The Crown Heights riots in Brooklyn, N.Y., began on this day in 1991. The impetus behind the racially charged three-day event was the death of seven-year-old Gavin Cato at the hands of a Hasidic Jewish man, Yosef Lifsh.
Lifsh was driving a station wagon following a motorcade for Lubavitcher Hasidic leader Rabbi Menachem Schneerson when he hit another car and drove onto a sidewalk. Cato and his seven-year-old cousin, Angela, were playing on the sidewalk and fixing a bike chain.
Lifsh’s vehicle crushed them both although reports say he tried to lift the car off the children. Accounts conflict but it has been reported that Lifsh was assaulted by an angry group of Black men before the arrival of Jewish-run ambulance service.
Lifsh was taken by the private service while the Cato children were sent to local hospitals in a separate ambulance. A rumor that the dying boy was ignored by the Jewish medical team spread quickly angering the Black community. Tensions between the Blacks and Hasidic Jews in Crown Heights were already simmering and Cato’s death generated the anger that led to the riots.
That night, five blocks away, a group of Black teens attacked and stabbed Australian Jewish exchange student Yankel Rosenbaum, who later died of his injuries. Then Mayor David Dinkins visited Rosenbaum in the hospital as the riots raged on, with groups of Blacks attacking the homes of Jews and overturning vehicles.
On the third day, activists Rev. Al Sharpton and Sonny Carson organized a march through Crown Heights. Some marchers left the planned route and started chanting anti-Semitic slurs. Rioters fired shots at the authorities and even caused them to retreat at one point.
By the time the riots ended, over 129 arrests had been made. More than 150 police officers were injured and over three dozen civilians were also hurt. Property damage was assessed at approximately $1 million.
To this day, Black residents who recall the events believe that Lifsh was treated better than Cato and that racism was the factor. Many Jewish residents still believe the attacks were unfair. The tensions revealed by the riots continue to impact the community to this day.
Like BlackAmericaWeb.com on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
