On the humid night of August 6th, 1988, long-simmering resentments over East Village gentrification boiled over into the now-infamous Tompkins Square Park riot. Hundreds of people had gathered at the park to protest the imposition of a 1 a.m. curfew. At some point, the protest turned violent; bottles were thrown at the police, who retaliated with beatings and arrests throughout the night. According to the Times, forty-four people were injured, including 13 cops.
In time for the 20th anniversary of the riot, a book of photographs by Q. Sakamaki, with essays by author/activist Bill Weinberg, has been published by powerHouse Books. Below are some of the photos Sakamaki took that night and during the summer of '88. For more on the riot, here's a chilling video compiled by photographer Clayton Patterson.
