Celebs Recall Where They Were on September 11

For millions of Americans who lived through September 11, the question “Where were you?” still brings back vivid memories. Rappers, singers, athletes, politicians and other public figures were no different.

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Some watched the attacks unfold on television, others were close enough to see the smoke over New York, and some were caught traveling as the country came to a halt. Here are the stories Black celebrities and public figures have shared about where they were on September 11, 2001.

Mannie Fresh

Mannie Fresh was in New York City while on the Cash Money/Ruff Ryders tour when the September 11 attacks occurred. Fresh recalled leaving a recording studio in the early morning hours and immediately noticing something strange: there was virtually no traffic on the streets of New York. “You think it’s the end of the world,” he remembered. By the time he reached his hotel, Fresh said the scene had descended into chaos as people struggled to understand what was happening. After seeing the second plane strike the World Trade Center, he remembered thinking, “We are at war.”

Fresh described New York the following day as looking like “a zombie movie,” with little traffic, disrupted phone service and people walking around carrying backpacks and bottles of water. He and the touring party were unable to contact their families for several days. Fresh said a bus driver who knew New York eventually found a back way out of the city roughly five days later. Looking back 25 years later, Fresh called September 11 “one of the craziest days of my life.”

Jay-Z

September 11 was already destined to be a major date in Jay-Z’s career because his landmark album “The Blueprint” was released that day. Jay-Z was in Los Angeles when he learned about the attacks and watched the events unfolding on television.

Michael Strahan

Michael Strahan was playing for the New York Giants and living in Montclair, New Jersey, in 2001. On the morning of September 11, Strahan looked toward Manhattan and saw the World Trade Center burning.

In the aftermath, football suddenly felt insignificant. Strahan was among the players who did not believe the NFL should play that weekend. He also participated in efforts to support people affected by the attacks and has spoken about how sports eventually helped provide a sense of community and normalcy.

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey lived in Tribeca in Lower Manhattan at the time but happened to be in Los Angeles when the attacks occurred. Carey told Larry King that she had been sleeping and woke up to the news before turning on her television.

“I looked at the TV and couldn’t believe it,” Carey recalled. Returning to New York made the loss especially personal. She remembered looking out her window and realizing the Twin Towers, which had been part of the scenery and memories of her life in the city, were simply no longer there.

Natalie Cole

Natalie Cole was in Nashville with her husband on September 11. She had dropped her stepson off at school and returned home when her husband told her that something unbelievable was happening.

Cole turned on the television and, like many Americans, initially thought the images looked like something from a movie. Then she saw the second plane strike the World Trade Center. “I just knew we were at war,” Cole later told Larry King.

Spike Lee

Spike Lee was in California on the morning of September 11. The filmmaker had gotten up early to speak with his son before his first day of kindergarten when Lee’s wife told him to turn on the television.

Lee subsequently managed to get the last train back to New York before service was canceled. He later recalled going down to Wall Street at approximately 2 a.m. the following morning.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams was aboard an airplane when the attacks occurred. Williams had left New York shortly after 7 a.m. and was flying to Washington, D.C.

Serena said she didn’t learn what had happened until she landed in Washington. She remembered an eerily quiet airport where people were gathered around televisions watching the news in shock.

Metta World Peace

Metta World Peace, then known as Ron Artest, was driving from Chicago toward New York ahead of his third NBA season when he stopped at a gas station in rural Pennsylvania.

While paying, he glanced at a television and initially thought he was watching a preview for a movie. He quickly realized the images were real. World Peace later remembered the anger, sadness, confusion and disbelief surrounding the attacks.

DeLisha Milton-Jones

For WNBA champion DeLisha Milton-Jones, September 11 carries another deeply personal connection: it is her birthday. Her Los Angeles Sparks had won the franchise’s first WNBA championship just 10 days earlier.

She woke up expecting birthday calls and congratulations about the championship. Instead, her sister called from the East Coast and urgently told her to turn on the television. Milton-Jones remembered watching the unfolding attack and realizing that celebrating a basketball championship suddenly didn’t matter.

Barack Obama

Barack Obama was an Illinois state senator, law professor and practicing attorney in 2001. He was driving down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago