(FinalCall.com)--Barry Crumbly, 41, is a senior government liaison for the American Red Cross, a volunteer position, and on Sept. 11, 2001, he arrived at the World Trade Center (WTC) at 9:15 a.m. By then, both planes had hit their targets and he had to get to WTC building seven, where the mayor�s Office of Emergency Management is located.

According to Mr. Crumbly, 10 beepers are contacted immediately when a disaster hits Manhattan, and he is one of them. "I call what I do the three Cs," he said Sept. 5, 2002, during an exclusive interview, standing across the street from where the twin towers once stood. He said his responsibilities are to coordinate information between government agencies and the Red Cross, to serve as a conduit with officials from both groups and when not involved with disasters, he collaborates by attending inter-agency planning meetings and emergency management conferences.

For the Black community, he said, "I am concerned that Black people think that being prepared for events such as September 11, 2001 is as simple as buying a gas mask, and it is much more involved than that."

He said that for the last three years, every conference he attended on disaster preparedness, included a discussion on weapons of mass destruction and the World Trade Center being a major target, but the discussions are not held in Black communities.

"We are standing on the island of Manhattan, and there are hardly ever conferences in the Black neighborhoods concerning boating. In fact, it is hardly a subject of general conversation," he insists. He said he is the only Black in his sailing and scuba diving classes.

"My friends tease me because I spend time in upstate New York in the Adirondacks, but on September 11, 2001, there were a whole lot of messages on my machine wanting to know what they could do to protect their families," he said. "Far too many of us have flashlights and no batteries for them."

Mr. Crumbly is a proponent of Black self-help. A member of the Black Farmers and Agriculture Association, he argues that Blacks in New York must buy farmland in the upstate areas to "grow our own food." He added that Blacks have become too complacent in the concrete jungles.

"The public is not informed of the real nature of the dangers that are still out there," he said. "Look at what they are doing in Israel, they are inoculating all of the people, their emergency response teams are passing out gas masks to the general public. You would think that [we] would be doing it here," he said.

People are not being prepared properly in New York for future attacks, he said.

When asked if Black communities are included in the list of vulnerable areas, he responded, "I know that institutions such as the Metropolitan Opera House, the Federal Reserve, places on that order will get government protection before they secure 125th Street in Harlem or any housing projects."

Therefore, he said he has to get the message out that Black people must think about what happened on September 11, 2001 and use it as a wake-up call.

"We are as vulnerable a year later as we were on Tuesday, September 11, 2001," he said. "Government was caught off guard that day, with all the knowledge and equipment that they possess, so why do Black people think that we will be protected if there is another attack."