Zoot Suit Riots

Encyclopedia : Z : ZO : ZOO : Zoot Suit Riots

The [Neutral point of view>neutrality] of this article is [NPOV disputedisputed]. Please see the discussion on the [Los Angeles, California during World War II, between sailors and soldiers stationed in the city and Mexican American youths, recognized because of the zoot suits they favored. Zoot Suit riots, June 1943 The riots began in the racially charged atmosphere of Los Angeles, where the sailors, soldiers and marines returning from the war had already come into conflict with the local Mexican zoot suiters. On June 3, 1943, a group of servicemen on leave complained that they had been assaulted by a gang of pachucos. In response, they gathered and headed out to downtown and East Los Angeles, which was the center of the Mexican community. Once there, they attacked all the men they found wearing zoot suits, often ripping off the suits and burning them in the streets. In many instances, the police intervened by arresting beaten-up Mexican-American youth for disturbing the peace. African Americans and Filipino Americans suffered the same fate as Mexican Americans [link]. Several hundred pachucos and nine sailors were arrested as a result of the fighting that occurred over the next few days. Of the nine sailors that were arrested, eight were released with no charges, and one had to pay a small fine. The Mexican-Americans were not as fortunate. Many died in jail from their injuries because they were in dire need of medical attention.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Many more were convicted of crimes that they did not commit.[[Citing sources citation needed]] The government finally intervened on June 7, by declaring that Los Angeles would henceforth be off-limits to all military personnel. In response to the riots Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her weekly column about the problems faced by the Mexican American community as a result of racism[[Citing sources citation needed]] in the United States. The riots in popular culture The riots were the inspiration for a play written by Luis Valdez — Zoot Suit, which itself inspired the 1981 filmed version. A murder mystery novel, The Zoot Suit Murders by Thomas Sanchez, employed the riots as a backdrop to the main mystery. A swing album called Zoot Suit Riot, featuring a song of the same name, was released by the American band Cherry Poppin' Daddies in 1997. Mention of the riots appear in the song People of the Sun, 1996, by Rage Against The Machine. The 1992 film, American Me, alludes to the fact that the lead character Montoya, played by Edward James Olmos was conceived when his mother was raped by sailors during the Zoot Suit Riots. In The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy, the main characters are cops involved in the riot. References Del Castillo, Richard Griswold “The Los Angeles “Zoot Suit Riots” revisited: Mexican and Latin American Perspectives”. Mexican Studies / Estudios Mexicanos, Vol. 16, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 367-391 Mazon, Maurizio. The Zoot-Suit Riots: The Psychology of Symbolic Annihilation. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX. 2002 Pagan, Eduardo O. “Los Angeles Geopolitics and the Zoot Suit Riot, 1943” Social Science History, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Spring, 2000), 223-256 Pagán, Eduardo Obregón. Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race & Riots in Wartime L.A. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2003. ISBN 0-8078-5494-8 Zoot Suit Riots. Produced by Joseph Tovares. WGBH Boston, 2001. 60 mins. (PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698; 1-800-344-3337 The song "Riding The Crimson Wave" by Justin And The Jets mentioned the riots in the chorus. External link [Zoot Suit Riots.] American Experience. Topics related to Chicanos and Mexican-Americans Terms: Chicano · La Raza · Latino · Mexican-American · Hispanic Pre-Chicano Movement: Mexican-American History · Mexican-American War · Sleepy Lagoon Trial · Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo · Zoot Suit Riots Chicano Movement: Aztlán · Catolicos Por La Raza · Chicanismo · Chicano Blowouts · Chicano Moratorium · El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán · El Plan de Santa Bárbara · Farm Worker Rights Campaign · Land Grant Struggle · Colegio César Chávez Supreme Court Cases: Hernandez v. Texas · Plyler v. Doe · Mendez v. Westminster Culture: Chicano Park · Chicano rap · Chicano rock · Cholo · Estrada Courts Murals · Lowrider · Pachuco · Teatro Campesino · Tortilla art · Zoot suit Lists and Categories: List of Caló words and expressions · List of Chicano poets · Majority Hispanic U.S. Cities · Notable Chicanos · Notable Hispanic Americans · ·   From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details. Search Titles 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z ? E-mail this article to: Personal Message: