Gen Zs recall first learning of 'deeply harrowing, terrifying' 9/11

Gen Zs recall first learning of 'deeply harrowing, terrifying' 9/11

Most Americans can remember precisely where they were and how they felt on the day terrorists seized four planes and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.

Now, 25 years after the 11 September 2001 attacks, a new generation has emerged that was too young to remember the day that permanently changed much of American life.

Members of Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2012, learned about the event only later, long after it had happened, and it is that later moment they remember most clearly.

Avery Black, 20, a journalism student at the University of South Carolina, told the BBC she first heard about 9/11 in elementary school and then went home to ask her mother about it.

"She just started telling me where she was the day it happened, and just broke down in tears, explaining to me about all the firefighters that went in and never came out," Black recalled.

As a child, Black did not fully understand how serious the day was, but some images stayed with her.

Most vividly, she remembers the "falling man" – the well-known image of a man dropping upside down from the North Tower. The Dallas, Texas native also remembers teachers showing the video of then-President George W. Bush first learning about the attacks at an elementary school event.

For Annie Erickson, 26, who grew up in North Carolina, her first memories of 9/11 came more from family stories than from school lessons or news coverage.

"My mother grew up in New York City, so I remember my mom telling me about 9/11 and talking about how someone that lived in her building, who she was friends with, passed away in the towers," Erickson said.

She also said that when she learned about 9/11 at school, she was struck by the fact that it was one of the few historical events teachers could make personal by sharing their own memories.

At present, there is no national requirement for US schools to teach students about the attacks, and state expectations differ widely. According to a recent Associated Press analysis, 25 states require or expect public schools to teach the events of 9/11, while 13 make instruction on 9/11 optional.

However, not every state that requires instruction sets out a curriculum.

Allegra Tashjian, who grew up in Wisconsin, said her teacher explained in first or second grade that it was a very important, sombre day and asked whether anyone knew why. After one student said it was the day planes hit the towers in New York, Tashjian wondered why she had never heard of it before.

Later, at home, she remembers finding her mother folding laundry and asking whether she remembered planes crashing in New York. "I remember she kind of paused folding her laundry and was like, 'um no, I don't think I've ever heard anything about that,'" the now-28-year-old PhD student said.

"For whatever reason at that point, I guess she really didn't want to talk about it."

Tashjian, Erickson, Black and several other Gen Zs told the BBC that they heard a few details about the attacks at school and from family members, but only through their own research did they fully learn what happened that day.

"I really understood the gravity of it more from reading things on the internet when I was probably between like nine and 12", Tashjian said.

Black said she did not initially realise it was a terrorist attack. "That was the part that I wasn't really taught until I did my own research. It's really hard to explain what a terrorist is to a child."

Professor David Schanzer, who teaches "9/11 & Its Aftermath" at Duke University, wrote in a campus magazine commentary this week that interest remains strong even generations later. His course is full, with dozens on a waitlist.

"Ten years ago, I thought student interest was ebbing and I would need to find something else to teach about," he said.

But, he said, current world events have only made young people more curious about what happened 25 years ago on 9/11.

"If you want to understand what has gone wrong over the past couple of decades it makes sense to learn about 9/11, the first global catastrophe of the 21st century (the others being the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic)," he wrote.

Several Gen Zs told the BBC that even after learning about the tragedy, it is still common among their peers to make light of conversations about 9/11.

Thomas Schwartz, a professor of history and political science at Vanderbilt University, said that in a recent class discussion, his seniors - born in 2004 or 2005 - noted their generation's habit of "deflect and joke about 9/11".

He added that "students from the Northeast, who had parents with personal memories of 9/11, were more careful about this, remarking on the sensitivities in their family about the subject."

Erickson said many Gen Zs tend to minimise major events or tragedies because either they "can't fully understand their impact" or they are using humour as a coping mechanism "to not have to think too deeply about some of the larger anxieties in our world".

Even now as an adult, Tashjian said it is still hard for her to comprehend large numbers of people dying in any event, and she still turns to individual stories to help her understand 9/11's toll.

Schanzer argues that learning about 9/11 and understanding its impact remains essential for younger generations without first-hand experience.

"But like most significant historical events, one can't fully understand our world today unless you understand why 9/11 occurred and how the United States responded to it," he said.