In MEMORIUM - 911 - WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACK

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

Hello All:

I just realized, in the midst of all this madness - with this horrific pandemic, and an ersatz president trying to highjack the presidential election by destroying the US Postal Service -  that next year will be the 20th Anniversary of the tragedy known as 911.  We are in the 19th year of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City.

I was living in Jersey City at the time,  working for the first Black Mayor, Glenn D. Cunningham, as his housing coordinator.  I could see the World Trade Center twin towers from my living room window.  I used to brag on the fact that I had the most spectacular view in the world, because I could actually see the entire New York coast line - a view that most New Yorkers would pay a king's ransom for.  That same view turned into a horror show - the morning of September 11, 2001 - while I was watching the TODAY SHOW, and preparing to go to that very same World Trade Center for a seminar on helping low and moderate income families buy homes via special EBT online funding programs.  

It was a beautiful day - the sky was clear as a bell.  I was rushing to get to the PATH train to get to Akbar's Coffee Shop in the ground floor level of the WTC where I was to meet some friends from DC for breakfast before the seminar - I was delayed by a client who wanted me to meet him to list a property he wanted to sell.  When I tried to get him to wait until I returned from my meeting in New York, he basically said that if I didn't come right then, he would take his business elsewhere.  Of course, I didn't want to have that.  So I called my friends to let them know that I would not make it to the restaurant, and I would see them at the seminar.  As I hung up my phone, I received a call from my niece in Chicago a full 5 minutes before the first plane hit the tower, asking me if everyone was all right.   I had no idea what she was talking about.  She said it was all over the news on TV with the plane sticking out of the tower.

I turned to the TV, saw the plane stuck in the tower, and thought, how stupid -what kind of pilots are they allowing to fly these days.  How can you just fly into a tower.  He had to be flying really low.  I told my niece I would call her again.  And just as I hung up, and turned up the volume on the TV, I saw another plane circle and deliberately head for the tower.  I could not believe what I was seeing.  I started screaming!  What the fuck!!!  I dropped the phone, ran out of the house and down to the cul de sac that had and even more direct view of the Twin Towers.  I remember screaming "They're killing my city! They're killing my city!"  I could see before my eyes all the great times I had spent there:  Jesse Jackson's Wall Street Project, the discos, celebrations and parties I had attended there; the shopping, my favorite book store, and so many other wonderful experiences I had had there.  

Most of my neighbors on that small street were already at work.  So no one was there to see or hear me freak out.  By the time I got back to the house, there were other horrific events unfolding.  Including those brave passengers who caused the plane to crash in Shanksville, PA, to prevent them from getting to the West Coast to cause even more chaos.  

I was frozen in place until the TV went dark.  The towers for the cable system I used were on top of the Twin Towers - and the only TV channel that remained was CBS, which had its own system.  Needless to say, I did not make it to  Akbars, nor did I meet that client. But I always thank him. But for him, I would have surely been in the World Trade Center at the time of those planes collision into the tower.  In fact, my son, RA, who had heard I was going to the WTC for a meeting, could not reach me and thought the worst had happen.  By the time he did catch up with me, around 1:00 AM the following morning.  He was so beside himself, he couldn't talk.  My daughter-in-law, Traci, had to explain that he had been freaking out because he just knew I was there.  I told her to tell him, "God's not ready from me yet."  But I also knew that, there, but for the Grace of God, go I. And I thank God for sending me his Angels to intervene on my behalf and the behalf of my DC friends, as well.

By midday, I, along with most of my New York brothers and sisters, and Jersey City neighbors, was in a state of shock.  I made my way to City Hall in Jersey to catch up with Jersey City's first Black Mayor, Glenn D. Cunningham, and see what Jersey City was doing to help.   Jersey City was the first responder to help New Yorkers.  They had pulled together their ferries, Office of Emergency Management, fire and police department, and had gone over to NYC to help survivors, as well as those who had perished. This was from 11:00AM until midnight of the first day.  I was on the Jersey City side helping provide water and refreshments to the rescue team.

My cousin, Terry Dulan, was in the twin towers at the time - working for Chase Bank on the 106th floor.  He managed to get out, but I think he was in a state of shock.  He had no idea how he got out - he was missing for nearly a week - with my Uncle Adolf calling to see if I had heard from him.  I was in constant prayer for his safety, and that I didn't have to call my Uncle with tragic news of his being a casualty.   Thank God, he finally came to himself sitting on a curb in Queens, NY with no idea how he got out, or how he got there.   To this day he does not talk about this traumatic incident.

At midnight, Jersey City residents held a candle light prayer vigil with all faiths present.  The triage from Jersey City continued for over a month.  In the interim, we formed a memorial on the dock facing New York City, using some of the steel that was the original framework of World Trade Center.  

And that spectacular view from my living room?  It was the sight of the charred wreckage of what was once a magnificent skyline and coastline.   Instead, now I saw the twin beams that marked where the towers used to be.  

I shall never forget this, the 3,000 lives destroyed, many of whom were Jersey City neighbors who worked in World Trade Center.  The African Sun Times, the African news paper I wrote for at the time, was 1/2 mile north of the WTC.   All transportation between New York and New Jersey via PATH, bridge, ferry and other modes were shut down for months.  When I did finally get back to Manhattan, I was so totally disoriented, without those towers there, I had no idea what was where.  

So I pay homage to the fire fighters and other first responders who lost their lives bravely going into the buildings hoping to save other lives.  What a major sacrifice.

I pay homage to New Yorkers who have emerged from this horror, stronger than ever.  I pay homage to those brothers and sisters of Jersey City who likewise did not hesitate to jump in to rescue and recover those victims.  My condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones on that day.  May you find peace.

In a moment of silence in memoriam - 
Stay Blessed & 
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
September 11, 2020 



Gloria Dulan-Wilson

GDW EBN