NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The 9/11 Memorial and Museum has launched a $75 million fundraising campaign as the nonprofit tries to educate the millions of U.S. on their upcoming 25th anniversary.
Boosting The Never Forget Fund’s latest appeal, announced Wednesday, is Mike Bloomberg. The former New York City mayor, who has rallied hundreds of millions of dollars toward the 9/11 Memorial and Museum as its chair, pledged to match the next $25 million in donations through his Bloomberg Philanthropies. Organizers already secured the first $25 million through unspecified initial gifts.
Officials count about 97 million memorial visitors and nearly 28 million museum attendees since they opened in 2014 at the site where hijacked jetliners destroyed the World Trade Center’s twin towers in lower Manhattan. But recent years have seen a budget crisis following and interest from the Trump administration in .
Beth Hillman, the organization’s president and CEO, says they need a permanent funding source to reach the roughly 100 million Americans born after the attacks. The goal is to frame the aftermath as one that inspired selfless acts of service and provide basic facts through new on-site exhibits and classroom materials.
鈥淭he ongoing importance of remembering 9/11 is to remind people that they can come together even in the face of incredible loss,鈥� Hillman told the Associated Press.
The legacy of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people remains hotly contested. Younger generations have only ever known the existence of airport screenings, immigration enforcement officers and other . Many engage with the events through popular memes of the photograph showing then-President George W. Bush learning about the developments. about what government officials knew in their leadup.
Also debated is the notion of unity advanced by the memorial and museum. The Sept. 11 attacks that grew increasingly unpopular as the death toll rose. Young American Muslims growing up under their shadow have .
As the 25th anniversary approaches this September, Hillman sees a 鈥渃ompelling story of service, of hope, of resilience, of coming together鈥� for the people who didn’t live through that period. Those stories will be told in an exhibit called 鈥淚n Their Honor.” Celebrity chef Bobby Flay, she noted, was among the many chefs who prepared meals for first responders in the months following the attacks. Theater workers brought their lights to power the blacked-out area around ground zero. Victims’ family members started social services organizations such as 9/11 Day to inspire volunteering in memory of their lost relatives. They also want to inform more people of the first responders who developed chronic illnesses and still face barriers to care.
The funds raised by the 9/11 Memorial and Museum will ensure free museum access continues for students, first responders and veterans, according to Hillman, who said 鈥渨e don’t want the price to be a barrier to them.鈥� Standard adult admission currently costs $36. The nonprofit’s website notes that it 鈥渞elies primarily on ticket sales to help fund its operational costs.鈥�
The organization plans to reach more educators with the funds. As teachers enter the workforce without lived experiences of Sept. 11, Hillman said they want to help prepare lesson plans. The nonprofit runs summer teachers’ institutes, offers professional development programs and remakes a 30-minute film each year with firsthand stories.
Hillman acknowledged a greater 鈥渄egree of distraction and confusion鈥� today than in the past when it comes to efforts to memorialize recent historical events. She sees a need to give 鈥渟imple representations of what happened.” The March/April issue of The National Council for the Social Studies’ magazine, which was guest edited by 9/11 Memorial and Museum staff, features a timeline of the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
“9/11 is heavy and compelling and full of inspiring stories,鈥� Hillman said. “But also, just a trusted set of what happened on that day, of materials that can convey the basics of it 鈥� that鈥檚 the beginning of people learning and starting to understand, too.鈥�
Alex Edgar, a Gen Z civic leader who is working with a group called Made By Us to amplify youth voices ahead of the United States’ 250th birthday, sees value in emphasizing the power of service. His peers, he said, have 鈥渘ever really seen a country that has worked鈥� or one that 鈥渞eally lived up to the promise of America.鈥� He finds that narratives about overcoming division to accomplish shared goals serve as an antidote to the political polarization frequently experienced by young people.
But he emphasized that those narratives must permeate classroom walls and museum doors.
鈥淭hey invite young people to consider what鈥檚 preventing us from using any of the issues of our time as a rallying cry for folks to come together across backgrounds to build the type of country, the communities, that we want to live in,鈥� he said.
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