In the shadow of the towers: 25 years of post-9/11 America 

Twenty-five years ago today, our country was forever changed when four commercial airliners flew into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, killing 2,983 people. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated additional 400,000 people were exposed to toxic contaminants, risk of physical injury, and physically and emotionally stressful conditions in the months that followed.

Beyond the immediate violence of September 11, however, tremors of the attacks were soon felt in specific communities around the country. In schools, workplaces, houses of worship, convenience stores, taxi cabs and subway cars, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian and Hindu individuals across the U.S. found themselves forced to defend their right to exist in public life.

In Arizona, Balbir Singh Sodhi was fatally shot on Sept. 15, 2001. His murderer claimed to be seeking retribution for the attacks. That same day, Waqar Hasan was shot and killed in Texas by a white supremacist, who went on to kill Vasudev Patel and injure Rais Bhuiyan. In the days, weeks and months that followed, these communities continued to mourn the events of 9/11 — including, for some, the loss of members of their own families and communities in the attacks — while also weathering hate-motivated violence.

Simultaneously, a sweeping policy regime cracked down on some Americans’ civil liberties more than others. The hurriedly passed Patriot Act drastically expanded the federal government’s surveillance powers. In New York City, police surveilled neighborhoods occupied by........

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