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.
