Outside the doors of this hall, the blocks and neighborhoods of this great ci...

Outside the doors of this hall, the blocks and neighborhoods of this great city tell the story of a difficult decade. Nine years ago, the destruction of the World Trade Center signaled a threat that respected no boundary of dignity or decency. Two years ago this month, a financial crisis on Wall Street devastated American families on Main Street. These separate challenges have affected people around the globe. Men, women and children have been murdered by extremists from Casablanca to London, from Jalalabad to Jakarta.