The immediate effects of the World Trade Center attack were apparent – the collapse of two monumental landmarks and the deaths of thousands of civilians. But as the weeks wear on, communities are beginning to wonder how their finances and emotions will be affected by the aftermath of the terrorist attack.
With this in mind, the Urban League of Hudson County, a non-profit organization that works on community development, held a public forum in the auditorium of Public School 14 on Union Avenue on Tuesday. Approximately 70 people attended the two-hour panel discussion moderated by Earl Morgan, a lifelong resident and newspaper columnist. For the most part, the discussion focused on longstanding issues in the minority community within the context of the recent tragedy. The panel discussion, which featured several prominent African-American members of the Jersey City community, was followed by a question and answer period.
Taking place one week after the New York Stock Exchange suffered a record-breaking drop, the discussion focused a lot of attention on the economic impact on Jersey City’s residents. Representing PSE&G, spokesman Richard Dwyer assured the crowd, predominantly made up of African-Americans, that it would continue to actively recruit employees in the minority community as it has done in the past. "Corporations must make investments beyond the bottom line," Dwyer said, citing his concern about jobs in the minority community. "Our [PSE&G] commitment to the urban area is sincere and enduring and it will continue."
Morgan suggested that the loss of office space in New York would create a demand for offices in Jersey City, therefore leading to more employment opportunities.
And there has been a run on office space locally. According to a New York Times article, Colliers & Houston Company, a Manhattan-based brokerage firm, has leased 2 million square feet of office space in New Jersey, much of it divided between Newark and Jersey City. The Manhattan-based real estate brokerage firm Julien J. Studley Inc. told the Times that it was seeking office space for its clients in Jersey City as well. One article speculated that much of the city’s office space would be gone by the end of the week.
But Mayor Glenn Cunningham said that New Jersey’s economy is directly linked to New York. Where Jersey City might make some immediate gains from New York City’s loss, the area will quickly be back to an economic growth rate that is similar to New York, he said.
"When New York suffers, we suffer," Cunningham said. He added that the American economy has historically rebounded from every economic slump, and that he expects a recovery to follow a six-month slump.
Rev. Reginald Jackson, the executive director of the Black Ministers Council, said that the secret to restoring the economy is rebuilding consumer confidence. "American people themselves," Jackson said, "will help stimulate the economy by living their normal lives."
In addition to concerns about the economy, the panel also touched on the issue of racial profiling. While this issue has significantly affected the African-American community, generally considered to be the primary target of such practices, the recent events have produced a similar effect in the Arab-American community.
"I fear that there is a new [excuse] for racial profiling in our community," Jackson said, addressing instances where Arab-Americans have been stopped and searched based on their appearance. "No one should become a suspect because of their dress, color, or religion. Fear should not be the door that undermines the foundation of which this nation stands."
Daniel Wiley, a professor of African-American studies at New Jersey City University, recalled a few incidents that followed the attack, in which Arab-American students complained of hostile treatment. He said an 19-year-old student from Bayonne with Egyptian roots said she was stopped at the Bayonne city line by police and detained for an hour and a half while her car was searched. The panelists acquiesced that such actions were unjustifiable and should be prevented.
Cunningham explained that he had been actively talking with the Islamic community in Jersey City before the events of Sept. 11 occurred by going to a different mosque on each Friday night. As a result, he said, that Islamic leaders trusted that he would defend their rights as residents of Jersey City when he met with them hours after the attack.
Several Jersey City residents have been questioned and detained by the FBI about their possible involvement in the attacks. A Jersey City resident was convicted in the last terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.
Aside from racial profiling, panelists also talked about how other civil liberties may be curtailed by some of the government’s proposals, and warned citizens to be wary of giving up basic freedoms. "Politicians say we need additional resources to give to law enforcement to predict the behavior of threats to national security," said Pamela Miller, a ULHC chairperson and vice president of Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield. "We need to be educated about what law enforcement officials can do or can’t do and not stand on the sidelines."
On the subject of racism, Salim Kujitawala, 23, a member of the National Black United Front, asked the panelists how he could fight for a country that has treated the African-American people like "second-class citizens."
Elnora Watson, the executive director of the ULHC, said she has to deal with racism everyday, but at the same time, this is where she lives and she feels it’s imperative to be supportive of the nation as a whole.
Mayor Cunningham, who served in the Marines before entering a career in law enforcement, agreed that America has its share of flaws, but said that this country has shown that it can change.
"I’ve traveled to a lot of places in the world," he said, "and there hasn’t been a place where after a week or two I wasn’t ready to come home."