Editing Al Sharpton (section)

===Bensonhurst===
{{Main|Murder of Yusef Hawkins}}
{{See also|#Assassination attempt}}
[[Image:Al Sharpton, 1989 Protest March, Brooklyn NY.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Sharpton leading the first protest march over the [[murder of Yusef Hawkins]] in [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]], 1989]]

On August 23, 1989, four African-American teenagers were beaten by a group of 10 to 30 white Italian-American youths in [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]], a [[Brooklyn]] neighborhood. One Bensonhurst resident, armed with a handgun, shot and killed 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins.

In the weeks following the assault and murder, Sharpton led several marches through Bensonhurst. The first protest, just days after the incident, was greeted by neighborhood residents shouting "Niggers go home" and holding watermelons to mock the demonstrators.<ref>{{cite news|first=Nick|last=Ravo|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/27/nyregion/marchers-and-brooklyn-youths-trade-racial-jeers.html|title=Marchers and Brooklyn Youths Trade Racial Jeers|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 27, 1989}}</ref>

Sharpton also threatened that Hawkins's three companions would not cooperate with prosecutor [[Elizabeth Holtzman]] unless her office agreed to hire more black attorneys. In the end, they cooperated.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=DeSantis|title=For the Color of His Skin: The Murder of Yusuf Hawkins and the Trial of Bensonhurst|url=https://archive.org/details/forcolorofhisski00desa|url-access=registration|date=1991|location=New York City|publisher=Pharos Books|isbn=978-0-88687-621-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/forcolorofhisski00desa/page/190 190]}}</ref>

In May 1990, when one of the two leaders of the mob was acquitted of the most serious charges brought against him, Sharpton led another protest through Bensonhurst. In January 1991, when other members of the gang were given light sentences, Sharpton planned another march for January 12, 1991. Before that demonstration began, neighborhood resident Michael Riccardi tried to kill Sharpton by stabbing him in the chest.<ref>{{cite news|first=Robert D.|last=McFadden|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/nyregion/sharpton-is-stabbed-at-bensonhurst-protest.html|title=Sharpton Is Stabbed at Bensonhurst Protest|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 13, 1991}}</ref> Sharpton recovered from his wounds, and later asked the judge for leniency when Riccardi was sentenced.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lee A.|last=Daniels|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/17/nyregion/attacker-of-sharpton-is-sentenced.html|title=Attacker Of Sharpton Is Sentenced|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 17, 1992}}</ref>