When: August 19,1991

The facts: The riots start by accident, literally: A car that is part of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's motorcade runs a red light, is sideswiped, and skids into 7-year-old Gavin Cato, who is killed playing on his stoop. That particular motorcade "was always careening through the streets, running lights," one minister told New York. "An accident was bound to happen." The fatal stabbing of rabbinical student Yankel Rosenbaum by a mostly black mob screaming "Get the Jew" during the subsequent turmoil on the community's streets is, of course, no accident. For three nights, Hasidic residents of Crown Heights are under siege as the city's racial cold war finally boils over.

Political casualty: Mayor Dinkins, a long-time supporter of Jewish causes, suffers irreparable damage by mostly sitting on his hands.

In search of justice: The trials of the men accused of killing Rosenbaum only add to community unrest. A first trial ends in an acquittal for Lemrick Nelson Jr., the man charged with killing Rosenbaum. A federal trial is then held and efforts are made not to make the same mistakes as the first. This leads to the conviction of two men for violating the civil rights of Rosenbaum. The conviction is overturned on the basis that efforts by the judge to create a racially balanced jury were flawed.