Fifteen Major September 11 Family Organizations, Uniformed Firefighters
Association and Supporters Rally at Ground Zero to ‘Take Back the Memorial’

Fifteen Major September 11 Family Organizations, Uniformed Firefighters Association and Supporters Rally at Ground Zero to ‘Take Back the Memorial’

From Take back the Memorial site: New York, N.Y., September 10, 2005 - Supporters of the take back the memorial campaign, which includes September 11th families, members of the Uniformed Firefighters Association and American citizens, united at Ground Zero today to once again call on Governor George Pataki to remove the International Freedom Center (IFC) from the World Trade Center memorial plans.

James Slevin, Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs spoke at the rally on behalf of the Uniformed Firefighters Association’s 22,000 active and retired New York City firefighters.

“All of those who were killed on September 11th need to be remembered at a place that will pay homage to their story and show reverence to their memory. We owe it to all of the lives lost and to future generations, who will seek to learn of the day’s events, to have a memorial that conveys homage, without the revisionist history that cultural institutions like the IFC will attempt to portray,” said Slevin.

Ironically, just two days ago at a press conference held just steps from Ground Zero, Governor Pataki spoke about the need to teach future generations about the events of September 11th and to never forget. These words rang hollow to rally organizers
who say if Pataki really believed this, he would be a true leader and remove the IFC from sacred ground so that it cannot dilute the story of September 11th.

“Governor, you have lost your way, you have lost sight of what is most important at Ground Zero and if you think your advisors including Tom Bernstein know better than the American people, think again,” said Patricia Reilly, Take Back the Memorial organizer and sister of September 11th victim, Lorraine Lee.

Rally organizers and supporters maintain the IFC will turn Ground Zero into a place of endless controversy and debate by offering platforms for political discussions, debates and extraneous history lessons. Further the IFC is taking up space that is desperately needed to accommodate the estimated millions of Americans visiting the site to learn about September 11th who will be turned away because Governor Pataki and redevelopment officials have not allocated enough space to tell the story of September 11th.

The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation’s Zogby poll results this week found that nearly 2/3 of respondents believe it is important for all Americans to visit the September 11th memorial confirming the desperate need for the space required to tell the story of September 11th free of political commentary and controversy.

No Politics Where Heroes Died

Sign the Petition