For the past eight years, students in Advanced Placement U.S. History classes at McCallie have interviewed hundreds of people, collecting their memories of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. To mark the 20th anniversary of that day, the past and present students will launch a website with the remembrances.
“These are stories about that day, told by everyday people from across America and the world,” said Dr. Duke Richey, the Sen. Howard Baker Jr. ’43 Chair of American History, and teacher of AP U.S. History. “The stories will bring out all of the human emotions possible. You will laugh, and you will cry. And there will be moments where you will feel absolute anger. There will be moments where you think, wow, I can’t believe a student found this person to interview, what an amazing story.”
The website for this special project can be found here: https://www.mccallie.org/911project
Already 20 powerful stories have been posted, and others will be posted every Tuesday morning throughout the 2021-22 academic year. The stories come from people of all ages and all locations – some who witnessed the attack first-hand, others from abroad, and many from their homes and businesses in Chattanooga and other U.S. cities.
“In subtle and sometimes less subtle ways, the storytellers here talk about how 9/11 has shaped their lives and their thinking over time,” said Daniel Cui ’19 and Vihaal Vellanki ’21, who participated in the project and helped create the website. “. . . We are hopeful that the world (we) inhabit going forward will be a place without the horrors of another 9/11.”
In addition to the website, a podcast featuring former and current students who participated in the project, will be released Wednesday and there will be three special Chapel presentations during the week.