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Documenting 9/11

The day after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress initiated the September 11, 2001, Documentary Project.

Brittany Woodward, artist. "My Country Tis of Thee," 2001. Hannah Beach, artist. "The Crying Towers," 2001.

This project is modeled on a similar initiative, conducted 60 years earlier, when folklorist Alan Lomax was serving as "assistant in charge" of the Archive of American Folk Song. On Dec. 8, 1941, Lomax sent a telegram urging folklorists around the United States to collect and record man-on-the-street reactions to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war by the United States. These field recordings were sent to the Library of Congress and used in a series of radio programs that were distributed to schools and radio stations around the country. This unique documentary collection is still housed at the American Folklife Center and is featured in the American Memory collection "After the Day of Infamy."

Similarly, on Sept. 12, 2001, the American Folklife Center e-mailed a nationwide Call for Participation (PDF)* to folklorists to conduct interviews that would collect and preserve the nation's sentiments regarding the attacks. Within a week, submissions began to arrive at the Library of Congress.

The voices of men and women from many cultural, occupational and ethnic backgrounds are represented. Some of the interviews are from people who were in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon during the attacks. The majority of the interviews, however, are from other parts of the country -- from those who first heard the news on television or radio, and from teachers, friends, family and other members of their communities. In all, materials were received from 27 states and a U.S. military base in Naples, Italy.

In 2002 the September 11, 2001, Documentary Project was featured in an exhibition in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress titled "Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions."

 

A. Brittany Woodward, artist. "My Country Tis of Thee," 2001. Drawing submitted by Sequoyah Elementary School in Knoxville, Tenn. American Folklife Center. Reproduction information: Call No.: afc2001/015:gr015. See also Rights and Reproductions page.

B. Hannah Beach, artist. "The Crying Towers," 2001. Drawing submitted by Sequoyah Elementary School in Knoxville, Tenn. American Folklife Center. Reproduction information: Call No. : afc2001/015:gr015c. See also Rights and Reproductions page.

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