Public memorials at their very best have the potential to honor our dead while bringing the living together to grieve, reflect, heal and unite. For these and so many other reasons, public memorials are enormously powerful symbols.

Take for example two memorials designed by Maya Lin. The first is the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., whose black marble wall honoring the fallen has helped our nation to begin the healing process by bringing people together regardless of the positions we took on the War.

The second Lin memorial, The Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Ala., while memorializing 40 individuals who gave their lives in the pursuit of dignity and equality for all, is a testimony to the spirit and resilience of the American dream. The memorial’s fountain design is inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s glowing words: “… we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream….”

Following the tragic events on September 11, 2001, we once again have the potential to unite as we built memorials to the fallen. This past week, traveling 300 miles from New York City to Shanksville, Pa., a motorcycle honor guard of some 1,000 firefighters transported a 14-foot, 3,000-pound Christian cross monument constructed from steel from the World Trade Center to memorialize the passengers aboard Flight 93 whose plane crashed near Shanksville as passengers attempted to overtake hijackers. The memorial was dedicated during a ceremony on Aug. 14. It rests on a base in the shape of a Pentagon to commemorate those lost at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

While the purpose and intent of this memorial is well-founded, the memorial’s design is problematic at best. Even if all the passengers aboard Flight 93 had been practicing and committed Christians, the purpose of public 9/11 memorials must be to help heal the wounds of an entire nation, a nation whose people were affected by the tragic events on that day. By instituting a Christian cross, constructed from the artifacts of the World Trade Center — artifacts honored and cherished by many of us — the memorial promotes and reinforces one perspective, one faith and one standard of memorialization, while marginalizing, subordinating and limiting access of those who do not adhere to Christian faith traditions. In so doing, this memorial fails to attain its potential. We must, therefore, be ever vigilant and sensitive when considering memorial designs.

Warren Blumenfeld

Associate Professor

Curriculum & Instruction