Yonge Street riot

The Yonge Street riot was a civil disturbance that occurred in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the night of May 4, 1992.[1]

Events

Originally, the protest had been focussed on Rodney King, as the officers that beat King had recently been acquitted.[2][1][3] However, a young Black man named Raymond Lawrence was killed in Toronto on May 2 by two officers of the Peel Regional Police.[2][4] Accordingly, the protest grew to encompass Lawrence's killing as well.[2]

The protest began at the United States consulate on University Avenue, and then moved to the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets.[3] It was led by the Black Action Defence Committee.[5] Witnesses noted that many engaged in looting and violence were white skinheads.[2]

Aftermath

Following the disturbance, according to a contemporaneous report in the Toronto Star, Ontario premier Bob Rae called for "reforms" in the "education and justice systems".[6] Rae tasked Stephen Lewis with drafting a report to analyze the causes of the disturbance.[1] Alexander and Glaze summarize Lewis's conclusions as follows: "[w]hile the LAPD trial verdict, and the May 2 Toronto police shooting death … acted as catalysts, the root causes of black unrest were simmering frustration over perceived police mistreatment, discrimination in employment and housing, and a school system dominated by Eurocentric curricula."[7]

References
  1. Walkom 1994, p. 219.
  2. Vyhnak, Carola (May 4, 2017). "Once Upon A City: The 1992 riot that served as a wake-up call for police". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. Black, Simon (May 2, 2017). "Yonge Street riot remembered". Now. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  4. "Timeline". Ontario Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  5. Johnstone, Marjorie; Lee, Eunjung (July 3, 2018). "State violence and the criminalization of race: Epistemic injustice and epistemic resistance as social work practice implications". Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work. 27 (3): 234–252. doi:10.1080/15313204.2018.1474826. ISSN 1531-3204.
  6. Maychak, Matt (May 6, 1992). "Hooligans to blame, not racism, Rae says". Toronto Star. p. A7. ProQuest 436656748.
  7. Alexander, Ken; Glaze, Avis (1996). Towards Freedom: The African-Canadian Experience. Toronto: Umbrella Press. p. 14. ISBN 1-895642-20-5. OCLC 35761157.

Sources

Further reading
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