New Bedford Urges Gratitude, Compassion on 9/11 Anniversary

The City of New Bedford paused Friday morning to look back on the events that unfolded on September 11, 2001.

A remembrance ceremony on the steps of City Hall invited hundreds of people to reflect and pay tribute to those who lost their lives on that day and the years after.

City Council President Brian Gomes urged the public to express their gratitude to public safety officials over the next few days. "When you see a firefighter, when you see a police officer, when you see an EMT, when you see a serviceman, you reach out to him and you say 'thank you. Thank you for your service.' Because they're the front line. And they were the front line that day. And they continue to be the front line each and every day."

Reverend David Lima of the Greater New Bedford Intercurch Council hinted at recent unrest between citizens and police officers, and says it's anniversaries like 9/11 that remind us of what they do every day. "Something occurs and we start cursing them, we start blaming them, we start not thinking about them the way we should until we remember that they're the ones that will run in when everyone's running away."

Helping to commemorate the anniversary was New Bedford singer Samantha Johnson, who delivered an emotial rendition of "God Bless America."