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