June 3, 2004
What are you doing on Sept. 11? Pair promotes annual day of discussion
If you were to do something special on Sept. 11 to take note of that day’s dark anniversary, what would it be?
Something civic- or community-minded, or expressive and creative? Perhaps something patriotic, reflecting how you feel about your country? Or should Sept. 11 be a time for sharing feelings with friends and neighbors?
David Silver, a UW professor of communication, and Sarah Washburn, a former employee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, want to make Sept. 11 embrace all those notions and more — this year and every year.
They call their idea The September Project, and it seeks to make 9/11 a day of reflection and discussion, locally, across the country and possibly even internationally. It’s a big idea that will take a lot of work and networking to get up and running, but project co-directors Silver and Washburn couldn’t be more excited.
“We believe that since Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have not had a rigorous creative, collective dialogue about issues that matter,” Silver said on a recent afternoon in his campus office. “With attention on 9/11 and with engagement in the election, now is the time to have that conversation.”
The two say public libraries seem by definition the perfect place for such significant community meetings. “It’s not just a physical place, it’s also a symbolic place to offer free, open access to information and ideas,” Washburn said.
And she should know — Washburn comes to The September Project after three and a half years with the Gates Foundation’s US Library Program, which helped libraries nationwide get wired with Internet technology. She’s also a consultant on Internet communications for nonprofit organizations and directs a local family literacy program. For his part, Silver is an assistant professor of communication who teaches classes on digital culture and contemporary media.
So, what exactly do Silver and Washburn envision will happen at these September Project gatherings?
Washburn said, “We imagine there will be a host of events stemming from readings to children on citizenship, democracy and patriotism to round table discussions on ‘What does patriotism mean to me?’ as well as youth involvement and performances.” Plus, there will be plentiful opportunities for participants to register to vote.
But that’s really just the start, the two said. There also could be activities and readings centered on understanding of the Bill of Rights, open forums on what works and what doesn’t in U.S. government, library displays of book collections on related topics and many other features.
The two say they are setting up the organizational aspects of the project, then intend to let librarians and communities decide what activities are best for their area. They’re also interested in looking at ways to get parts of the event on the Web, so libraries can share information and views.
“The only way this can work is if it’s wholly self-organizing,” Silver said. “And we already have 34 libraries in 14 states committed to the project.”
Silver and Washburn said The September Project is meant to be completely nonpartisan, not aimed at explicit support of any political view or party. The two have aligned with the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union.
People and views of all types will be welcome, the project directors say. In fact, they wouldn’t have it any other way. “The diverse views excite me the most,” said Washburn, to which Silver added, “We want a cross-fertilization of ideas, shared publicly and collectively.”
The September Project already has found support from some key players, including a small grant from the dean’s office of the UW College of Arts and Sciences and money, ideas and generous in-kind support from the UW’s Simpson Center for the Humanities.
Kathleen Woodward, director of the Simpson Center, is on the project’s governing board, as are Susan Jeffords, UW vice provost for academic planning and Betsy Wilson, director of UW Libraries. Also on the board is well-known Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl, who said she admires Silver and Washburn’s ideas and enthusiasm.
“I think libraries are the cornerstone of democracy,” Pearl said. “They are the last small-d democratic institution in our country. And as such, anything they can do to foster discussion about the issues facing our country and our world today is great.”
She added, “When anyone walks into a library they are the equal of everyone else, and that’s the role of the library.”
So, what do these two want from the UW community? Silver was ready with an answer: “We need voices — participants, performers, attendees to go to these libraries.”
Washburn and Silver know what they propose is a huge and highly idealistic undertaking, but knowing that doesn’t dampen their passion for this idea or their near-certainty that they will succeed in making Sept. 11 a day of national deliberation.
“There are 16,000 public libraries in the United States and we’d like to create 16,000 public spheres on Sept. 11,” Silver said. He added with a smile, “And we’ll be incredibly excited if we get 10,000.”
Washburn and Silver said they’d like to be able to look back years from now and know that they helped start a new American tradition.
“We know what we do on the Fourth of July, on Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. We’re trying to create and foster an annual tradition that takes place locally, nationally and internationally — people coming together to publicly and collectively discuss issues that matter,” Silver said.
“Perhaps that’s the true legacy of Sept. 11.”
To learn more about The September Project, visit online at http://www.theseptemberproject.org.
