9/11 Memorial Museum Faces the Latest Hurdle: Its Opening

Nothing about the National September 11 Memorial Museum has been easy. Its location, its financing and its exhibitions have all been the subject of rancorous controversy and relentless negotiations.

Now, with just weeks to go before its formal opening on May 21, the museum, beneath the World Trade Center plaza, has another potential political and emotional minefield to cross: the opening ceremony.

Organizers must consider the various expectations and sensitivities of tens of thousands of survivors, victims’ families, police officers, firefighters, rescuers, recovery workers, neighborhood residents and business owners, and an array of former and current political leaders, who, with their special connections to Sept. 11, are all called stakeholders. Who is entitled to visit early? Who deserves to attend the ceremonies? Who gets to speak at the dedication?