Speaker 1: And now pat my mic back like we can strike.
Speaker 2: Head borders behind in the If.
Speaker 1: You're just tuning an inn civic side for I'm your host,
Speaker 1: Rams's job, he is Ramers John, I am to Ward.
Speaker 1: You are listening to civic sycsdeed you are. We got
Speaker 1: a lot more show inste for you. So stay tunedcause
Speaker 1: we're gonna be talking about Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem that
Speaker 1: was banned in Florida. Okay, We're also going to be
Speaker 1: talking about the zoot suit riots for our way black
Speaker 1: history fact. You know, black history is plinth theful and
Speaker 1: black history is beautiful. We definitely need to talk about it,
Speaker 1: but we do our best to share this space with
Speaker 1: other marginalized groups and our Mexican American brothers and sisters.
Speaker 1: We want to make sure that we tell a little
Speaker 1: bit of a story about how they've been treated in
Speaker 1: the past as well. So stay tuned for that. I
Speaker 1: promise you'll like it. But before we get to all that,
Speaker 1: we're going to discuss Baba becoming a better ally Baba.
Speaker 1: Today's Baba is sponsored by Unknown Union, the fashion house
Speaker 1: situated at the intersection of meaning, innovation and culture. For
Speaker 1: more info check Unknown Union dot com and today for
Speaker 1: our Baba, we're going to shout out some police departments.
Speaker 1: I know, I know if you listen to this show,
Speaker 1: I know if you feel how we feel. I know.
Speaker 1: But credit where it's due. We always said that we
Speaker 1: were going to do that. Right today, credit where it's due,
Speaker 1: baby steps, But credit where it's due. I'll read I'm
Speaker 1: seeing in. The Cincinnati Police Department implemented a new policy
Speaker 1: limiting police chases to violent felony offenses, the latest city
Speaker 1: to restrict the risky police police tactic. The Atlanta Police
Speaker 1: Department updated its policy last summer, similarly limiting police to
Speaker 1: pursuits in cases where violence is suspected. Chicago police are
Speaker 1: forbidden from chasing for traffic or theft defenses and required
Speaker 1: to balance the police action against the risk to the public.
Speaker 1: The policy in Valusia County, Florida, updated last January, states
Speaker 1: that apprehending a suspect is quote never more important than
Speaker 1: the safety of innocent motorists or deputies quote. Like many
Speaker 1: tactics that came into bogue in the nineteen eighties and
Speaker 1: nineteen nineties as police departments across the country led the
Speaker 1: War on drugs. Police chases have fallen out of favor
Speaker 1: among police leadership and mayors and city councils that oversee them.
Speaker 1: So what that means is that police chases that often
Speaker 1: end up with innocent people getting hurt or killed, that
Speaker 1: end up with police getting hurt and killed in some instances,
Speaker 1: and get a danger to the public. They're starting to
Speaker 1: rethink what police chases could look like and should look like.
Speaker 1: That's not everything, but critically that's not nothing. Thank you
Speaker 1: for starting to become a better.
Speaker 3: Credit.
Speaker 1: Where's do man appreciate it?
Speaker 3: Yes, I don't put down my nose that baby steps.
Speaker 3: It's the no steps that bugs me. Sure, five steps
Speaker 3: forward to twenty steps back.
Speaker 1: Yeah, of course.
Speaker 3: It's the response to our progress by making sure you
Speaker 3: go out of your way to drive us backwards. And
Speaker 3: you know, in response to it, that makes me, you know,
Speaker 3: sometimes feel hopeless.
Speaker 1: Gotcha? Okay? All right, So now we have a big one.
Speaker 1: It's not big in the way of life and death.
Speaker 3: Don't you dare, don't you dare make this smaller, don't
Speaker 3: shrink it, don't marginalize it. This is massive.
Speaker 1: Well, the point I'm making is that it's not a
Speaker 1: life and that thing, But I think it's mission critical.
Speaker 1: It's a big one because it's critical to the conversations
Speaker 1: that we're having about this country. It's critical because it
Speaker 1: calls into a question, who has the power, what are
Speaker 1: they doing with the power? What are they afraid of?
Speaker 1: Is it founded well founded? And have you or the
Speaker 1: people around you, our listener been able to be scared
Speaker 1: into adopting policies that are not based in a shared reality.
Speaker 3: Maybe our listeners have it, but a lot of people
Speaker 3: around the country have sure.
Speaker 1: Sure, But here's the point. Some of our listeners understand
Speaker 1: some of the things that we say and don't understand
Speaker 1: some of the other things. But I think more importantly,
Speaker 1: some of our listeners belong to either social circles with
Speaker 1: folks who don't share their opinions politically and don't share
Speaker 1: their capacity for compassion because they just lack in site
Speaker 1: and they lack perspective and access to real stories. And
Speaker 1: we empower those folks to then take into their social circles,
Speaker 1: or their work circles, or whatever their family circles. We
Speaker 1: empower our listeners to take this content into those circles
Speaker 1: and then create the changes and create the ripple effects
Speaker 1: that we're hoping will one day wash back up onto
Speaker 1: the shore that we know of a civic cipher. Right,
Speaker 1: So again today I want to talk about Amanda Gorman's
Speaker 1: inaugural poem. So and we'll be doing some reading from
Speaker 1: the Atlanta the Atlanta Black Star. I want to shot
Speaker 1: them out because we do pull from them frequently as well.
Speaker 1: So for those who don't know, when when President Biden
Speaker 1: was elected, okay, he had a little girl named Amanda
Speaker 1: Gorman Gorman, sorry, come up and read a poem. And
Speaker 1: the poem was very powerful if you google it, it
Speaker 1: had a viral moment and it felt very special, especially
Speaker 1: for folks who had to deal with a lot under
Speaker 1: the previous administration. Her poem was one based on hope,
Speaker 1: was based on Obviously there's some legacy and and you know,
Speaker 1: we're looking backward and indeed looking forward and understanding where
Speaker 1: we are, what this moment means, and that a better
Speaker 1: future is possible. And you got to also imagine being
Speaker 1: in that moment after January sixth, that happened, and after
Speaker 1: you know, a very highly contested election process, and on
Speaker 1: and on and on. Okay, Now I don't want to
Speaker 1: I don't want to make it seem like I'm a big,
Speaker 1: huge Joe Biden fan. I think that I'm a Bernie
Speaker 1: Sanders guy.
Speaker 3: I think the moment is less about who won and
Speaker 3: more about who didn't.
Speaker 1: That's the exactly Okay, thank you for saying that. So
Speaker 1: this little girl, so it's a very powerful poem, gets
Speaker 1: to come up in front of the entire country and
Speaker 1: share this poem.
Speaker 3: In front of most of the world, I'm sure in
Speaker 3: the world.
Speaker 1: Indeed, So I'm gonna read a bit the mother who
Speaker 1: had Oh let me before I get there, preface before
Speaker 1: I get there. So again, this poem a very special
Speaker 1: poem in Florida. I know you've been keeping up with it,
Speaker 1: but for those that haven't been in Florida, it's been interesting,
Speaker 1: you see.
Speaker 3: What I'm saying, so kind and graceful Florida, Yes, has
Speaker 3: been interesting process.
Speaker 1: So the reason I choose that word because I know
Speaker 1: the real word, as you know, you know full well
Speaker 1: I know the real word. But the reason I choose
Speaker 1: that word is because, as I mentioned, some of the
Speaker 1: people who might be listening today who care about these things,
Speaker 1: they might have gotten a dose of the far right wing,
Speaker 1: deeply conservative, hateful content rebranded as policy intended to ensure
Speaker 1: that children aren't made to feel bad.
Speaker 3: And in this context, the word conservative doesn't mean conserved, right,
Speaker 3: it's a political idea, right fascist.
Speaker 1: So anyway, so when I say interesting, it's because I'm
Speaker 1: trying to be mindful of the fact that some people
Speaker 1: sincerely believe that these policies exis to equalize everyone's feelings,
Speaker 1: when in fact they're intended to center the feelings of
Speaker 1: white children and to deny educational opportunities and understanding of
Speaker 1: their past and critically their present. Why are we poor?
Speaker 1: Why are my people going through this? We are not
Speaker 1: bad people? What's going on? Denying that reality? By denying
Speaker 1: the past, ensures that power will be seated in one
Speaker 1: place well into the future. This is not new. This
Speaker 1: is textbook fascism, okay, But some of our listeners may
Speaker 1: not know that because this may not be their reality.
Speaker 1: As you mentioned, people have full lives. They might listen
Speaker 1: to us once a week, and this might be all
Speaker 1: that they have. And so I choose that word because
Speaker 1: I don't want to make anyone seem like they're wrong.
Speaker 1: I recognize that many people have been misled, and so
Speaker 1: thank you for pointing that out. But for those that
Speaker 1: agree with Q, you should that that's not the right word.
Speaker 1: Just know that I chose that word because there are
Speaker 1: some of our listeners who may not agree with what
Speaker 1: I'm about to say, and I need them to keep
Speaker 1: listening until I've made my point. So in Florida, the
Speaker 1: interesting goings on are, if I were to stated briefly,
Speaker 1: the attacks on what has become known as critical race theory,
Speaker 1: which is in fact American history.
Speaker 3: And that's important to point out too, because critical race
Speaker 3: theory is not actually being attacked. Critical race theory is
Speaker 3: not actually what they're trying to ban. They are trying
Speaker 3: to ban American history, right, and they've used critical race
Speaker 3: theory an idea or an ideology that people are not
Speaker 3: familiar with, and they use that to brand black American history.
Speaker 1: Yeah. CRT is like a master's level collegiate academic pursuit.
Speaker 3: With these kindergarteners and K through twelve students are being
Speaker 3: taught not at all, but they've turned it into that
Speaker 3: to give to fear.
Speaker 1: Again, to rewrite the textbooks. Yes, now it has spilled
Speaker 1: out in Florida and now in other states. Texas, I
Speaker 1: believe Kansas, as well to attacks on books that may
Speaker 1: not necessarily be based on American history, but books that
Speaker 1: articulate the black experience in this country, Books that articulate
Speaker 1: folks who have been relegated to the margins their experience
Speaker 1: in this country. Books that highlight brilliant thinkers who have
Speaker 1: insight and knowledge on how to get from where we
Speaker 1: are to a more equitable society. And these books have
Speaker 1: been under attack. So it goes well beyond see quote
Speaker 1: unquote crt anything that is slightly progressive toward I won't
Speaker 1: even say equity. I'll say even equality.
Speaker 3: Yeah, even just basic information. It's not a book on
Speaker 3: racism will be banned. It's a book that has the
Speaker 3: word racism, and oh the word in Texas. They want
Speaker 3: to ban the word racism from the UC Texas, and
Speaker 3: we talked about that. That's not even you know, it's
Speaker 3: not even the collective meanings or teachings of a book,
Speaker 3: you know, mentioning slavery, mentioning race. They're trying to make
Speaker 3: talking about it, talking about saying words illegal.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you can lose your job and be jailed
Speaker 1: for saying the word racist, racism. Indeed, So this is
Speaker 1: where we are. Now. I needed you to know that,
Speaker 1: so that this makes sense. So the little girl who
Speaker 1: wrote the poem, that poem has been banned. Okay, one
Speaker 1: person was successful in banning this poem. Okay, Now, one
Speaker 1: person was instrumental. One person was successful. Makes it seem
Speaker 1: like a lot of people tried and only one person got. Okay,
Speaker 1: thank you for that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, one person's problem, one person's complaint. One person's effort
Speaker 3: singularly led to the poem being banned comprehensively and collectively
Speaker 3: and unilaterally for everyone in the entire state of Florida.
Speaker 1: Now, as I mentioned, she read this at the inauguration
Speaker 1: of the forty sixth President of the United States of America.
Speaker 1: It is history now, and it is banned in one
Speaker 1: of the United States of America's fifty states. For people
Speaker 1: to read it if they are in school. Okay, because again,
Speaker 1: of one person's efforts. Now, but I'll let you read.
Speaker 1: But I was gonna ask you, do you know why
Speaker 1: is it? Oh, we'll get to it.
Speaker 3: Because this person was offended or oh.
Speaker 1: Listen, let's let's okay, so we can be honest. Me
Speaker 1: and you Q we can we can be honest. So
Speaker 1: let's be honest with each other, and you, our listener,
Speaker 1: gets to listen to this honest moment that you and
Speaker 1: I are going to have. Okay, I'm going to tell
Speaker 1: you something you already know and you know that I
Speaker 1: know this, Okay, I just want so, so I'm going
Speaker 1: to say it for the benefit of our listeners who
Speaker 1: are listening. So this is not me talking to you,
Speaker 1: the listener. This is me talking to cue my brother.
Speaker 1: This is behind the scenes conversation that you're going to
Speaker 1: get full access to. This is a conversation that I'm
Speaker 1: sure happens in black households and social circles across America
Speaker 1: if in fact their thoughts rise to the political arena. Okay,
Speaker 1: they're banning black authors, They're silencing black boy and anybody
Speaker 1: who has anything to do with empowering black people there
Speaker 1: on the menu too. That's what it is. And the
Speaker 1: reason I know that is because at the end of this,
Speaker 1: you'll find that the woman who was instrumental in banning
Speaker 1: this poem didn't even read it. Okay, I'll read now again.
Speaker 1: Shout out to the Atlanta Black Star, the mother who
Speaker 1: had Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem band in a Florida school
Speaker 1: reportedly has ties to the Proud Boys Daily. Sealinas reportedly
Speaker 1: posted anti Semitic memes on social media and was an
Speaker 1: attendance and Proud Boys rallies. Okay, So remember I said,
Speaker 1: we're going to establish who has the power, so you
Speaker 1: already know who this person is. This is a white person,
Speaker 1: a white woman who has ties to a well documented
Speaker 1: far right extremist group that is decidedly anti black, anti
Speaker 1: lgbt Q I a plus, anti immigrant, anti anybody that's
Speaker 1: not Proud Boys, you know. Okay, where was that? Selena's
Speaker 1: protested five books at the library from the library at
Speaker 1: Bob Graham Education Center in Miami Lakes, Florida, including Gorman's
Speaker 1: poem The Hill We Climb, as well as the ABC's
Speaker 1: of Black History, Love to Langston, Countries in the News, Cuba,
Speaker 1: and Cuban Kids. Selena's claimed in March that Love to
Speaker 1: Langston includes references to critical race theory and indirect hate messages. Okay,
Speaker 1: and I really really really want people to think about
Speaker 1: that indirect hate messages, because if there's somebody who has
Speaker 1: studied black history, I'm not going to say I know
Speaker 1: black history better than you or you know a lot
Speaker 1: of other folks, But I definitely have done my research.
Speaker 1: I have done enough research to know a little bit
Speaker 1: about what I'm talking about, which is more than the
Speaker 1: average person. I have degrees on my wall, which doesn't
Speaker 1: mean anything, but it does show that I have read
Speaker 1: the books. Okay, I have never ever even remotely come
Speaker 1: close to finding something I'm a black author that was
Speaker 1: hateful toward white keeper never seen it. Okay. The closest
Speaker 1: that people they try to make a big deal out
Speaker 1: of is like slaver bolts and things like this. Right,
Speaker 1: and understanding the framework and the context of which these
Speaker 1: slabor bolts took place kind of makes sense, you know,
Speaker 1: if that's my only out, if I'm going to work
Speaker 1: my way to death, or I can die fighting for
Speaker 1: what I believe is right. You know that this country
Speaker 1: was built on that.
Speaker 3: So I'm not mad at anybody to revote against the
Speaker 3: system of slavery without revoting against.
Speaker 1: Boom, thank you.
Speaker 3: But outside of that majority of owners that were white, I.
Speaker 1: Have a textbook downstairs in my house from when I
Speaker 1: was in college and I took an African American literature class, Okay,
Speaker 1: not a history class, literature. These are the writings of
Speaker 1: black people going all the way back to the sixteen
Speaker 1: hundreds and maybe even before because some of those got
Speaker 1: shared in the oral tradition and slavery. Okay Olu Dhara
Speaker 1: and the interesting narrative that we saw when we went
Speaker 1: to the National Museum of Sorry, the National Museum of
Speaker 1: African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Shout out
Speaker 1: to them all the way up to Jagged Edge's lyrics
Speaker 1: in their songs. And you know, this was what was
Speaker 1: going on at the time when I was in college.
Speaker 1: All the huge textbooks still have it right now. Doctor
Speaker 1: Camilla Westenberg was my teacher. Never came across anything that
Speaker 1: said indirect, that said that it was a hate messager,
Speaker 1: a hateful letter, okay. And for her to say that
Speaker 1: this where's it go? Here we go love to Langston
Speaker 1: includes references to critical right theory and indirect hate messages.
Speaker 1: Lets me know that she has absolutely no idea what
Speaker 1: she's talking about. And wherever she's getting that from is
Speaker 1: someone making a huge stretch. Now, I can find lots
Speaker 1: of writings hang on real quick. I can find lots
Speaker 1: of writings from white folks about and two black people
Speaker 1: extremely hateful, prominent and elected white folks.
Speaker 3: We don't have much research to know. And not only
Speaker 3: does she not know what she's talking about, but that
Speaker 3: she's just a bold face line. Absolutely again, it reveals
Speaker 3: itself later in.
Speaker 1: The same story, if you will ram so, Selene's claimed
Speaker 1: that she is not a member of Moms for Liberty
Speaker 1: or the Proud Boys and was only attending some of
Speaker 1: the same events. She also admitted that she hasn't read
Speaker 1: the poem by Gorman as I mentioned, and that she
Speaker 1: she wanted to be She wanted them to be banned
Speaker 1: from her children's school, and she blamed sorry, let me
Speaker 1: read this right, She said, they have to read from
Speaker 1: me because I'm not an expert. So she's not a reader.
Speaker 1: She says, she's not a book person. She's a mom
Speaker 1: involved in her children's education.
Speaker 3: I also don't want people to think that you said
Speaker 3: that last part.
Speaker 4: She says, I'm not a reader right here. Sorry, she
Speaker 4: says that, Yeah, because you said, okay, I'm we have
Speaker 4: to read. Sorry, I lost my place. Next bird, and
Speaker 4: then you said she's not a reader. Yeah, No, she said,
Speaker 4: I'm not a reader. I'm not a reader.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm not a book person. I'm a mom involved
Speaker 1: in my children's education. So that lets me further know.
Speaker 3: How involved in your children's education are you if you're
Speaker 3: not a reader or a book person.
Speaker 1: And how do you feel like taking down this book
Speaker 1: Love to Langston is going to affect folks if you
Speaker 1: haven't read it, And how can you make an assessment
Speaker 1: like it has indirect indirect hate messages if you're not
Speaker 1: a reader? Right, So here's here's where we are with this. Okay,
Speaker 1: This one woman was instrumental and affecting these outcomes that
Speaker 1: had ripple effects throughout the entire state of Florida. Okay,
Speaker 1: so who are we talking about here? Is this a
Speaker 1: black woman? I'll answer for you. No, of course not. No.
Speaker 1: Ok Does this center the black perspective? Absolutely not. Does
Speaker 1: this center an anti black perspective?
Speaker 3: Absolutely?
Speaker 1: Thank you? Okay. Now for folks who are decent individuals
Speaker 1: with a just moral compass that recognize how important equity is,
Speaker 1: how important treating each other as human beings is, how important,
Speaker 1: how important allowing people their identities and their cultures and
Speaker 1: ensuring that everyone has a just go at a society
Speaker 1: that we all partake in and share. This should be
Speaker 1: a gigantic red flag. And for folks who have in
Speaker 1: recent months said to us through social media or whatever, hey,
Speaker 1: you know, Ronda Santis is you know, he's he's better
Speaker 1: than Trump. He's you know this and that and the other, whatever,
Speaker 1: whatever your opinion is on that, I need you to
Speaker 1: understand of his his rise to national prominence and what
Speaker 1: that was built on. That's built on very hateful messaging
Speaker 1: and very divisive messaging. It does not allow for a
Speaker 1: black perspective.
Speaker 3: And it's scary because he's actually better at being a
Speaker 3: politician than his cohort or colleague. Competition now now competition
Speaker 3: Donald Trump, which gives us an evil and more evil
Speaker 3: as choice, which is scary that just my nature of
Speaker 3: being less competent might be less dangerous, even though I'm.
Speaker 1: Not certain that I believe that. Well.
Speaker 3: Important to note Rman's poem was not banned, but the
Speaker 3: schools did restrict who could read the material, claiming it
Speaker 3: was better suited for middle school children.
Speaker 1: Right now, remember I don't believe the little girl that
Speaker 1: read it was a middle school student. I believe she
Speaker 1: was still in elementary school. But I could be wrong
Speaker 1: on that and feel free to correct me. But that's
Speaker 1: just the way I'm remembering it, and so that restriction
Speaker 1: is not nothing. And of course it's brought that into
Speaker 1: fire under fire and indeed caused us to talk about
Speaker 1: it today. So remember who's being centered. Now it's time
Speaker 1: for the Way Black History Fact. Today's Way Black History
Speaker 1: Fact is sponsored by Underground Beach Club From the Streets
Speaker 1: to the Beach, the finest in beach where visit Underground
Speaker 1: Beach Club dot com. They we're going to be talking
Speaker 1: about the zoot Suit Riots. Now. I will warn you
Speaker 1: I pulled these from a few different sources because I
Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that I could paint this picture
Speaker 1: in a short amount of time. So forgive me if
Speaker 1: you hear a couple of things twice, but I'm gonna
Speaker 1: do my best for you. The Zootsuit Riots were a
Speaker 1: series of riots that took place from June third through
Speaker 1: eighth and nineteen forty three in Los Angeles, California, in
Speaker 1: the United States, involving American servicemen stationed in southern California
Speaker 1: and young Latino and Mexican American city residents. It was
Speaker 1: one of the as in wartime industrial cities that suffered
Speaker 1: race related riots in the summer of nineteen forty three,
Speaker 1: along with Mobile Mobile Alabama, Beaumont, Texas, Detroit, Michigan, and
Speaker 1: New York City. So shout out to Los Angeles in
Speaker 1: Detroit one time because me and cure in the building right.
Speaker 1: American servicemen in white Angelinos attacked in stripped children, teenagers
Speaker 1: and youths who wore zoot suits, ostensibly because they considered
Speaker 1: the outfits, which were made from large amounts of fabric,
Speaker 1: to be unpatriotic. During World War Two. Rationing of fabrics
Speaker 1: and certain foods was required at the time for the
Speaker 1: war effort. While most of the violence was directed toward
Speaker 1: Mexican American youth, African American and Filipino American youths were
Speaker 1: also wearing who were wearing zoot suits were also attacked.
Speaker 1: The zootsuit riots were related to fears and hostilities aroused
Speaker 1: by the coverage of the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial following
Speaker 1: the killing of a young Latino man in what was
Speaker 1: then an unincorporated commercial area near Los Angeles. The riot
Speaker 1: appeared to trigger similar attacks that year against Latinos in Chicago,
Speaker 1: San Diego, Oakland, Evansville, Philadelphia, and New York City. The
Speaker 1: defiance of zoot suitors became inspirational for Chicanos during the
Speaker 1: Chicano Movement. One of the first conflicts between sailors and
Speaker 1: zoot suitors was in August nineteen forty two near Chinatown.
Speaker 1: The sailors who trained in the Chavez Ravine went to
Speaker 1: Chinatown on leave. A sailor and his girlfriend were walking
Speaker 1: when four zoot suitters blocked the sidewalk in front of them.
Speaker 1: The zoot suitors refused to let them pass and pushed
Speaker 1: the sailor onto the street. The young zoot suitor and
Speaker 1: the sailors stood their ground in silence until finally the
Speaker 1: sailor backed away. So again, this comes from largely from Wikipedia,
Speaker 1: but a few sources, so feel free to go and
Speaker 1: check out the rest of this. Let me tell you
Speaker 1: what a zootsuit is in case you don't know. Zoot
Speaker 1: Suit fashion found its origin in the urban black scene
Speaker 1: during the nineteen forties. This style of clothing cultivated a
Speaker 1: sense of racial pride and significance. However, the fashion statement
Speaker 1: sued made its to the wardrobes of young Southern California
Speaker 1: Mexican Americans, battalions and Filipinos who became quintessential wares of
Speaker 1: the zoot suit. I want to stop right here. I'm
Speaker 1: from Los Angeles, and while we say the zoot suit
Speaker 1: was borrowed from Black culture, low riding culture was borrowed
Speaker 1: from Latino culture. And I want to make sure that
Speaker 1: I say as often as I can that we have
Speaker 1: a long history of fellowship between Black people and Mexican
Speaker 1: people that I love. Shout out to my sons, Christian
Speaker 1: and Adanaya, who are both half Mexican, and shout out
Speaker 1: to all my Mexican American brothers and sisters, because we
Speaker 1: have a long history that many of us don't know about.
Speaker 1: And most of us get along fine, but we could
Speaker 1: still do better. Your niece and nephew indeed both half
Speaker 1: black in Mexican, I see you, I Goo and Grayson too,
Speaker 1: all right. Oh, and I have other nieces and nephews
Speaker 1: who are as well. All right. The transfer and sharing
Speaker 1: of the zoot suit fashion indicated a growing influence of
Speaker 1: African American popular culture on young Mexican Americans, Italian Americans,
Speaker 1: and Filipino Americans. Additionally, analysis of the Los Angeles zoosuit
Speaker 1: riot and journalists and politicians in the outfits connections with
Speaker 1: race relations, slang, jazz, music, and dance permitted an understanding
Speaker 1: of the politics and social significance of what is trivial
Speaker 1: in itself popular culture and its attendance styles. The zoot
Speaker 1: suit was originally a statement about creating a new wave
Speaker 1: of music and dress, but it also held significant political meeting.
Speaker 1: The flamboyant and colorful material indicated a desire to express
Speaker 1: oneself against the boring and somber slum lifestyle. Zoot suit
Speaker 1: provided young African American and Mexican youth the sense of
Speaker 1: individualistic identity within their cultures and society as they discovered
Speaker 1: highly charged, emotional and symbolic meeting through the movement music
Speaker 1: and dress. The zuts suit typically included bright colored fabric,
Speaker 1: long suit coats that often reached the knees, wide shoulders,
Speaker 1: and gathered or tapered pants. The arm and ankle air
Speaker 1: areas were often much tighter than the rest of the fabric,
Speaker 1: giving the whole look a triangular shape. Do yourself a favorite.
Speaker 1: Checkout a zoot suit. They are still fly. On the
Speaker 1: night of June third, nineteen forty three, about eleven sailors
Speaker 1: got off a bus and started walking along Main Street
Speaker 1: in downtown Lacountering a group of young Mexican Americans and
Speaker 1: zoot suits, they got into an argument. The sailors later
Speaker 1: told the LAPED that they were jumped and beaten by
Speaker 1: this gang, while the zoot suitors claimed the alter cator
Speaker 1: was startled by the sailors. The LAPD responded to the incident,
Speaker 1: including many off duty officers who identified as the Vengeance Squad.
Speaker 1: The officers went to the scene, seeking to clean up
Speaker 1: Main Street from what they viewed as the lowesome influence
Speaker 1: of Pachuco gangs. The next day, two hundred sailors got
Speaker 1: a convoy of about twenty taxi cabs and headed for
Speaker 1: East La, the center of Mexican American settlement. The sailors
Speaker 1: spotted a group of young zoot suitors and assaulted them
Speaker 1: with clubs. They stripped the boys of the zoot suits
Speaker 1: and burned the tattered clothes in a pile. There's pictures
Speaker 1: of this. They attacked and stripped everyone they came across
Speaker 1: who were wearing zootsuits. Media coverage of the incidents then
Speaker 1: started to spread, inducing more people to join the mayhem.
Speaker 1: As the riots subsided, the most urgent concern of official
Speaker 1: was relations with Mexico, as the economy of southern California
Speaker 1: relied on the importation of chief Mexican labor to assist
Speaker 1: with the harvesting of California crops. After the Mexican Embassy
Speaker 1: lodged a formal protest with the state department, Governor Earl
Speaker 1: Warren of California ordered the creation of the mcgukin Committee,
Speaker 1: headed by Los Angeles visub Joseph mcgukin, to investigate and
Speaker 1: determine the cause of the riots. In nineteen forty three,
Speaker 1: the committee issued its report. Its determined racism to be
Speaker 1: a central cause of the riots, further stating that it
Speaker 1: was an aggressive practice of the media to link the
Speaker 1: phrase zoot suit with the report of a crime. The
Speaker 1: governor appointed the Peace Officers Committee on Civil Disturbances, chaired
Speaker 1: by Robert W. Kenney Kinney, president of the National Lawyer's Guilt,
Speaker 1: to make recommendations to the police. Human relations committees were appointed,
Speaker 1: and police departments were required to train their officers to
Speaker 1: treat all citizens equally. Mayor Fletcher Bawrun downplayed the role
Speaker 1: racial prejudice played in the riots and blamed Mexican youth
Speaker 1: gangs Of course, later scholars generally characterized the zoot Suit
Speaker 1: Riots as a polgrim against the Mexican American community. Many
Speaker 1: post war civil rights activists and authors, such as Luis Valdez,
Speaker 1: Ralph Ellison, and Richard Wright have said they were inspired
Speaker 1: by the zoot Suit Riots. Caesar Chabez and Malcolm X
Speaker 1: were both zoot suitors as young men and later became
Speaker 1: political activists. So again the way Black History fact doing
Speaker 1: our best to talk about other issues in this country.
Speaker 1: This one highlights a very very very very small elements
Speaker 1: of the rich tapestry of what it is our Mexican
Speaker 1: American brothers and sisters of wan through in this country.
Speaker 1: But we're glad to have shared it with you today.
Speaker 1: So do some more research. There's a lot more there
Speaker 1: than we can cover here. And with that said, it's
Speaker 1: about it for us here. So once again, like the
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