronnie Henderson, William Henry, Karl Joseph, Keithroy Maynard, Shawn Powell, Vernon Richard, and Leon Smith.
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Black victims of all ages died on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Paula Edgar lost her mother Joan Donna Griffith on that fateful day. Joan Donna Griffith was an Assistant Vice President and Office Manager at Fiduciary Trust. She worked on the 97th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Griffith was a survivor of the 1993 World Trade Bombing. She perished when the South Towers collapsed. Two children, Asia Cottom and Rodney Dickens, also perished on the planes that hit the Twin Towers. Cottom had just started sixth grade at a new school. She was selected to take a four-day trip to California to take part in a National Geographic Society ecology conference. Rodney Dickens, an honor roll student, who grew up in tough neighborhoods, died aboard American Airlines Flight 77.
At the Pentagon,49 of the 125 victims were Black. Manor Clifford Patterson, recipient of the Purple Heart, perished in the attack. He left behind a wife and two young sons.
Amelia Fields was a civilian secretary for the army. She worked at the Pentagon for only two days before her death.
Twenty years after 9/11, the stories of the victims must be told. This narration is especially true for the Black victims. Their stories should not be whitewashed and their lives matter. They were living, breathing human beings whose lives were cut short in a senseless tragedy. If we have learned nothing from the current twin pandemics of COVID-19 and police brutality against Black citizens, we should value human life and ensure that everyone’s story, regardless of race, class, gender and sexuality is told and acknowledged.