America has a very rich and interesting history. America’s history has been filled with both triumphs and tragedies. In fact, it seems that America’s tragedies have become its triumphs as well. This is due to the fact that through all of its ups and downs America has had its share of heroes. Nobody will forget George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. In addition, nobody will ever forget Martin Luther King Jr. for his courageous crusade during the Civil Rights Movement. We will also never forget Rosa Parks for her bravery by refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. We remember Rosa Parks’ bravery and she was a hero. However, it seems that on balance throughout American history while the media has focused on the events that have shaped the world and covered the heroes of those events, it has glossed over or completely ignored the unsung heroines over these events. Sadly, the media has not changed a bit when women heroines are concerned especially concerning events at Ground Zero after New York was attacked by terrorists.
Heroes and heroines come in all shapes and sizes. Women are just as strong as or stronger than men and the media should not just gloss over them or completely ignore them when covering America’s triumphs and tragedies. However, women’s voices on September 11 were ignored so they received no media attention. Women had strong voices on September 11 and they deserve to be head. Why did the media choose to ignore the vast presence of women’s voices at Ground Zero on and after September 11? The media needs to realize that women were heroines on September 11 at Ground Zero as well as men. Therefore, we must call attention to the ignored heroes at Ground Zero. This paper will hopefully give a voice to the heroines at Ground Zero during and after the terrorist attack on New York.
Annotated Bibliography
- Carout, M & Hagen, S. (2002). Women at Ground Zero: Stories of courage and compassion. Indianapolis: Alpha Books. The authors have illustrated that women also were at Ground Zero and participated in the relief efforts.
- Keegan, W. (2006). Closure: The untold story of the Ground Zero recovery mission. New York: Simon and Schuster. An operations commander at the World Trade Center site documents the nine months after the terrorist attacks where he and his squad took part in the relief effort.
- Kelley, A. (2003). First to arrive: Firefighters at Ground Zero. Philadelphia: Chelsea House. This book has a brief history of the 911 attacks and firefighting. It also talks about women firefighters.
- Roleff, T. (Ed.). (2003) The World Trade Center attacks San Diego: Greenhaven Press. This book offers some firsthand historical accounts of what exactly happen at Ground Zero and how many people dealt with it.
- Vandenheuven, K. (Ed.). (2002) A Just Response: The nation on terrorism, democracy, September 11, 2001. New York: Thundermountain Press.