Zoot Suit Riot

1940's Zoot Suits were high-waisted wool trousers and baggy suit coats that were worn born out of jazz culture and worn by many of Los Angeles' youth. More than just fashion, the zoot suits were seen as an act of defiance and breaking traditional norms of clothing. This form of clothing was popular amongst Mexican American youth known as pachuchos. It also created a reputation of these youth as thugs and juvenile delinquents.

Before the riot, racial tensions were already beginning to rise. As the war begun, many white men in Los angeles left to fight in segregated units. Immigrants and refugees from the Mexican Revolution often replaced white men in the workforce. There were also over 50,000 servicemen in L.A. at the time because the west coast was seen as vulnerable to attack by the Japanese following Pearl Harbor.

The Riots were not necessarily about fashion choices, but rather due to fragile state of race relations. Full- scale riots took place in 1943 and were often very violent. After conflict between Zoot-suiters and white soldiers, the soldiers attacked anyone clad in a Zoot suit and stripped them of their suits. The mob grew as civilians and more servicemen joined, targeting Latinos in public spaces. Animosity was not just reserved for Latinos either. Blacks and Filipinos, even those not wearing Zoot suits were targeted. Local media portrayed this event as a militant and criminal response of immigrant groups. Furthermore, the Los Angeles City Council issued a ban on Zoot suits on June 9th. Similar incidents of racial riots took place across the nation, including cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit. The Zoot Suit riot mirrored racial tensions that arose throughout the 40s as a result of immigrant and minority migrations

Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/zoot/eng_peopleevents/e_riots.html