In Tucson, 9/11 Attacks Remembered with Unity Efforts

Sunday is the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., and members of Tucson religious and community groups are coming together to discuss building stronger ties.

After 9/11, a young filmmaker traveled the country to explore hate crimes against minorities, including the shooting death in Mesa of a member of the Sikh community. Her work became the documentary “Divided We Fall,” which be shown Sunday at the Loft Cinema.

Afterwards, Sat Bir Kaur Khalsa, a Tucson Sikh, will moderate a discussion with Sikh, Muslim and Jewish participants. Her work is to expand cultural understanding, whichs is more important than ever right now, she said.

“Well statistics do show that around events, memorials of events like 9/11, there tends to be an upsurge of expressions of hate and bias," she said.

Parminder Singh, a research oncologist and Tucson Sikh, said anniversaries such as this make him worry about being singled out in a hate crime, even though he otherwise feels supported by the Tucson community.

Khalsa said she wants people to show more compassion to their neighbors and meet people from diverse cultural traditions.

Also in this episode:

• OSIRIS-REx: The University of Arizona-led mission to gather a sample from an asteroid launched successfully on Thursday, so researchers will spend the next seven years checking and rechecking the data coming from the spacecraft. AZPM's Sara Hammond reports from Cape Canaveral.

• Grandparent's Day is Sunday, and we take a look at two grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren. Ann Nichols and Laura Jasso are part of Arizona Grandparent Ambassadors, a group that supports others in the same position and advocates for support from the Legislature. The Arizona Grandparent Ambassadors are holding a summit Sept. 17 in Phoenix, where grandparents can learn about topics such as creating a legal safety net for their grandchild. Child care will be provided.

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