Fueled by racial tensions between the neighborhood’s black and Jewish communities, the Crown Heights riot happened decades ago, but left a distinct mark. It was an eruption of the long-felt dissonance among its residents, and the dust from this eruption, it seems, has not fully settled.

This fall in midtown Manhattan, the violent events that unfolded in the summer of 1991, which some prefer to call a conflict, are being retold nearly 30 years later, in a reproduction of Anna Deavere Smith’s play Fires in the Mirror. The play, which was first performed only a year after the riot, portrays people who were affected by the event, through a series of monologues.

The trouble in Crown Heights started in late August 1991 after a Jewish man hit and killed a seven-year-old African-American boy, Gavin Cato, with his car. Furious crowds spilled into the streets, demanding justice. The next day, a group of young black men killed a Jewish man, 29-year-old Yankel Rosenbaum. The two deaths prompted a response that became known as the Crown Heights riot. Historian Edward S. Shapiro’s book on the event reports that the property damage as a result of the protesting, looting, and arson was estimated at one million dollars. Dozens of police officers and civilians were injured.

And the riot is still a topic of conversation, possibly because many of the same tensions that sparked the riot in 1991 remain today. On Rosh Hashanah this year, Al Sharpton — the Baptist minister and media personality who was an activist on the front lines of the riot back in 1991 — appeared at the East Side Synagogue in Manhattan. Many in the Crown Heights community have held Sharpton responsible for accelerating the events of the riot, noting that it was he and fellow activist Robert “Sonny” Carlson who led a march on the third day. In response to his appearance this year, on Sept. 30, more than 1,500 people signed a Change.org petition calling for the synagogue to send an apology to the family of Yankel Rosenbaum. Many of those who signed the petition spoke of Sharpton’s involvement in 1991.

The play is still relevant in this community, though painful. “I grew up in Crown Heights during that time and no one wants that brought up again,” one native Crown Heights resident, Ed Clark-Ayers, told The Brooklyn Ink.

Although the play revisits a difficult topic, its director, Saheem Ali, argues that it allows the viewer to see the riot in a new, wider context. “The riots emanated from the racial makeup of the neighborhood, from simmering tensions and tribalism defined by race and religion,” Ali told The Brooklyn Ink. “I think of this play as an American story, rooted very specifically in Crown Heights, as a microcosm of the struggles and challenges we face as a nation.”

Do those who were there in 1991 approve of this retelling?

Sidney Bordley, a longtime resident of Crown Heights, was there for the riot. He saw only a brief glimpse of the riot’s first moments, during which “a crowd had gathered on Eastern Parkway and Schenectady looking for a way to exert all the anger and frustrations that had been built up for decades.” Bordley witnessed the actions of the crowd on day two, and described what led up to these moments as nuanced.

“The story needs to be retold, but put into the proper context,” Bordley said. “The narrative of portraying the riot as an isolated spontaneous event based on Gavin Cato’s tragic death does not tell the entire story for future generations to study and understand.”

In some ways, this is what the play, Fires in the Mirror, attempts. The one-person show depicts the voices of 29 characters who were affected, either directly or indirectly, by the event. Given the wide range of voices that come from interviews conducted by Anna Deavere Smith — both the writer and the original star of the show — the viewer sees the riot in very different contexts. Smith also makes a clear point of showing the long-felt “anger and frustrations” that Bordley mentions, emphasizing that this was something she experienced throughout her interviews in the introduction for the book of the play.

“It allows a multiplicity of opinions to engage with each other side by side,” Ali says of the play, “and is especially riveting when one actor gets to embody all of them at the same time.”

Ali also explained the meaning behind the name Fires in the Mirror. “The characters not only reflect on the event, but also express their opinion on which side is culpable, the Jewish or African diaspora,” he said. “Therefore, the reflections go from inward to outward, which in the production we represent with the various types of mirrors existing in the space.”  In other words, the play’s characters reflect both on the riot and on themselves.

Fueled by racial tensions between the neighborhood’s black and Jewish communities, the Crown Heights riot, which some prefer to call the Crown Heights conflict, happened decades ago but left a distinct mark. The riot was an eruption of the long-felt dissonance among its residents, and the dust from this eruption, it seems, has not fully settled.

This fall in Midtown Manhattan, the violent events that unfolded in the summer of 1991 are being retold nearly 30 years later in a reproduction of Anna Deavere Smith’s play Fires in the Mirror. The play, which was first performed only a year after the riot, reflects people who were  affected by the event, through a series of monologues.

The trouble in Crown Heights started after a Jewish man hit and killed a seven-year-old African-American boy, Gavin Cato, with his car in late August 1991. Furious crowds spilled into the streets, demanding justice. The next day, a group of young black men killed a Jewish man, 29-year-old Yankel Rosenbaum. The two deaths prompted the response that became the Crown Heights riot. Historian Edward S. Shapiro’s book on the event reports that the property damage as a result of the protesting, looting, and arson was estimated at one million dollars. Dozens of police officers and civilians were injured.

And the riot is still a topic of conversation, possibly because many of the same tensions that sparked the riot in 1991 remain today. On Rosh Hashanah this year, Al Sharpton—a Baptist minister, media personality, and activist at the front lines of the riot back in 1991—appeared at the East Side Synagogue. Many in the community have held Sharpton responsible for accelerating the events of the riot, noting that it was he and fellow activist Robert “Sonny” Carlson who led a march on the third day. In response to his appearance this year, on Sept. 30, more than 1,500 people  signed a Change.org petition calling for the Synagogue to release an apology to the family of Yankel Rosenbaum. Many of those who signed the petition spoke of Sharpton’s involvement in 1991.

So, the play is still relevant in this community, though painful. “I grew up in Crown Heights during that time and no one wants that brought up
again,” one native Crown Heights resident, Ed Clark-Ayers, told The Brooklyn Ink.

Still, although the play revisits a difficult topic, its director, Saheem Ali, argues that it allows the viewer to see the riot in a new, wider context. “The riots
emanated from the racial makeup of the neighborhood, from simmering tensions and tribalism defined by race and religion,” Ali told The Brooklyn Ink.
“I think of this play as an American story, rooted very specifically in Crown Heights as a microcosm of the struggles and challenges we face as a nation.”

Do those who were there in 1991 approve of this retelling?

Sidney Bordley, a longtime resident of Crown Heights, was there for the riot. He saw only a brief glimpse of the riot’s first moments, during which “a crowd had gathered on Eastern Parkway and Schenectady looking for a way to exert all the anger and frustrations that had been built up for decades.” Bordley witnessed the actions of the crowd on day two, and described what led up to these moments as nuanced.

“The story needs to be retold, but put into the proper context,” Bordley said. “The narrative of portraying the riot as an isolated spontaneous event based on
Gavin Cato’s tragic death does not tell the entire story for future generations to study and understand.”

In some ways, this is what the play, Fires in the Mirror, tries to do. This one-person show depicts the voices of 29 characters who were affected, either directly or indirectly, by the event. Given the wide range of voices that come from interviews conducted by Anna Deavere Smith—both the writer and the original star of the show—the viewer sees the riot in very different contexts. Smith also makes a clear point of showing these long-felt “anger and frustrations” that
Bordley mentions, emphasizing that this was something she experienced throughout her interviews in the introduction for the book of the play.

“It allows a multiplicity of opinions to engage with each other side by side,” Ali says of the play,  “and is especially riveting when one actor gets to embody all of them at the same time.”

Ali also explained the meaning behind the name Fires in the Mirror: “The characters not only reflect on the event, but also express their opinion on which side is culpable, the Jewish or African diaspora,” he said. “Therefore, the reflections go from inward to outward, which in the production we represent with the various types of mirrors existing in the space.”  In other words, the play’s characters reflect both on the riot and on themselves.

Fueled by racial tensions between the neighborhood’s black and Jewish communities, the Crown Heights riot, which some prefer to call the Crown Heights conflict, happened decades ago but left a distinct mark. The riot was an eruption of the long-felt dissonance among its residents, and the dust from this eruption, it seems, has not fully settled.

This fall in Midtown Manhattan, the violent events that unfolded in the summer of 1991 are being retold nearly 30 years later in a reproduction of Anna Deavere Smith’s play Fires in the Mirror. The play, which was first performed only a year after the riot, reflects people who were  affected by the event, through a series of monologues.

The trouble in Crown Heights started after a Jewish man hit and killed a seven-year-old African-American boy, Gavin Cato, with his car in late August 1991. Furious crowds spilled into the streets, demanding justice. The next day, a group of young black men killed a Jewish man, 29-year-old Yankel Rosenbaum. The two deaths prompted the response that became the Crown Heights riot. Historian Edward S. Shapiro’s book on the event reports that the property damage as a result of the protesting, looting, and arson was estimated at one million dollars. Dozens of police officers and civilians were injured.

And the riot is still a topic of conversation, possibly because many of the same tensions that sparked the riot in 1991 remain today. On Rosh Hashanah this year, Al Sharpton—a Baptist minister, media personality, and activist at the front lines of the riot back in 1991—appeared at the East Side Synagogue. Many in the community have held Sharpton responsible for accelerating the events of the riot, noting that it was he and fellow activist Robert “Sonny” Carlson who led a march on the third day. In response to his appearance this year, on Sept. 30, more than 1,500 people  signed a Change.org petition calling for the Synagogue to release an apology to the family of Yankel Rosenbaum. Many of those who signed the petition spoke of Sharpton’s involvement in 1991.

So, the play is still relevant in this community, though painful. “I grew up in Crown Heights during that time and no one wants that brought up
again,” one native Crown Heights resident, Ed Clark-Ayers, told The Brooklyn Ink.

Still, although the play revisits a difficult topic, its director, Saheem Ali, argues that it allows the viewer to see the riot in a new, wider context. “The riots
emanated from the racial makeup of the neighborhood, from simmering tensions and tribalism defined by race and religion,” Ali told The Brooklyn Ink.
“I think of this play as an American story, rooted very specifically in Crown Heights as a microcosm of the struggles and challenges we face as a nation.”

Do those who were there in 1991 approve of this retelling?

Sidney Bordley, a longtime resident of Crown Heights, was there for the riot. He saw only a brief glimpse of the riot’s first moments, during which “a crowd had gathered on Eastern Parkway and Schenectady looking for a way to exert all the anger and frustrations that had been built up for decades.” Bordley witnessed the actions of the crowd on day two, and described what led up to these moments as nuanced.

“The story needs to be retold, but put into the proper context,” Bordley said. “The narrative of portraying the riot as an isolated spontaneous event based on
Gavin Cato’s tragic death does not tell the entire story for future generations to study and understand.”

In some ways, this is what the play, Fires in the Mirror, tries to do. This one-person show depicts the voices of 29 characters who were affected, either directly or indirectly, by the event. Given the wide range of voices that come from interviews conducted by Anna Deavere Smith—both the writer and the original star of the show—the viewer sees the riot in very different contexts. Smith also makes a clear point of showing these long-felt “anger and frustrations” that
Bordley mentions, emphasizing that this was something she experienced throughout her interviews in the introduction for the book of the play.

“It allows a multiplicity of opinions to engage with each other side by side,” Ali says of the play,  “and is especially riveting when one actor gets to embody all of them at the same time.”

Ali also explained the meaning behind the name Fires in the Mirror: “The characters not only reflect on the event, but also express their opinion on which side is culpable, the Jewish or African diaspora,” he said. “Therefore, the reflections go from inward to outward, which in the production we represent with the various types of mirrors existing in the space.”  In other words, the play’s characters reflect both on the riot and on themselves.