When the calendar page turns to September, it's difficult not to look at the
11th day.  It's a time to remember who was lost, who survived, who has been
left behind. And how to live in the aftermath.

Everyone remembers September 11th. But we must also never forget September
15th.

In 2001, September 15th fell, like it does this year, on a Saturday. Balbir
Singh Sodhi, wearing the turban and beard of a Sikh man, went to Costco to
stock new supplies for his gas station near Phoenix, Arizona. And to look
for an American flag for his store. In the check-out line, he saw a donation
box for the New York relief effort and emptied his pockets of $74 – all he
had remaining with him. (Flags were sold out.)

A few hours later, Mr. Sodhi was dead, killed in front of gas station by a
man who called himself a patriot.

That same day, Adel Karas, an Egyptian Christian in Los Angeles and Kimberly
Lowe, a Native American in Oklahoma City were killed, too.

Mr. Sodhi, Mr. Karas and Ms. Lowe were the first of at least 19 people
murdered as retribution in the aftermath of 9/11. Although our country was
united in grief and sorrow, fear had the power to blind Americans to the
faces of their neighbors, at home and abroad.

For those of you who have been following our film *Divided We Fall*, you
know that we feature Mr. Sodhi, his family's story, and the story of an
American city who came together in extraordinary compassion – a testament to
what is possible when we share our common humanity.

On this day one year ago, we premiered the film in Phoenix, hosted by the
local community, on the memorial of his death. Since we premiered, we have
screened in 50 cities, opening spaces for deep dialogue in campuses and
communities across the country. (We also won three awards, were featured on
CNN, and have been generally too busy to send out updates on newsletters…we
will recap the remarkable summer soon, we promise…)

In the year since we began our national film tour, we have been moved by the
insights, stories, and memories people have shared with us. Everyone, even
the very young, still feel the reverberations of September 11 th. They will
never forget. We hope we are helping them to never forget Balbir Singh
Sodhi, also.

We hope you are safe and healthy during these days of remembrance. Thank you
for being a part of our extended *DWF *family. We are doing our best to make
a difference.

 Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath

Produced and Directed by Sharat Raju (sha...@dwf-film.com )

Produced, Written and Created by Valarie Kaur ( vala...@dwf-film.com)

Visit www.dwf-film.com and
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.