Mayor's Statement: Remembering 9/11

Published on September 11, 2025

By the the Mayor of Montclair, NJ, Dr. Renee Baskerville:

On this day, we remember-
not just the terror, but the tenderness that rose from the ashes.
We remember the stillness of the skies, and the chaos in our hearts.
We remember the silence after the sirens, and the voices we would never hear again.

Twenty-four years have passed,
but the weight has not vanished­
it has only grown quieter,
nestled in the folds of our collective soul. Montclair remembers.
We remember every mother, father, sister, brother, every neighbor we lost,
every hero who ran in when others ran out.

Grief came to every town that day,
and yet so did unity.
In those moments, we learned that
the strength of this country
is not in its buildings, but in its people­
in hands that helped strangers,
in candles lit on front porches,
in the prayers whispered by children
who had just learned the word "terror."

We learned that love endures longer than hate.
We learned that love endures longer than hate. We learned that peace is not passive-
it is something we fight for every day,
in how we speak, how we serve, how we remember.

To those who lost loved ones:
We will not forget their names.
We will not forget their light.

We carry them forward - 
in the way we teach our children,
in the way we look after our neighbors,
in the way we stand together still. 

From Montclair's heart to yours - 
we honor your loss, 
we hold your grief,
and we promise: 
the memory of 9/11 will never fade.
Not in this town. 
Not in this lifetime.