Death of Yusef Hawkins

Yusef Hawkins
File:Yusef Hawkins mural.jpg Mural of Hawkins in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn (2012 view)
Born	(1973-03-19)March 19, 1973
Died	August 23, 1989 (1989-08-24) (aged 16) Bensonhurst, New York City, New York, United States
Cause of death	Homicide by firearm
Nationality	American
Citizenship	United States
Occupation	Student
Known for	Murder victim

Yusef Hawkins (also spelled as Yusuf Hawkins, March 19, 1973 – August 23, 1989) was a 16-year-old African-American who was shot to death on August 23, 1989 in Bensonhurst, a predominantly Italian-American working-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Hawkins and three friends were attacked by a crowd of 10 to 30 white youths, with at least seven of them wielding baseball bats. One, armed with a handgun, shot Hawkins twice in the chest, killing him.

Incident

The Reverend Al Sharpton leading the first protest march over the death of Yusef Hawkins in Bensonhurst, 1989.

Hawkins had gone to Bensonhurst that night with three friends to inquire about a used 1982 Pontiac automobile that was for sale. The group's attackers had been lying in wait for either African-American or Latino youths they believed had dated a neighborhood girl. Hawkins and his friends walked onto the ambushers' block unaware of the local situation. After the murder of Hawkins, police said that he was not in any way involved with the neighborhood girl whose honor the killers felt they were protecting.

Hawkins' death was the third killing of a black man by white mobs in New York City during the 1980s; the other two victims were Willie Turks, who was killed on June 22, 1982 in Brooklyn, and Michael Griffith, who was killed in Queens on December 20, 1986. The incident uncorked a torrent of racial tension in New York City in the ensuing days and weeks, culminating in a protest march through the neighborhood led by the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Trials

The two men who led the mob that beat and chased Hawkins were tried separately. Joseph Fama, the man who fired the shots that killed Hawkins, was convicted of second-degree murder on May 17, 1990. The other main defendant in the case, Keith Mondello, was acquitted on May 18, 1990 on murder and manslaughter charges, but convicted of 12 lesser charges including riot, menacing, discrimination, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a weapon. The acquittal of Mondello on the most serious charges led to further protest marches through Bensonhurst led by Al Sharpton.

On June 11, 1990, sentences were handed down in the Hawkins case. 19-year-old Fama received a sentence of 32⅓ years to life in prison. Mondello, also 19, received a sentence of 5⅓ to 16 years in prison.

Other members of the gang that chased and beat Hawkins were tried as well. John Vento was convicted of unlawful imprisonment and received a sentence of 2 to 8 years in August, 1990 and was released in 1998. A fourth man, Joseph Serrano, was convicted on the charge of unlawfully possessing a weapon and sentenced to 300 hours of community service on January 11, 1991. The acquittal of Vento on a murder charge, and the light sentence handed out to Serrano, sparked more protests by the African-American community in Bensonhurst. Shortly before that march was set to begin on January 12, 1991, Al Sharpton was stabbed and seriously wounded by Michael Riccardi in a Bensonhurst schoolyard. Sharpton later recovered from his wounds.

Release of Mondello

After serving eight years in Attica Correctional Facility, Keith Mondello was released on June 2, 1998. On January 22, 1999, Mondello and Hawkins' father, Moses Stewart, met in a NY1 television studio, where Mondello apologized for his role in the killing. Stewart died at the age of 48 in 2003. Fama is not eligible for parole until 2022, when he will be just over 50 years old.

Memorials

• A faded mural painted soon after Hawkins' death is still visible on the side of a building on Verona Place in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It was repainted in August 2011 by street artist Gabriel Specter.
• Spike Lee's film Jungle Fever is dedicated to the memory of Hawkins, and Hawkins's photograph appears at the beginning of the film.
• The song Snacks and Candy by the band Miracle Legion was written about this event.
• The song Slipping into Darkness by Queen Mother Rage was dedicated to Hawkins.
• The song Welcome to the Terrordome by Public Enemy includes a dedication to Hawkins.
• The song Intro on the album The Devil Made Me Do It by Paris includes a sample from a new broadcast referencing the shooting.
• The song Treat 'em Right by Chubb Rock refers to Hawkins in the first verse.
• Tupac Shakur wrote a poem about Yusuf's death, For Mrs. Hawkins. He also mentions him in the song Tearz of a Clown in the fourth verse.
• The film Blind Faith was dedicated to the memory of Hawkins.
• The song Learn Truth by R.A. the Rugged Man mentions Willie Turks, Michael Griffith, and Yusef Hawkins.
• The song Gas Face (remix) by 3rd Bass refers to Hawkins in the second verse.
• Kool G Rap's hit single Erase Racism (featuring Big Daddy Kane) referenced Hawkins where Kane performs the second half of the song.
• Double XX Posse mentions Yusef in their first album Put Ya Boots On (1992), 2nd track the Headcracker. The group gives a list of things that would be considered "Headcrackers" or very shocking and upsetting. Among other things they mention "Yusef Hawkins being murdered is a HEADCRACKER"

External links

• For the Color of His Skin: The Murder of Yusef Hawkins and the Trial of Bensonhurst. – book review
• 'A Gentle Young Man Who Would Be 16 Forever' Book review of For The Color Of His Skin.
• Review/Television; Examining the Bensonhurst Killing Television review of Frontline documentary Seven Days In Bensonhurst.
• Yusef Hawkins at Find a Grave