‘How do we go forward?’: Colorado leaders emphasize unity at 9/11 ceremonies
Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette
Following another school shooting in Colorado and the assassination of a prominent conservative activist, state leaders took to the podium Thursday to emphasize the need for unity on a day that united millions 24 years ago.
Hundreds gathered at separate 9/11 memorial ceremonies at Mitchell High School and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to honor the lives lost during and after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
While the ceremonies offered a moment of remembrance, they came off the heels of fresh violence that once again shook communities across the country.
In Jefferson County, a student unloaded rounds at Evergreen High School, critically injuring two students before killing himself Wednesday. Happening almost simultaneously, conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck by a gunman during a political event at Utah Valley University.
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Similar to the litany of other shootings that have plagued the country in recent years, the two incidents spurred posts on social media, with many blaming the violence on the opposite side of the political aisle. Even President Donald Trump pointed fingers, blaming Democrats for Kirk’s assassination in a video posted on social media.
Numbers show that division in the country has been on the rise. In 2024, Gallup reported a record 80% of U.S. adults believe Americans are “greatly divided” on the most important values. The percentage has ticked up by 3% from when the polling organization asked Americans in 2016.
The former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams called for unity at a 9/11 Memorial Thursday at Mitchell High School. (Jahlysa Azaret, The Gazette)
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“How do we unite?” former Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams asked students and families at Mitchell High School. “How do we go forward?”
Williams harkened back over 200 years ago to the fourth presidential election in 1808 for answers, noting that then-candidates James Monroe and James Madison would argue “vociferously” for their sides even to the point of Madison getting frostbite.
“All this sounds like it would fit right into today’s political climate. But here’s where it was different. The two men decided to ride together to these debates and often shared meals and even lodged in the same room,” Williams said. “It is our responsibility to follow the example of Madison and Monroe and seek to be friends with those you disagree with.”
An hour before Williams took the stand, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade spoke to over a hundred gatherers at the UCCS Mountain Lion Statue.
Former Colorado Secretary of State and local politician Wayne Williams speaks about unity in our country as the keynote speaker of a remembrance ceremony at Mitchell High School on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. The ceremony is held every year for Mitchell High School 1975 graduate Kathryn Yancey LaBorie, a flight attendant that was killed on 9/11 when the plane she was aboard crashed into the South Tower.
“Our hearts again have been broke by senseless acts of violence, from the Evergreen school shooting to the violence at the Charlie Kirk event. These tragedies remind us that the threats that we face today, while they may be different, the reality is the need for unity, courage and resolve remains the same,” Mobolade said.
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez echoed Mobolade’s comments after listening to the mayor.
“Is it just the police’s responsibility to solve this issue? (No), it also falls on our communities across the nation,” he said in an interview. “We’ve got to come together.”
To Williams, the focus needs to be getting people out of their bubbles and rebuilding face-to-face connections with others across the aisle. With technology making it so easy to cut out social interactions, Williams said people need to make conscious efforts to seek them out.
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He told The Gazette that one of the keys to a functioning democracy is that its people, both representatives and voters, talk to each other.
To bridge the divide, Williams and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser started the Unify Challenge for Colorado, an initiative that aims to spark one-on-one, face-to-face conversations between Coloradans who might vote or think differently.
Williams acknowledged that individual efforts won’t fix everything and unite the whole country, but it’s a start.
In his speech, the former secretary of state quoted Nobel Laureate St. Mother Teresa, who said: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water to create many ripples.”
“As we remember 9/11, let’s each cast the right stones and commit to creating the best ripples possible,” Williams told the audience.
