Book Review by Wendy R. Brown
I moved from Brooklyn to New Orleans one month before the murder of Yusuf Hawkins, a sixteen-year-old African American, by a mob of white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Saddened by the news of his tragic death, I thought about all of the other racially motivated assaults and deaths that had occurred in New York City during my twelve years in residence. Several made national headlines; others never even made the local news. I also understood how such a tragedy could occur “up south” in a city whose boon and bane stem from the same phenomenon—cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity.
John DeSantis captures this diversity in his book, For the Color of His Skin: The Murder of Yusuf Hawkins and the Trial of Bensonhurst. In the opening pages, DeSantis describes Brooklyn as “one of the most ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse populations in the world.” In offering the reader a “thorough understanding of both sides of the controversy” surrounding young Hawkins's death, DeSantis tells us many stories at once.
About the Author
Wendy R. Brown. Associate Professor of Law, Tulane Law School. B.A., 1976, Harvard University; J.D., 1980, New York University School of Law.
Citation
67 Tul. L. Rev. 2371 (1993)