In this fourth episode of 800 Miles from Ground Zero:9/11's Impact on Central Illinois we foucs on how 9/11 impacted the lives of Muslims across the country and locally in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. We cover the struggles that many Muslims experienced due to 9/11 and how they have overcome these challenges and continue to thrive in America today. 

The first plane hit the World Trade Center in NYC at 7:46 CST in the morning  in 2001. In this first episode of 800 Miles from Ground Zero: 9/11's Impact on Central Illinois listeners hear memories from this day and the weeks following from a variety of people currently living in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois who recount their experiences during a time that horrified, traumatized, and brought together a nation.

800 Miles from Ground Zero: 9/11's Impact on Central Illinois is a four-part podcast series that documents how people currently living in the Champaign-Urbana (CU), IL area experienced September 11, 2001. Uni High School students collected perspectives from community members who lived in CU, New York, and Washington on 9/11/01, members of the local Muslim community, veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, university experts and anti-war activists to uncover how 9/11 influenced our understanding of U.S. foreign policy, our local efforts at “homeland security,” and how those efforts both divided and brought a nation together.

Stephen Gallagher was an out gay man and adminstrative assistant for the Gay Community AIDS Project in Champaign, Illinois.  He died of AIDS in 1991.  Close friends of Stephen remember him.