september 11

It’s hard to believe that 10 years have come and gone since the day my generation was thrust into a new world – a world where politics at the local, national, and international level suddenly took on new meaning. A world that forced us to grow up a little quicker. A world that helped us develop a civic awareness that many say could only be the result of a national tragedy on a scale like September 11.

Yesterday we marked the 10-year anniversary of that fateful day, and today is 9/12/2011. It is the start of a new decade for us as Millennials in a post 9/11 era. For those on the older end of the Millennial spectrum like myself, we have now spent the past decade in the workforce,and many of us have settled down and are starting families of our own. We are armed with new technology and an awareness and appreciation for global issues, and we have been building organizations and reinventing ourselves and our institutions with an entrepreneurial flair. The events of 9/11 suddenly gave us a larger purpose – a reality check of sorts that reminded us we weren’t invincible and that we had an obligation to give back to our neighborhoods, our community, and our country. 

Today as we enter the next decade of life after 9/11, we take with us vivid reminders not only of that day, but of the way in which it changed our individual narratives. We wonder what will come in the next 10 years. We lift up examples of new social innovations and technologies that have brought us closer together as neighbors, friends, and family, from Friendster to Facebook. We lift up examples of organizations that have grown and come into their own to help us find a voice and purpose.  

If you look at the nonprofit landscape over the past decade, there has been a surge of young idealistic change-makers who have started their own organizations to address real problems, be it in their local or global community. They have little concern about whether their venture is a .com or .org – and more concern about whether or not their work is having an impact. While the entrepreneurial spirit that is so engrained in my generation is inspiring, there’s also a reality. The reality is that many of these new organizations are competing for limited dollars and our limited attention spans. There are simply not enough resources to support and fully fund all of the great ideas that are being generated – or the capacity  to ensure they are all able to thrive.

Even so, there are also many success stories. The events of September 11 prompted people like Scott Heiferman, founder of Meetup, who said “the only time I thought about my neighbors [pre 9/11] was when I hoped they wouldn't bother me,”  to suddenly launch a national platform that would bring together millions through meetups across the country and eventually around the world. Or David Smith, founder of Mobilize.org, whocreated an organization that would exist today as a way to empower and invest in Millennials to create and implement solutions to social problems. In the years since 9/11, Mobilize has merged with a half dozen smaller nonprofits with similar missions to work collaboratively to leverage the unique skills of Millennials and create solutions to social challenges.

In this next decade, my hope is that we build upon this momentum and spirit of service andfind greater opportunities to invite these emerging social entrepreneurs into our existing institutions – some of which are in desperate need of an infusion of new life and ideas. And, that we create space for greater cross-generational learning, dialogue, and debate so our institutions are strengthened rather than struggling for new ideas and opportunities.

The world my daughter will inherit is one my generation will help shape. I have full confidence that the idealism and energy that has emanated in the years since 9/11 will help create a solid foundation for continued innovation.

What new ways of thinking do you believe will come as a result of the Millennial Generation coming of age in the next 10years?  How will this influence continue to reshape our institutions?

This reflection originally appeared as a featured discussion on the National Conference on Citizenship Blog and has been republished with their permission.

Last night, like the rest of the world, I sat glued to my television screen watching President Obama announce the death of Public Enemy Number 1—Osama Bin Laden. Immediately preceding and following the speech, I also saw footage of people gathering and cheering in front of the White House, a building six blocks from my apartment. Like many, these images gave me great pause.

Part of me felt the same sense of pride and celebration that they did. And part of me felt a sense of inappropriateness at the way some were choosing to display their feelings. I said to my friends I was with “It’s weird to see someone’s death, however horrible they were, being treated like it’s a pep rally… Something about this reminds me eerily of the videos we saw of people in the Middle East celebrating in the streets after 9/11.”

We all agreed we weren’t sure how we felt about the display, but we recognized we had the opportunity to experience this in a very unique way—different from how much of the country would receive or process the news. Ultimately, we decided it was a moment in history to which we wanted to bear witness. So we made the six block trek to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

As I arrived to the crowds of cheering and singing people waving flags, I sent a tweet. Still not sure of my emotion or the enormity of that moment, I chose for it to contain just 5 words: “At the White House. Unbelievable.” I attached a picture, hit send, and waded with my friends into the crowd.

I was starting my sophomore year in college in Oklahoma in September 2001. Last night, May 1, 2011 as I stood in front of the White House, surrounded by 20 year-olds in their fraternity hoodies, I was struck by the fact they are the age now that I was when 9/11 happened. The events of September 11, 2001 probably represent some of their earliest memories. I knew my generation (the Millennials) is sometimes referred to as the “9/11 Generation,” but last night, this name took on completely new meaning.

What I witnessed there was an overwhelming energy, similar to what I experienced on election night in 2008. By all accounts, it was a celebration. But by and large, it was not a celebration that a man had died. I’m sure some were there to celebrate that—I’d be naïve not to see that, but I don’t think I personally heard one person actually say his name. There was no bashing of any other countries, cultures, or people. There was no burning of religious books. I did not view this as a celebration of death, but of life, service, perseverance, and hope.

What I witnessed last night was a coming together; a celebration of the shared experience of being American. A celebration of the fact we can finally take a piece of the horror we ALL felt 9 years, 7 months, and 20 days ago and put it behind us. Of the lives of the 3,000 victims who senselessly died and their families that were forever changed that fateful September morning. That our brothers, sisters, cousins, classmates, significant others, and friends, have not spent years in war for ambiguous reasons. That the thousands of them that gave their lives had not done so in vain. And a celebration of the countless volunteers, social workers, firefighters, police officers and others that have worked tirelessly to rebuild our communities, and our souls, in the last 10 years.

I was overwhelmed by what I saw last night, but also what I saw when I got home. The picture I put on Twitter just 3 hours earlier had been tweeted 241 times, viewed 3,159 times, and translated into at least 3 languages. I had come together not with a few thousand people at 16th and Penn, I had, however unintentionally, come together with so many around the world. My father is an immigrant, and I’ve always felt compelled, not only by the rights and responsibilities of my U.S. citizenship, but my role as a global citizen as well. This gave me a special moment to think about that. I thought back to a few moments earlier and the Canadian, Australian, and even Algerian flags I saw waving in concert with the American ones at the White House. September 11, while viciously perpetrated on United States soil, affected the world.

My friends and I still have a lot of conflicting emotions about the events that happened yesterday, what we saw last night, and what this means for us as Americans (and global citizens) in the days and years to come. But I do know what I will take away from both September 11, 2001 and May 1, 2011, and what I still know to be true:

“On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.” –President Obama

Kristen Cambell is Director of Programs and New Media at NCoC where she is responsible for researching, developing and implementing programs, including the Annual Conference, NCoC.net, and Civic Health Index reports.

This morning I was in a cab on my way to the airport when I decided to quickly scroll through my email and Twitter feed to see what I might miss while on the five hour flight from DC back to San Francisco. It was very rainy this morning when my plane took off -- nothing like the September 11, that I remember while working on Capitol Hill back in 2001. The sun was beaming off of the Capitol dome and the clear blue skies created a surreal feeling as smoke from the Pentagon billowed in the distance.

The Septmber 11, digital archive is also using electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of September 11, and its aftermath.  It contains more than 150,000 digital items, including more than 40,000 first-hand stories, and more than 15,000 digital images.  For my sister-in-law, a first grade teacher in the Bronx,  a digital archive like this allows her to share stories with her students, many of whom are learning of the tragedy for the first time.