HWS News
29 September 2021 Reflecting on 9/11
Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Khuram Hussain will participate in a retrospective panel discussion about the PBS documentary Lessons of September: One School Remembers 9/11 (2002).
On Sept. 11, 2001, Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, N.Y. experienced enormous loss. Ten alums and one parent died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. In 2002, WNET, New York City’s PBS station, created a documentary about how Poly Prep responded to the tragedy. Featured in the documentary is Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Khuram Hussain, who taught history at Poly Prep. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Hussain joins the filmmaker, Poly Prep administrators, students and families for a panel discussion about the film and the impact of 9/11.
The virtual panel will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Register for the event here.
In the documentary, Hussain reflects on his experience as a Muslim American before and after 9/11. In one scene, Hussain leads a classroom discussion designed to help students move beyond the assumptions they might make about others and become more perceptive, thoughtful and curious.
“I think of all the places I could have been, I’m really glad I was a teacher and I was in school. Here I could talk about it, learn about it, teach about it, and there were people here willing to listen,” Hussain says during the interview.
Read more about how HWS commemorated the 20th anniversary of 9/11.