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 focused 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 police mistreatment, discrimination in employment and housing, and a school system dominated by Eurocentric curricula."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Walkom 1994, p. 219.
  2. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 2 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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