9/11 portraits showed every life has value
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Following the September 11th attacks in 2001, The New York Times published 2,310 obituaries of victims, focusing on their personal lives rather than professional accomplishments.
The newspaper’s editors decided to profile individuals who would not normally receive Times obituaries, including teachers, police officers, and everyday citizens. This approach differed from the traditional “great man theory” of history often used to determine who merits a published obituary.
The Times gathered information for the “Portraits of Grief” series from fliers and posters families posted around New York City seeking news of loved ones. Reporters volunteered to create intimate sketches of the victims, highlighting hobbies, family connections, and acts of kindness. These portraits revealed bravery and self-sacrifice in ordinary people, emphasizing how they lived and the impact of their loss on those who knew them.
This series set a precedent for how The New York Times covered tragedy, mirroring a later series on victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper’s work demonstrated that every life holds unique value and that even seemingly ordinary individuals leave a lasting impression on their communities. Editor Howell Raines noted the unprecedented reader response to the series, and editor Christine Kay affirmed that the portraits showed “nobody’s life was ordinary.”
