Twenty-five years after the mayor of New York City became the champion of America’s grief and resilience at the time of the 9/11 attacks, families of those killed are split on whether the current mayor should attend the annual remembrance.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim to hold the office, said he would “proudly honour” those affected by standing alongside them at ground zero, but some relatives of victims say they don’t want him there. “I don’t know if I could stomach that,” Robert Hughes told CNN. Others are unhappy the focus is on the mayor — in part because of his political ideology and his identity — and not their loved ones. For Liz Miller, it is time for acceptance, not division. “Unity can represent itself as kindness and compassion towards others, even when you do think differently,” she said.