The incident uncorked a torrent of racial tension in New York City in the ensuing days and weeks, culminating in a series of protest marches through the neighborhood led by the Reverend Al Sharpton. Hawkins' death was the third killing of a black male 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. After the murder of Hawkins, police said that he had not in any way been involved with the neighborhood girl whom the killers believed Hawkins was dating. Hawkins and his friends walked onto the ambushers' block unaware that local residents were waiting to attack any group of black youths they saw. Some say the girl had previously dated one of the killers and/or she had invited black youths to her neighborhood to taunt the neighborhood boys.
The group's attackers had been lying in wait for black youths that were expected to attend a party at the home of a teenage girl in the neighborhood. Hawkins had gone to Bensonhurst that night with his brother and two of their friends to inquire about a used 1982 Pontiac automobile that was for sale. Al Sharpton leading the first protest march over the murder of Yusef Hawkins in Bensonhurst, 1989.
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