Dr. Benjamin Luft Discusses 9/11 Oral Histories at Library of Congress

Medical Center & Health Care

Dr. Benjamin Luft Discusses 9/11 Oral Histories at Library of Congress
The LOC’s American Folklife Center Will Serve as a Repository of the Oral Histories

STONY BROOK, N.Y., November 1, 2011 – Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and Medical Director of Stony Brook’s World Trade Center Health Program, will present “We’re Not Leaving: Responders Oral Histories Redefine 9/11,” at the American Folklife Center at The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on November 10. The Center will serve as the repository for oral histories of 9/11 first responders from around the country, which are being recorded and filmed by Dr. Luft and the WTC Health Program staff as the Remembering 9/11 oral history project. The lecture will be held in the Mary Pickford Theater, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.
 After hearing many stories from his first responder patients, Dr. Luft came to believe that the experiences they recounted are part of our nation’s history and must, therefore, be preserved. So in 2009 he set out to do this by recording their personal stories as an oral history. In July 2011, the Library of Congress formally expressed interest in serving as the repository for the collected oral histories and other documentation created by the project. To date, approximately 150 oral histories have been documented. The project is slated to be completed in September 2012.
 “In many respects, the stories of the 9/11 responders are a reflection of the values that the American people hold dear, such as courage, patriotism, volunteerism, altruism, and a deep sense of community,” says Dr. Luft. “Their stories cause us to reflect on who we are as a people and the beliefs that we hold in high esteem and bind us as a nation.”
 To date oral history interviews have been with World Trade Center first responders who reside in the ...

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