The Crown Heights riot is a three-day racial riot that occurred from August 19 to August 21, 1991 in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City. It turns out that blacks and Orthodox Jews are in conflict, causing a worsening of already tense racial relations. The unrest began on August 19, 1991, after two Guyana immigrant children were accidentally hit by one of the cars in Menachem's motorcade of Mendel Schneerson, the leader of Chabad, the Jewish religious movement. One child died and the second was seriously injured.
Behind him, some Jews were seriously injured and an Orthodox Jew was killed. Two weeks after the riots, a non-Jew man was killed by a group of black men; some believe that the man has been mistaken for a Jew. The unrest was a major problem in the 1993 mayoral race, which contributed to the defeat of mayor David Dinkins, an African-American, who was blamed for an ineffective police response.
Ultimately, black and Jewish leaders developed an outreach program among their communities to help calm and possibly improve racial ties in Crown Heights over the next decade.
Video Crown Heights riot
Cause
Car crash
At around 8:20 pm on Monday, August 19, 1991, Yosef Lifsh, 22, was riding a station wagon with three passengers on the west on President Street, part of a three-car caravan of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic Movement. The procession was led by an unmarked police car with two officers, with its roof lights on.
Police cars and Schneerson cars crossed Utica Avenue with a green light and walked along President Street at normal speed, but the Lifsh vehicle lagged behind. Not wanting to forget the Schneerson car, the Lifsh vehicle crossed Utica Avenue with a yellow light or emit a red light. There is no indication of the exact speed of the Lifsh vehicle. The Lifsh vehicle crashed into a car being driven on Utica Avenue, turned onto the sidewalk, struck a 600-pound pillar (275kg) and pinned two children to the iron bars that covered the window of an apartment on the fourth floor in a brick building ( < span> 40.66717Ã, Â ° N 73.93166Ã, Â ° W / 40.66717; - 73.93166 ). The seven-year-old Gavin Cato, the son of Guyana immigrants, who was on the sidewalk near his apartment on President Street, mending his chain of chains, died instantly. His seven-year-old cousin, Angela Cato, who played nearby, survived but was seriously injured.
Lifsh believes he has the right to proceed through the intersection due to police escort. Lifsh said he deliberately steered his car away from adults on the sidewalk, toward the wall, a distance of about 25 yards (23 m), to stop the car. Lifsh later commented that the car did not stop because of the impact of the building, but slid to the left along the wall until it reached the children.
Gavin Cato's Death
Account differs from the next sequence of events. After the collision, Lifsh said that the first thing he did was try to lift the car to free the two children below him. The EMS unit that arrived at the scene about three minutes after the accident said that Lifsh was beaten and pulled out of the station wagon by three or four people. An ambulance volunteer from Hatzolah's ambulance corps arrived at the scene at about 8:23 am, followed by the City's ambulance and police, who took Gavin Cato to Kings County Hospital, arriving at 8:32 pm; Cato is declared dead soon. Volunteers from the second Hatzolah ambulance help Angela Cato, until the second City ambulance arrives and takes her to the same hospital.
Two police officers present, as well as a technician from the City ambulance, directed Hatzolah's driver to move Lifsh from the scene for his safety, while Gavin Cato was being pulled out from under the station wagon. According to the New York Times, more than 250 residents, mostly black teenagers, many of whom shouted "Jew! Jew! Jew!", Ridiculed car drivers and then changed their anger at the police.
Some members of the community were angry that Lifsh was taken from the scene by private ambulance services while urban emergency workers were still trying to free the pinned children under the car. Some believe that Gavin Cato died because the crew of Hatzolah's ambulance did not want to help the Gentiles. There were rumors when Lifsh was drunk. Alcohol breath tests performed within 70 minutes after an accident indicate that this is not the case. Other rumors that circulated shortly after the accident included: Lifsh was on a cell phone, Lifsh did not have a valid driver's license, and that the police prevented people, including Gavin Cato's father, from helping save.
That night, as the crowd and the rumors grew, people threw bottles and stones. Someone reported shouting, "Let's go to Kingston Avenue and get a Jew!" Black youths then head west to Kingston Avenue (1.1 miles) from Utica Avenue, a street dominated by Jewish residents a few blocks away, damaging cars and stockpiling stones and bottles as they leave.
Maps Crown Heights riot
Viewpoint
After the death of Gavin Cato, members of the black community believe that the decision to remove Lifsh from the first scene was racial motivation. They also state that this is one example of a preferential treatment system favored by Jews in Crown Heights. Specific treatment is reported to include bias actions by law enforcement and allocation of government resources among others. In addition, many members of the black community are concerned about the expansion of Jews moving into the neighborhood, believing that people later bought all the properties.
A number of studies have focused on allegations that law enforcement is preferred by Jews to African Americans, including one that denies the allegations. An interview with Rabbi Shmuel Butman, published in 1991, mentions police directions to Hatzolah to transport Lifsh, along with Jewish people who have been wounded by rioters, without transporting Cato's children. "We did exactly what was wisely counseled by police officers."
The protesters' statements and actions during the unrest caused Butman to say, "We always hope that after World War II no Jews will be killed just for being Jewish, but this is what happened in New York City." In his speech at the funeral, Reverend Al Sharpton made a comment about "diamond traders" and commented, "This is an accident to allow apartheid ambulance services in the middle of Crown Heights." In addition, the banners displayed at the funeral read "Hitler did not do the job".
Edward S. Shapiro, a historian at Brandeis University, later called the riots "the most serious anti-Semitic incident in American history". He points out that there are many interpretations of what happened:
Almost immediately after the riots a number of different interpretations arose about the nature and origin. This explanatory effort... reflects various political, religious, and social circumstances, different ideological assumptions, and different understandings of the past by journalists, sociologists, political activists, and historians who write about unrest.
Riots and killings
Yankel Rosenbaum's murder
About three hours after the unrest began, on the morning of August 20, a group of about 20 young blacks surrounded the 29-year-old Australian Jew, Yankel Rosenbaum, a student at the University of Melbourne in the United States who conducted research for his doctorate.. They stabbed him several times in the back and hit him badly, breaking his skull. Before being taken to the hospital, Rosenbaum can identify Lemrick Nelson, Jr. who was 16 years old as an attacker in a row that was shown to him by the police. Rosenbaum died that night. Nelson was charged as an adult with murder and freed. Then he was sentenced in federal court to violate Rosenbaum's civil rights and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Nelson finally admitted that he had stabbed Rosenbaum.
Riot
During the three days following the crash, many African Americans and Caribbean Americans in the neighborhood, joined more and more non-residents, who rioted in Crown Heights. In the ensuing three days of violence, according to Edward Shapiro, many rioters "do not even live in Crown Heights."
During the riots, Jews were wounded, shops looted, and cars and homes were damaged. The rioters identified the Jewish houses by the mezuzot taped to the front door.
An additional 350 police officers were added to the list of regular duties on August 20 and assigned to Crown Heights in an effort to quell the riots. After an episode of throwing stones and bottles involving hundreds of blacks and Jews, and after the black group marched through Mahkota Heights saying "No Justice, No Peace!", "Death to the Jews!", And "Which way? Our streets! ", An additional 1,200 police officers were sent to confront rioters in Crown Heights.
On the third day of disturbance, Al Sharpton and Sonny Carson lead the march. The demonstrators continued their journey through Crown Heights, carrying signs of antisemitism and the Israeli flag burned. Rioters threw bricks and bottles at police; shots fired into police cars and police were stoned and overturned, including the Police Commissioner's car.
The riots escalated to the point that the detachment of 200 police officers was overwhelmed and had to retreat for their safety. On August 22, more than 1,800 police officers, including horse and motorcycle units, had been sent to stop attacks on people and property.
By the time the three days of rioting ended, 152 police officers and 38 civilians were wounded, 27 vehicles were destroyed, seven shops were looted or burned, and 225 robberies and robberies were committed. At least 129 arrests were made during the riots, including 122 blacks and seven whites. Property damage is estimated at one million dollars.
Killing related shootings
On September 5, two weeks after the riots were under control, Anthony Graziosi, an Italian sales rep with a white beard dressed in dark business clothing, was driving in the neighborhood. When he stopped at a traffic light at 11 pm, six blocks away from where Yankel Rosenbaum had been killed, a group of four black men surrounded his car and one of them shot and killed him. Alleged by the families of Graziosi and their lawyers, as well as Senators Al D'Amato, Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan, State Attorney Robert Abrams, former Mayor Ed Koch, and a number of advocacy organizations, that Graziosi's similarity with a Hasid Jew precipitated his assassination. The New York Police Department, Mayor Dinkins, newspaper columnist Mike McAlary, and the US Department of Justice disagreed. The killing was not treated as a biased crime.
Court case
A grand jury consisting of 10 black, white and 5 Hispanic jurors found no reason to indict Lifsh. Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes explained that under New York law, the single act of "losing control of the car" is not a criminal negligence, even if death or injury occurs. Lifsh was released immunity and testified before the grand jury. About an hour after hearing Lifsh's testimony, the grand jury chose not to indict him. Later, Lifsh moved to Israel, where his family lived, because his life was threatened. In Israel, Lifsh settled in the village of Lubavitch, Kfar Chabad.
After that, Hynes fought unsuccessfully over the public release of the testimonies already known by the Grand Jury. The lawsuit was dismissed, and the judge noted that more than three quarters of the witnesses who had been contacted refused to rule out their right to privacy. The judge also expressed concern over the safety of witnesses.
Aftermath
Impact on the 1993 mayor race
Crown Heights riots contributed to the defeat of David Dinkins in the second mayor's bid. He was attacked by many political enemies in his election bid, including vocal supporters of "black nationalism, returning to Africa, economic radicalism, and racial exclusivity."
Girgenti Report
On November 17, 1992, New York Governor Mario Cuomo gave the Director of Criminal Justice Services, Richard H. Girgenti, the authority to investigate Nelson's unrest and trial. The Girgenti report was compiled by over 40 lawyers and researchers, and consisted of two volumes, a 600-page document on July 20, 1993. It was very critical of Police Commissioner Lee Brown. The report also embarrassed Dinkins in the handling of the riots. However, the report found no evidence to support the most serious charges against Dinkins and Brown: that they deliberately delayed police responses to allow rioters "to vent their anger".
The first night of the riot, Dinkins, along with Commissioner of Police Lee Brown, both African-Americans, went to Crown Heights to dispel the rumors about the circumstances surrounding the accident, but they did not affect the rioters, most of whom were young. man.
In a 16-minute speech on Thanksgiving holiday after the riots, Dinkins denied allegations that he had prevented police from protecting residents in Crown Heights. The Jewish community believes that Dinkins failed to resist the riots and failed to carry out its responsibilities, to the detriment of the Jewish community.
Use of the term "pogrom"
The Crown Heights riots were an important issue that was raised repeatedly on the path of the campaign in the 1993 mayoral election. According to Edward S. Shapiro, politicians opposed to the Mayor of Dinkins used the word "pogrom" to characterize the riots to discredit the mayor's response to the riots, wrote "controversies about how defining Crown Heights riots is not just a matter of semantics. "
Rudolph Giuliani, who will be the next mayor in New York, called Crown Heights riots a "pogrom" on July 1, 1993 in a speech in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn: "You can use whatever word you want, but in reality for three days beaten, people sent to the hospital because they are Jews There is not enough question about it by the city of New York. One definition of pogrom is violence where the state is not enough to prevent it. "Other political opponents to Dinkins use that term , including Ed Koch, who had been defeated by Dinkins in the Democratic mayoral election of 1989, and Andrew Stein, a candidate in the 1993 Democratic mayoral election. The term was used earlier in 1991 by journalists such as AM Rosenthal in the New York Times and Eric Breindel at New York Post , and politicians like New York City Councilman Noach Dear and then by Judah Gribetz, president of JCRC New York. In September 1991, it has become routine among Jews to describe unrest as pogrom and will remain so for some Jews a decade later, as shown by articles in publications such as Sunday Jew Jerusalem Post , The Forward and The Jewish Press , and others further call it "America's Kristallnacht".
The use of the word was rejected by Dinkins and its supporters, especially on the grounds that pogroms need to be sponsored by the state. Dinkins says, "Suggest that this [pogrom] is not to contribute to solving the problem but to exacerbate existing tensions and problems." Dinkins was personally offended by the use of "pogrom" for insinuating that the riots were state sanctions and that he was personally antisemite. "I am angry because of it... [it] is untrue and unfair."
Michael Stanislawski, Professor of Jewish History at Columbia University, wrote in 1992 that "historically inaccurate" for "pogrom" couples with Crown Heights, since it indicates organized violence against Jews "has some sort of government involvement." Journalists also disagree with the use of the term, including Joyce Purnick at New York Times , Earl Caldwell at New York Daily News , and an article in The City Sun . Al Sharpton said that Giuliani was involved in "racing-bait" using the word "pogrom." Henry Siegman and Marc D. Stern of the American Jewish Congress also publicly rejected the term.
In 2011, shortly before the twentieth anniversary of the riots, an editorial at The Jewish Week wrote: "A debate splits the meaning of pogrom, which lasts for more than two years, could be easily ends if the Mayor just said to the victims of Crown Heights, yes, I understand why you experienced it as a pogrom. "
Ethnic relations
Efforts aimed at enhancing relations between blacks and Jews in Crown Heights began shortly after the riots. Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden summoned the leaders of each ethnic community to Borough Hall within days of the unrest, creating what is known as the Crown Heights Coalition. The coalition, led by Edison O. Jackson, then President of Medgar Evers College and Rabbi Shea Hecht, Chairman of the Board of the National Committee for Advanced Jewish Education (NCFJE), served for ten years as an intergroup forum on environmental issues and work out of trouble. Golden uses the Coalition to start racial projects designed to promote dialogue. One project involves sending a Jewish leader and a black leader together in a couple to a public and secondary high school in the area to answer questions from children about their respective cultures.
A week after the riots, Hatzolah helped repair the ambulance from a black-service volunteer service. The following year, the Brooklyn Children's Museum held an exhibition of contributions made by blacks and Jews in New York. In 1993, Reverend Jesse Jackson was active in promoting enhanced black-Jewish relationships. In 1993, a series of environmental basketball games were scheduled between the two groups, including the struggle held as part of the New York Knicks part-time entertainment Philadelphia 76ers professional basketball match. Also that year, Israeli rabbi Shemtov, whose anti-crime patrol had long been felt by many blacks as biased against them, rushed to the aid of a black woman who was shot on the street in Crown Heights, put her in her car and took her to the hospital. The Crown Heights Mediation Center was established in 1998 to help resolve local differences, as well as the immediate results of the Coalition.
Anniversary anniversary
On August 19, 2001, a street fair was held to commemorate Cato and Rosenbaum, and their families met and exchanged souvenirs of healing hopes in Crown Heights. Once again in 2016, Carmel family members Cato and Norman Rosenbaum plan to meet together to commemorate their loss.
Twenty years after the riots, a Manhattan synagogue invited Sharpton to participate in panel discussions marking the anniversary. Norman Rosenbaum, Yankel Rosenbaum's brother who was murdered, angered, said inviting Sharpton to speak was "an absolute disgrace" and that "ruthless rhetoric instigated riots". He added that Sharpton "did nothing to improve the Jewish-black relationship - and nothing since then". Sharpton expressed regret over some aspects of his involvement. He insisted that his race was peaceful, although his language and tone "sometimes exacerbated tension".
Demographics
To this day, Crown Heights demographic trends remain the same as in 1991; The Jews did not flee from Crown Heights, and the Lubavitch residents of Crown Heights rose after the riots, with the area where they lived has been widespread.
In popular culture
- On the sketch comedy show In Living Color , the 1991 season 3 premiere episode sketched the West Side Story Crown Heights Story i>.
- The 2004 television movie, Crown Heights , was made about the aftermath of the riots, starring Howie Mandel.
- Two episodes Legal & amp; Messages , one during season two and others during season four, are based on unrest.
- Anna Deavere Smith wrote a play titled Fires in the Mirror , which depicts 29 real-life interviews with people who are actually involved in the riots.
- Brooklyn Babylon , a feature film starring Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and The Roots, presents a fictional version of the environmental unrest of Crown Heights Kingdom in the 1990s.
- Australian Australian ABC Documentary Death in Brooklyn by Tracey Spring.
- In the song "How Many Mics?" on The Fugees' Score album, Wyclef Jean tapped that "I ran through Crown Heights, shouted 'Mazel Tov.'"
See also
- List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States
- the 1968 New York City teacher strike - which occurred immediately east of Crown Heights in Brownsville and other chapters in African-American-Jewish relations.
References
Further reading
- Conaway, Carol B. "Crown Heights: Politics and Press Coverage The Race War is Not." Polity (1999): 93-118. in JSTOR
- Goldschmidt, Henry. Race and Religion among the Chosen People Crown Heights (Rutgers University Press, 2006) quote
- Shapiro, Edward S. "Interpretation of Crown Heights riots." American Jewish History (2002) 90 # 2 pp: 97-122. online
- Shapiro, Edward S. Crown Heights: Blacks, Jews, and Brooklyn Riots 1991 (U. Press of New England, 2006) linking
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