Summary
The visuals, however moving, fail to include an overwhelming percent of Latinos and other people of color impacted by the World Trade Center fiasco, especially the immigrants who were called in to handle asbestos or clean up the massive mess that lingered thereafter, according to workers like Guelmer Rendon (a Colombian immigrant) or Leslie James (a native of Trinidad and Tobago). They say they are representative of a host of people who are invisible. Forgotten. James, a former caterer and food handler for JP Morgan Chase/Aremark Food Services, told the AmNews that his initial exposure to harm's way came through exposure to dust. "On 9/11 we were told to walk from 60 Wall Street across the Brooklyn Bridge, but were redirected after getting there to walk over the Manhattan Bridge. It took me around 5 hours to get home," James said he was then called in to clean up the kitchen area from dust that came through ventilation areas and to assess the extent of spoiled food and goods, then dispose of it. "I worked hard on this project until the operation could get back on track," said' James, who is now saddled with a "baggie full" of 22 different medications because he suffers from heart disease, asthma-which he didn't have before-foot and limb problems and mental health issues. James said after he labored long hard hours, he was initially transferred but was later given a yellow slip and told he was being laid off. "After working so hard, I was devastated to be denied benefits," said James.
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Extract
9/11: Black Folk Forgotten?
Bells tolled and mourners relived their pain while city and federal officials courted politically correct responses to family members of those who lost their lives on 9/11, or to the survivors and first responders.
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