Two months before the 1-year anniversary of September 11, a coalition of almost one hundred peace, civic and religious community groups came together for a public hearing. Men, women and children from the Sikh, Somali, Arab, Latino and Muslim communities came forward before a panel of high-level elected and appointed officials to tell their stories about the harassment, profiling, and discrimination they faced since the September 11, 2001 attacks. Over 1,000 people attended this landmark hearing, the first such hearing to be held anywhere in the United States.
This report from the historic event, initiated by Hate Free Zone (now known as OneAmerica), holds the stories of those who spoke and the responses of the commissioners