Expression of Ethnic Prejudice in Focus Groups from Agencies Affected by the 9/11 Attacks on the World Trade Center

Members of Muslim and Arab-American communities were publicly targeted as suspects and perpetrators of this terrorism. One to two years after the attacks, 145 participants from 6 affected agencies in New York City participated in 22 focus groups to discuss post-disaster psychosocial issues. Ethnic prejudice was reflected in 2% of the comments emerging from these discussions, representing three major subthemes: (1) observations of prejudice toward self or others, (2) personal fear-based or prejudicial attitudes and opinions, and (3) defense of Muslims. The discussion involving prejudice that emerged in these focus groups parallels the upsurge in prejudice reported by other sources after 9/11.