1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, Eve's here. Today's episode contains not just one, 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: but two nuggets of history. Consider it a double feature. 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:12,320 Speaker 1: Enjoy the show. Welcome to this Day in History class, 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: where we bring you a new tipbit from history every day. 5 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: The day was June three, nineteen forty three. About fifty 6 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: sailors from the U. S. Naval Reserve Armory and Chavez 7 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: Ravine in Los Angeles carried clubs and other makeshift weapons 8 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,599 Speaker 1: as they went through neighborhoods near the armory. They attacked 9 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: anyone who was wearing a zoot suit, which was a 10 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: baggy suit popular among jazz musicians and in communities of color. 11 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: For days, servicemen, police officers, and civilians beat and harassed 12 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,560 Speaker 1: Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. There were no deaths, but 13 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: about a hundred Mexican Americans were injured and one hundred 14 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:07,679 Speaker 1: were arrested, while about sixteen servicemen were injured and fifty 15 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 1: non Latino servicemen and civilians were arrested. A zoot suit 16 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: consists of loose trousers, a long jacket with wide padded 17 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:20,479 Speaker 1: shoulders and white lapels, a brimmed hat, and a long 18 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: watch chain. The get up grew out of the drape 19 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: suits that were popular in dance halls in Harlem in 20 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 1: the mid nineteen thirties. Zoot Suits were sort of a 21 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: political statement because wearing so much fabric seemed wasteful and 22 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: irresponsible at a time when there were wartime rations on fabric. 23 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: In the nineteen forties, zoop suits spread from Black communities 24 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: to Latino communities and other groups. In Mexican American communities. 25 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: The Patuco counterculture movement embraced the zoot suit for people 26 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: who were part of this culture, wearing a zoot suit 27 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 1: was also a fashion in social statement that phacized rebellion 28 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: and community inclusion. Too, many people who were outside of 29 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: the culture Pachucos were perceived as thugs or too ostentatious 30 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: for their social status. In nineteen forty two, the Wartime 31 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: Productions Board banned a lot of extra features on clothing, 32 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,880 Speaker 1: then banned the production of zoot suits altogether, but some 33 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: tailors kept making them and they were still legal to wear. 34 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: Along with stereotypes of Mexican Americans who faced discrimination in 35 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: media and in daily life, came judgment about the types 36 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: of people who wore zoot suits. Many people thought of 37 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: Mexican Americans and those who wore zoot suits, especially as 38 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:47,239 Speaker 1: criminals and delinquents. The zoot suit became a sign of suspicion. 39 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty three, Los Angeles was full of service 40 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 1: members from the U. S. Military. The Naval and Marine 41 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: Corps Reserve Center in chadez Ravine, or the Naval Reserve Armory, 42 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,320 Speaker 1: was located in a part of the city that was 43 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: mostly Mexican. Many service members thought that wearing zoot suits 44 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: was an affront considering wartime rationing. The idea that zoot 45 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: suitors were draft dodgers was also floating around. Zoot Suit 46 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: wearers were viewed by many as antagonists, and immigrants in 47 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: general were looked down upon in the sentiment of the day. 48 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: Mexican Americans and service members were often at odds and 49 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,359 Speaker 1: fought with each other. By the spring of nineteen forty three, 50 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: there were about two or three fights between people in 51 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:40,080 Speaker 1: each group every day. These small but frequent conflicts escalated 52 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: into a larger one that became known as the zoot 53 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: suit Riots. On May nineteen forty three, a sailor left 54 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: a fight between zoot suitors and sailors with a broken jaw. 55 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: This fight is theoretically the inciting incident for the riots 56 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: that began on June three, when sailors attacked people wearing 57 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 1: boots suits. In the following days, the violence spread. Service 58 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: members beat zoot suitors and stripped off their clothes. Police 59 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,840 Speaker 1: officers arrested some of the people who have been beaten. 60 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:15,840 Speaker 1: Thousands more people joined the mobs who were punishing people 61 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: for wearing zoot suits or donning related hairstyles. In addition 62 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: to Mexican Americans, black people and Filipinos were also attacked. 63 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: Cab drivers gave service people free rides, so more came 64 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: to the city from throughout southern California. The violence made 65 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,279 Speaker 1: its way from downtown Los Angeles to Watts East Los 66 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: Angeles and other nearby neighborhoods. Some people did fight back, 67 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: but the violence was largely perpetrated by the service members. 68 00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: Police officers mainly protected the service members and arrested many 69 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: of the victims. Local officials did little to stop the violence, 70 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: and service members did not face serious consequences. Many news 71 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 1: reports and that the violence was justified. The conflict basically 72 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 1: ended on June eighth, when service members were kept from 73 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:10,920 Speaker 1: leaving bases, and soldiers and sailors were barred from entering 74 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: downtown Los Angeles. The next day, the Los Angeles City 75 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: Council banned people from wearing zoot suits in public, and 76 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: anyone who did would get thirty days in jail. Two 77 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: committees were formed to investigate the riots. The Citizens Committee 78 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: report found that race prejudice was part of the cause 79 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,839 Speaker 1: of the riots. It also said that the poor living 80 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:36,719 Speaker 1: conditions many Mexican American space contributed to any delinquency, and 81 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:40,280 Speaker 1: that the problem of juvenile delinquency in general was not 82 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: confined to any race, But the report did not address 83 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: the violent actions of the service members. Zoot Suit riots 84 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: later happened in other cities in the United States. Zoot 85 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: suitors later became leaders in the Chicano movement and were 86 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,480 Speaker 1: active in other fights for social justice. I'm a coote 87 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 88 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more 89 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 1: about the riots, listen to the episode of Stuff you 90 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: Missed in History class called zoop Suit Riots. And if 91 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: you can't get enough history, check out Unpopular, a new 92 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 1: podcast that I host about people in history who challenge 93 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: the status quo and how their stories can help us 94 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: think about protests, dissent, and change in today's societies. Thanks 95 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: again for listening, and we'll see you tomorrow. Hey, y'all, 96 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 1: I'm Eves and you're listening to This Day in History Class, 97 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 1: a show that takes history and squeezes it into biteside stories. 98 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: The day was June three, Blue singer and guitarists Memphis 99 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: Mani was born. She was one of the most influential 100 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: blues artists in the US from the nineteen twenties to 101 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: the nineteen fifties. Though I'm covering her today, scholarly opinion 102 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: differs on the exact day and year of her birth. 103 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: Memphis Mini was born Lizzie Douglas. In her song Nothing 104 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: in Rambling, she says that she was born in Louisiana 105 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: and raised in Algiers, but us since his records indicate 106 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: that she was born in Mississippi and raised in a 107 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: small farming community south of Memphis, Tennessee. She learned to 108 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: play the banjo and guitar as a child, and she 109 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,280 Speaker 1: was much more interested in music than she was in farming. 110 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: When she was a teenager, she left home to move 111 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: to Bill Street, in Memphis. Memphis, Many began playing music 112 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: on the streets with jug bands and string groups. She 113 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: also performed at Church Park. By she had married. Anne 114 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: was performing with blues musician Joe McCoy. That year. A 115 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: talent scout from Columbia Records discovered them and they recorded 116 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 1: the song Bumble Bee Blues, which became one of Memphis 117 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: Mini's most popular songs. Over the years, she recorded several 118 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: different versions of the song for different labels. The couple 119 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,280 Speaker 1: continued to produce records together, and they grew more popular 120 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: in and outside of Memphis. They garnered so much attention 121 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: that they moved to Chicago, making a name for themselves 122 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: on the popular blues scene in the city. She and 123 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: blues musician Big Bill Brums went head to hit in 124 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: a guitar contest in a nightclub one time, and Many 125 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: took the prize. She also took on artists like Tampa Red, 126 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: sunny Land Slam, and Muddy Waters. Around ninety five, Minnie 127 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: and McCoy broke up. At the same time, Memphis Mini 128 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 1: was getting more work as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. 129 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: She toured a lot in the nineteen thirties, especially in 130 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: the South. She stood out as a woman in a 131 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: male dominated music scene, but she also stood out for 132 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 1: playing new music styles and with different and Truman's. She 133 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,040 Speaker 1: worked regularly for talent scout and producer Lester Melrose, who 134 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: created a kind of formula for his blues offerings and 135 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: toned down Mini's music. In the late nineteen thirties, she 136 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:17,720 Speaker 1: married Ernest Little son, Joe Lawler's, another musician. They made 137 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,560 Speaker 1: some of Many's most memorable songs together, including Me and 138 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:26,160 Speaker 1: My Chauffeur Blues and her autobiographical song In My Girlish Days. 139 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: Many formed a vaudeville troupe to tour theaters and organized 140 00:09:30,559 --> 00:09:34,120 Speaker 1: Blue Monday shows at Ruby Lee Gatewood's tavern, a blues 141 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 1: club on the South Side of Chicago that patrons knew 142 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:41,000 Speaker 1: as the Gates. She played a national electric arch top guitar, 143 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: bridging the transition from acoustic Delta blues to Chicago blues. 144 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: Poet Langston Hughes described her electric guitar as quote a 145 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: musical version of electric welders plus a rolling mill. Muddy 146 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: water song Honeybee was a reworking of Mini's Bumblebee. Though 147 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 1: Many found success the record industry and club owners did 148 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: take advantage of her. In nineteen fifty three, Many released 149 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,440 Speaker 1: her last commercial recordings, Kissing in the Dark and World 150 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: of Trouble. The audience's taste had straight away from her 151 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,560 Speaker 1: acoustic blue sound. Many and some of her contemporaries found 152 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: renewed interests, but in the nineteen fifties her health was failing. 153 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:23,839 Speaker 1: She moved to Memphis, and her sister Daisy, helped to 154 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:27,240 Speaker 1: take care of her after her husband died. She was 155 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:31,520 Speaker 1: affected by a number of medical complications in her later years. 156 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: Fans sent money and musicians held benefits to help her. 157 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: She died of a stroke in August of nineteen seventy three. 158 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: Some of the musicians influenced by Memphis Many include her 159 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:48,079 Speaker 1: niece Laverne Baker, Body Rate, and Rory Block. Memphis Many 160 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:50,679 Speaker 1: was one of the first twenty artists inducted into the 161 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: Blues Hall of Fame when the Blues Foundation established it 162 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty I'm e chef Code and hopefully you 163 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:00,960 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today and you did yesterday. 164 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 1: And if you have any comments, sark suggestions, you can 165 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:06,240 Speaker 1: send them to us at this day at I heart 166 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: media dot com. You can also hit us up on 167 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,719 Speaker 1: social media. We're at t d I h C podcast. 168 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:15,719 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to the show, and we'll 169 00:11:15,720 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, 170 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 171 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.