Marches Through Bensonhurst Follow Yusef Hawkins Murder

Al Sharpton leads repeated protest marches through Bensonhurst following the murder of Yusef Hawkins. White residents line the streets jeering and holding watermelons in open defiance. The marches draw national media attention and intensify the debate over racial violence in New York City, ultimately becoming a factor in David Dinkins's election as New York's first Black mayor in November 1989.