Letter from American Atheists President Ellen Johnson to Mr. John. C. Whitehead, Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation

June 26, 2002 Mr. John C. Whitehead, Chairman Lower Manhattan Development Corporation One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor New York, NY 10006 Dear Mr. Whitehead: Our organization, American Atheists, is concerned over efforts to include a so-called "miracle debris" cross formed from steel beams of the wreckage of the former World Trade Center as part of a permanent memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. It is our understanding that the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation (LMRC) was organized to help reconstruct the area of New York City devastated in the plane attack, and that this coproration is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation. This is a public entity with several directors appointed by the governor. In addition, LMRC is the recipient of various grants from the government to redevelop the area which total over $2 billion in public money. Other public entities are involved in this rehabilitation project, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. According to a document ("Performance of Expert Professional Consultant Services Related to the Intitial phase of an Urban Planning Study of the Downtown Manhattan Area with Special Emphasis on Transportaion and Development of the World Trade Center Site and Adjacent Areas," Section III ("Description of the Consultant's Task") provides that the Authority, through its agents and committees will "Coordinate with the entity leading the memorial development process to fully integrate a permanent memorial into the WTC site." It is our position that the involvement of public entities such as LMDC which you Chair, the Port Authority including but not limited to Transportation Councils (New York, New Jersey) and City of New York, along with the significant expenditure of taxpayer funds, place any memorial project firmly under the jurisdiction of First Amendment law and the requirement for the separation of government and religion. This would preclude the construction or use of any temporary or permanent memorial which is religious in nature, and includes religious symbols, altars, mottoes, or motifs of any kind. Any public memorial must pass judicial scrutiny, including the test devised by the U.S. Supreme Court in LEMON v. KURTZMAN (1971). "Every analysis in this area (Establishment Clause cases) must begin with consideration of the cumulative criteria developed by the court over many years. Three such tests may be gleaned from such cases. First, the statute must have a secular legislative purpose; second, its principal or primary effect must be one that neither advances nor inhibits religion (Board of education v. Allen, 392 U.S. 236, 243, 88 S. Ct. 1923, 1926, 20 l. Ed. 2d 1060 - 1968); finally the statute must not foster 'an excessive governmental entanglement with religion,' (Waltz v. Tax Commissioner, 397 U.S. 664, at 674, 90 S.Ct. at 1414, 25 l. Ed. 2d 697 0 1970." The presence of any religious monument, symbols, altars, slogans, quotations, motifs or other characteristics in a memorial pertaining to the events of September 11, 2001 on property controlled by a governmental agency, using (directly or indirectly) government funds is a violation of this and other legal strictures protecting the separation of religion and government. Such a monument would invite legal challenge. Mr. Whitehead, a memorial should emphasize that which is common to ALL Americans, like our compassion, love of family, country, our Constitution and our common humanity. This is what makes both the Vietnam Memorial and the Washington Monument great memorials. A memorial site which is sectarian will never be accepted by millions of Americans who profess no religious beliefs. It will only generate anger, protest and resentment and so will not be a symbol of unity. And unity is the goal for all of us Mr. Whitehead. We have more in common than we have differences, and a memorial that focuses on those things will be a memorial that ALL Americans can embrace. Thank-you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing back from you concerning this matter. Sincerely, Ellen Johnson, President American Atheists, Inc. cc: Mayor Michael Bloomberg   Mr. Michael A. Cardozo, Corporation Counsel

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