On Friday, Joseph P. Curseen Jr. and Thomas L. Morris Jr. were remembered by postal workers and officials with prayer vigils and memorials. Their deaths are a reminder of the slow horror and mystery of the anthrax attacks as they unfolded from the elite world of Capitol Hill to the Brentwood facility, where workers had been assured by health officials that theywere safe. Postal workers at Brentwood felt that they were treated differently from Capitol Hill personnel because the Senate office was closed immediately while the closure of Brentwood was delayed.
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| Norris McDonald speaking at Brentwood press conference |
The letter-borne anthrax terrorism killed five people and sickened 17 more, including several postal workers in New Jersey. In 2008, federal prosecutors declared a scientist named Bruce Ivins, who worked at the government’s biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Md., as the culprit. Ivins had killedhimself daysbefore. The FBI closed its investigation last year. Some have questioned whether Ivans was guilty. (Wash Post, 10/22/2011)
AAEA organized a rally to support the plight of the postal workers at the Brentwood postal facility, now known as the Joseph Curseen, Jr. and Thomas Morris, Jr. Processing & Distribution Center. The rally was held on October 30, 2001 in front of the closed Brentwood building to show support for the postal workers. The rally was cosponsored by EPA Victims Against Racial Discrimination, Friends of the Earth, Gray Panthers, Urban Protectors, EPA-Nat'l Treasury Employee’s Union, Chapter 280, Women Like Us (Brenda Richardson), Donald Temple Law Offices, and the DC Statehood Green Party. The rally was covered by numerous news outlets.
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