About this hub: The 25 Years Later Community Hub brings together publicly available resources developed by organizations and advocates responding to the effects of 9/11 and the domestic and global War on Terror. It is intended as an archive, a repository and learning resource, and does not represent positions of organizations included here. Members of the South Asian Coalition and allies curated the hub over the course of a year.

As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks and the launch of the War on Terror, the South Asian Coalition and ally groups are sharing stories of survival and solidarity, uplifting experiences of community members facing backlash, profiling, and surveillance, identifying policy issues, and providing ways to take action. 

It’s hard to believe that twenty-five years have passed since 9/11, a day that irreparably changed the lives of families who lost loved ones and frontline responders. We mourn the lives lost to the horrific attacks on September 11, 2001 — the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center in New York City, the 184 people killed at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the 40 passengers and crew members on board Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  

In the wake of the attacks, civic, governmental and faith leaders called for national unity. At the same time, reports of harassment, profiling, and discrimination began to emerge from community members of Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and Sikh backgrounds. While our communities have historically confronted interpersonal and state oppression rooted in white supremacy, colonialism, Christian nationalism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Black violence, the post 9/11 climate exacerbated these dynamics and tensions through coordinated law enforcement efforts, surveillance mechanisms, and cruel policies implemented in the name of public safety and national security.

In the first three months after the 9/11 attacks, we witnessed the consequences of Islamophobia, backlash, and scapegoating towards our communities. On September 15, 2001, Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh American gas station owner, was killed in Arizona, followed by the murders of Waqar Hasan and Vasudev Patel in Texas. In October 2001, the United States Congress passed the Patriot Act, paving the way for increased surveillance by law enforcement and established the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, the government launched the global War on Terror with the invasion of Afghanistan. Learn more about the post 9/11 climate at the Resources page, which contains reports, teaching tools, multimedia testimonials, and more.The long arc of the post 9/11 environment continues to this day. The special registration program after 9/11 that led to the deportation of thousands of immigrants paved the way for the Muslim and African bans that are tearing families apart today. The surveillance efforts by the NYPD and the Obama Administration’s Countering Violent Extremism program have led to the use of domestic terrorism measures that are targeting Americans exercising their constitutional rights to free speech, dissent, and assembly. The conflation of national security with immigration policy has given way to the rampant enforcement activities of ICE in neighborhoods across the country today.

At the same time, our organizations have also been part of mutual aid, justice, and solidarity efforts in our communities. In the wake of 9/11, Japanese Americans raised the alarm to warn the country not to repeat its policies of forced displacement and incarceration during World War II. People visited local mosques and gurdwaras to build relationships. Elected leaders pledged to combat Islamophobia, and teachers included first-hand accounts of backlash in their curricula. Collectives of concerned community members created new organizations while philanthropic institutions established funds to address emerging needs.

Our organizations are committed to continuing the arc of solidarity and justice that began in the wake of 9/11. We call upon civic, faith, and elected leaders to join us to grieve, remember, and reckon with the long arc of 9/11 and the War on Terror.

Visit our subpages to learn more about policy solutions, first-hand accounts, ways to engage your own organizations and communities, as well as resources, events, and opportunities to deepen your understanding. 

Resources + Learning Library

SAC Statements and Community Explainers

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25th Anniversary Reflections

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Documentaries, Talks, and Podcasts

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Historical Archives and Reports

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Understanding Policies and Community Impacts from the Global War on Terror from 2001 to Now

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Fighting Hate

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Throughlines from 2001 to Today

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Materials for Educators

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