9/11 Activist

My name is Anessa Haney. I am a mother, widow- to a cancer patient, Author of the true story book- “Death Interrupted by Love”, caregiver, and award winning Connecticut community activist who was motivated by the events of September 11, 2001.

On September 11, 2001 I was twenty-four years old. I was a new mother to a nine-month old baby girl. My husband was an electrician and we shared ours lives together in Putnam, Connecticut.

On that day, I can recall being frightened by the fact that my husband was stuck in Boston, Mass. with no way to leave. He called to tell me that the streets were nearly completely black; the FBI and police vehicles that filled the streets were immense, from what he could see. The streets were closed down and the entire city was under suspicion. The terrorists who flew the airplanes into the World Trade Towers flew out of Logan Airport in Boston, that morning.

As the days past and the media bombarded my head with fears of terrorism and anthrax, I became very edgy and afraid to go out of my home.

I didn’t find the confidence that I needed to re-enter society until the night that President George W. Bush Addressed the Nation for the first time since the events which took place on 9/11/01. At the time that he delivered his speech, my family had no cable television; most of the information we learned from on-line. I remember turning on the living room radio and sitting with my husband listening to Mr. Bush’s speech. In that speech he expressed the need for all of us to be more vigilant and to become better informed about our communities. It was at that moment in his speech that I felt a sense of encouragement.

The next day I left my house and I walked straight to my Mayor’s office. I had never communicated with any one like a mayor, so it was a bold move for me. I asked him to show me his plans for our community’s emergency response. From that day I stayed very active in my community and went on to spearhead several valuable community based projects; including environmental awareness such as litter control, community gardens and neighborhood rehabilitation projects. I have been awarded citations for my efforts and I have even taken my own spot in history; I was the first woman, youngest, Independent candidate to run for the office of mayor, in Putnam Connecticut. In 2005 I successfully petitioned, and testified to CT State Legislators on the matter of eminent domain, leading the way for Putnam residents to vote against the use of eminent domain for “economic development purposes”.


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