In June of 1943, a series of riots called the Zoot Suit Riots occurred in Los Angeles due to conflicts rising between government service members and Mexican-American groups of youth. The clothing identified the Mexican youth they wore called zoot suits. The zoot suit features a broad drape jacket, trousers with a distinctive balloon-leg design, and the occasional hat. Zoot suitors became the name by which Mexican-American and Mexican youths were referred to in the general population. These youths called themselves pachucos, representing the rebellious youths and their generation that rebelled against American and Mexican cultures.
Before the riots started, pressure due to America’s involvement in the Second World War caused racial tensions. During the war, shortages in the workforce in such sectors as agriculture prompted the American government to make a temporary arrangement for Mexican workers imported from Mexico. This led to Mexican workers’ mass immigration into America, an event that white Americans did not welcome. The government began rationing resources as part of the war effort 1942. The rationing of wool directly affected the production of suits and other clothing. Regulations were installed that restricted the manufacture of these suits, but several tailors continued to make the suits regardless of the regulations. This caused the ignition of racial tensions as Mexican-Americans wearing the restricted clothing was considered un-American because it was a deliberate disregard of the rules (Rios, 2018).
In August of 1942, there was a murder in one of Los Angeles’ reservoirs that was linked to the Zoot suitors, who, by this time, were associated with juvenile delinquency. Local tabloids were used to highlight the actions of the alleged delinquent youths and a public outcry fueled by tabloids. The then California governor used the death as a justification for rounding up Mexican youths associated with the zoot suiters. This led to more than six hundred youths, Mexican-American, to be put in custody. In 1943, several of the arrested youths were convicted in January of murder. Many people saw the sentence’s injustice and bias and voiced their concerns. This led to the youths being released after an appeal to the sentences they were given.
The media can be blamed for painting Zoot suitors as a gang of destructive youths who were not patriotic enough to obey simple war-related rationing regulations and who were capable of committing murder. The news reports convinced the readers that the youths, especially zoot-suitors, were agents of crime. This initiated the racially charged tensions between the predominantly white southern California servicemen and the Mexican-American youths. This subsequently led to the riots(Villezcas, 2016).
After claims by some sailors, the riots started in 1943 that they were attacked by a group of Mexican youths in zoot suits. This happened on June 3, causing several uniformed sailors to visit Mexican-American neighborhoods looking for the zoot-suitors. Many conflicts ensued, which involved service members and the youths. On the night of June 7, many service members and civilians attacked Mexican neighborhoods, singling out the Mexicans, zoot suitors, or not. This was the worst riot experienced concerning the conflict between Mexican youths and service members. The brutality was extreme, with reports of Mexican youths requesting to be locked up to be safe from the servicemen(Franco, 2018).
Although many people were injured during the riots, it is remarkable that nobody was killed. The number of arrested youths surpassed the servicemen detained by a large margin. This clearly showed the bias of the LAPD at the time. Later, a citizen’s committee presented a report identifying racism as the root cause of the riots.
References
Franco, A. (2018). Threads of the Zoot Suit Riots: How the initial explanations for the riots hold up today. Voces Novae, 10(1), 4.
Rios, F. (2018). Zoot Suit: A Correction to American Public Memory. American Papers, 57.
Villezcas, X. A. (2016). The Results of the Zoot Suit Riots.
