SOME THOUGHTS ON 9-11

Like everyone else on the planet today, I have been thinking backwards ten years. And of course I ask the usual questions. Do I remember where I was at the exact moment the first plane smashed into the World Trade Center? When the second plane went into the second tower what was I thinking? As the news unfolded that two other planes had been hijacked, who did I think was responsible? What must the victims have thought was happening to them? Who could have hated the United States so much that they were willing to die in order to kill as many Americans as possible?

I KNOW my answers to all of these questions, but today is not a day for what I thought then, or even what I think now. Today is a day to concentrate on the innocent victims. Those who were killed at the World Trade Center, in a Pennsylvania field, at the Pentagon, and aboard American Flights 77 and 11, and United Flights 93 and 175. A total of 2,996 people lost their lives as a result of the September 11th, 2001 attacks. They were Americans of every age, race and sex. They all seemed to have loved America dearly. Some of them were living pay check to pay check, and some had no money worries at all. Some of them were working a job they loved, and some were working just to pay the bills. The common denominator was that in all the biographies I have read about the victims, they were all connected to someone who misses them now that they are gone. Their lives had a purpose-no matter how big or small.

Many cultures who live closer to the earth feel that the essence of a person is the spirit, and not the physical body. Also, they believe the spirit never dies. This is true of the Native American culture, and it is true of most African cultures. Simply saying their name is part of the process of keeping the spirit alive. If you talk about a person for a day, they ‘live’ for that day. So on this 10th anniversary of the tragedy of 9-11, I would like to list the names of a segment of victims that is usually lumped in with the other victims. Now, I have no problem with that at all, because I have cried many tears about the loss of life of ALL the victims. But because I cannot list the names of almost 3,000 people, I will list the names of Americans of African descent-those born in America and those born elsewhere. America truly is a melting pot and those who lost their lives illustrate this. They all had unique lives and their lives told their story. I don’t think we realize the numbers that this subset of victims represents. We should not be surprised, though, because we are an integral part of the fabric of America-both the good and the bad. Their biographies can be found all over the internet if one is really interested in their stories.

The first long set of names are those Americans of African descent who died at the World Trade Center towers. The last sets are the victims who died on the planes and at the Pentagon.

For today-their spirit lives.


Ignatius Udo Adanga
Sophia B. Addo
Godwin Ajala
Yaphet J. Aryee
Sharon Balkcom
Sheila Barnes
Jasper Baxter
Balewa Albert Blackman
Sean Booker
Veronique Bowers
Larry Bowman
Jonathan Eric Briley
Janice Brown
Kenny Caldwell
Sandra Campbell
Del-Rose Cheatham
Vernon Cherry
John A. Cooper Jr.
Benjamin Keefe Clark
Eugene Clark
Tarel Coleman
Denease Conley
Brenda E. Conway
Helen Cook
Conrod Cottoy, Sr.
Elizabeth Darling
Titus Davidson
Jeffrey Mark Dingle
Clinton Davis
Daphne Ferlinda Elder
Sadie Ette
Christopher S. Epps
Samuel Fields
Andre Fletcher
Godwin Forde
Donald Foreman
Lucille Francis
Clyde Frazier Jr
Lillian Frederick
Tamitha Freeman
Ervin Gailliard
Boyd Gatton
Rodney C. Gillis
Harry Glenn
Calvin Gooding
Harry Goody III
Keith Glascoe
Winston Arthur Grant
Derrick Arthur Green
Wade B. Green
Tawanna Griffin
Joan D. Griffith
Vaswald Hall
Aisha Harris
Anthony Hawkins
Ronnie Lee Henderson
William L.Henry Jr
Clara Hinds
Neil O. Hinds
Tara Y. Hobbs
DaJuan Hodges
Uhuru Gonja Houston
Lamar Demetrius Hulse
Todd Isaac
Farah Jeudy
Charles Gregory John
Lashawana Johnson
Linda Joyce Jones
Karl Joseph
Stephen Joseph
Lisa Kearney-Griffin
Abdoulaye Koné
Nathaniel Lawson
Charles Lesperance
Michael W. Lowe
Gene Edward Maloy
Marion Manning
Margaret Mattic
Tyrone May
Keithroy Maynard
Kaaria Mbaya
Stanley McCaskill
Tonyell McDay
Evelyn McKinnedy
Darryl L. McKinney
Walter Arthur McNeil
Eskedar Melaku
Shevonne Mentis
Wesley Mercer
Wilbert Miraille
Sharon Moore
Dorothy Morgan
Damion Mowatt
Marcus R. Neblett
Oscar F. Nesbitt
Curtis Terrence Noel
David Ortiz
James Parham
Michael Parkes
Richard A. Penny
Anthony Portillo
Shawn E. Powell
Carol Rabalais
Lorenzo Ramzey
Bruce Reynolds
Vernon Richard
Michael Richards
Venesha Rodgers
Catharina Robinson
Jeffrey Robinson
Nolbert Salomon
Jacquelyn Sanchez
George Eric Smith
Leon Smith Jr
Rochelle M. Snell
Walwyn Stuart
Donnie Brooks Taylor
Lorisa Ceylon Taylor
Dorothy Temple
Capt. William Harry Thompson
Nichola A. Thorpe
Abdoul Karim Traoré
Felicia Traylor-Bass,
Karamo Trerra
Pauline Tull-Francis
Courtney Wainsworth Walcott
Derrick Washington
Nathaniel Webb
John S. White
Malissa White
Wayne White
Crossley Williams Jr.
David Williams
Louie Anthony Williams
Olabisi Shadie Layeni-Yee
Barrington L. Young Jr.
Jacqueline "Jakki" Young




Bernard Curtis Brown II-11 years old, aboard American Flight 77
Sara Clark-teacher, aboard American Flight 77
Asia Cottom-11 years old, aboard American Flight 77
James Daniel Debeuneure-teacher, aboard American Flight 77
Rodney Dickens-11 years old, aboard American Flight 77
Hilda E. Taylor-teacher, aboard American Flight 77
LeRoy Wilton Homer Jr.-First Officer aboard United Flight 93
Wanda Anita Green-Flight Attendant aboard United Flight 93
CeeCee Lyles-Flight Attendant aboard United Flight 93


Ada L. Mason Acker-Pentagon
Samantha Allen (Lightbourn)-Pentagon
Carrie Blagburn-Pentagon
Angelene C. Carter-Pentagon
Sharon Carver-Pentagon
Julian Cooper-Pentagon
Ada M. Davis-Pentagon
Johnnie Doctor Jr.-Pentagon
Amelia V. Fields-Pentagon
Sandra N. Foster-Pentagon
Cortz Ghee-Pentagon
Brenda Gibson-Pentagon
Diane M. Hale-McKinzy-Pentagon
Carolyn B. Halmon-Pentagon
Jimmie Ira Holley-Pentagon
Peggie M. Hurt-Pentagon
Sgt. Maj. Lacey B. Ivory-Pentagon
Brenda Kegler-Pentagon
Nehamon Lyons IV-Pentagon
Maj. Ronald D. Milam-Pentagon
Odessa V. Morris-Pentagon
Maj. Clifford L. Patterson Jr.-Pentagon
Scott Powell-Pentagon
Marsha Ratchford-Pentagon
Cecelia E. Richard-Pentagon
Judy Rowlett-Pentagon
Robert E. Russell -Pentagon
Janice Marie Scott -Pentagon
Antionette "Toni" Sherman-Pentagon
Edna L. Stephens-Pentagon
Sgt. Tamara Thurman-Pentagon
Lt. Cmdr. Otis Tolbert Jr.-Pentagon
Willie Q. Troy-Pentagon
Lt. Col. Karen J. Wagner-Pentagon
Meta L. Waller-Pentagon
Staff Sgt. Maudlyn A. White-Pentagon
Sandra L. White-Pentagon
Maj. Dwayne Williams-Pentagon
Kevin Wayne Yokum-Pentagon
Donald McArthur Young -Pentagon
Edmond Young-Pentagon
Lisa L. Young-Pentagon