The dimensions I believe most define the events of this riot are the asymmetry and the number of people killed/injured and arrested. Although there is no exact number of people rioting, there was a large amount number of African Americans living in the city due to almost thirty years of migration from the south. With the number of people injured and arrested in the riot, it can be assumed that there were a least two thousand or more people part of the riot and the majority were African American. This number also includes civil rights leaders and groups. This riot can be labeled as a major disorder with how long it lasted, the reported number of fires, and the use of the National Guard.
The label that best describes this riot is an uprising. There was no riot between white and blacks, but rather between the police and blacks, which is why it cannot be labeled as a race riot. This was just a revolutionary act or a kind of revenge against the police for the arrest and beating of the cab driver and passenger. There were also other events leading up to the riot including Newark police being involved in incidents of killing African Americans during routine traffic stops and also raiding a house inhabited by Black Muslims for illegal weapons and then beating them with batons. The riot included violent expressions as protesters were throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails at the Fourth Precinct building and looting local stores. The riot ended with some political gain as the city later was able to elect its first black mayor, Ken Gibson.