Gen Zs recall first learning of ‘deeply harrowing, terrifying’ 9/11 – BBC News
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Gen Zs recall first learning of ‘deeply harrowing, terrifying’ 9/11
Image source: Getty Images
By Grace Eliza Goodwin | Published 26 minutes ago
Most Americans remember exactly what they were doing and how they felt the day terrorists hijacked four airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.
But for members of Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, this pivotal event is a chapter told to them, not experienced firsthand. They were too young when it happened or simply didn’t yet exist.
Instead, their memories are shaped by the narratives they heard later – from parents, teachers, media, and more.
‘Hard to explain what a terrorist is to a child’
Avery Black, a 20-year-old journalism student at the University of South Carolina, recalls her first encounter with 9/11 in elementary school. She remembers asking her mother about it when she got home and breaking down in tears as she explained the events.
Black vividly remembers the "falling man" image – a man plummeting upside down from the North Tower – and President George W. Bush’s reaction at an elementary school event.
Annie Erickson, 26, of North Carolina, also formed her first memories of 9/11 through personal anecdotes shared by her mother, who grew up in New York City. She remembers hearing stories about a friend of her mom’s who died in the towers.
Allegra Tashjian, now 28 and a PhD student in Wisconsin, was around first or second grade when she first learned about 9/11. A classmate mentioned planes hitting the towers, sparking curiosity. At home, she asked her mom if she remembered it and received an unexpected response: "um no, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything about that."
Varied education on 9/11
While some Gen Zs recall early discussions of 9/11, others had little to no exposure to the topic in school. There’s no national mandate for US schools to teach 9/11, and expectations vary greatly by state.
According to a recent AP analysis, 25 states require or expect public schools to teach about 9/11, while 13 make it optional. However, many of these states don’t specify a curriculum.
