Some Kids Left Behind: An Activist's Account of Beating Bureaucracy and Building a Movement

Mere weeks after the Twin Towers fell, releasing toxic dust, debris, and smoke into the air, students at the nearby Stuyvesant High School were sent back to class at the urging of local and federal officials, and with the assurance of safety by the EPA. When, inevitably, students started falling ill, there was little recourse for anyone who hadn’t been in the towers that day. For Lila Nordstrom, this injustice sparked a lifetime of activism to secure the healthcare and survivors’ benefits t...