1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class. It's a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Welcome to This Day in History Class, where 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: we bring you a new tipbit from history every day. 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: Today is June three, nineteen. The day was June three, 5 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: nineteen forty three. About fifty sailors from the U. S. 6 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: Naval Reserve Armory and Chevez Ravine in Los Angeles carried 7 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 1: clubs and other makeshift weapons as they went through neighborhoods 8 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,600 Speaker 1: near the armory. They attacked anyone who was wearing a 9 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: zoot suit, which was a baggy suit popular among jazz 10 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: musicians and in communities of color. For days, servicemen, police officers, 11 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: and civilians beat and harassed Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. 12 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: There were no deaths, but about a hundred Mexican Americans 13 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: were injured in one hundred were arrested, while about sixteen 14 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: servicemen were injured and fifty non Latino servicemen and civilians 15 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: were arrested. A zoot suit consists of loose trousers, a 16 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: long jacket with wide padded shoulders and white lapels, a 17 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 1: brimmed hat, and a long watch chain. The get up 18 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: grew out of the drape suits that were popular in 19 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,199 Speaker 1: dance halls in Harlem in the mid nineteen thirties. Zoot 20 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,479 Speaker 1: Suits were sort of a political statement because wearing so 21 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: much fabric seemed wasteful and irresponsible at a time when 22 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: there were wartime rations on fabric. In the nineteen forties, 23 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: zoot suits spread from Black communities to Latino communities and 24 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: other groups. In Mexican American communities, the Patuco counterculture movement 25 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: embraced the zoot suit. For people who were part of 26 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,000 Speaker 1: this culture, wearing a zoot suit was also a fashion 27 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: and social statement that emphasized rebellion and community inclusion. Too, 28 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: many people who were outside of the culture Patukos were 29 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: perceived as thugs or too ostentatious for their social status. 30 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty two, the Wartime Productions Board banned a 31 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:19,119 Speaker 1: lot of extra features on clothing, then banned the production 32 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 1: of zoot suits altogether, but some tailors kept making them 33 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: and they were still legal to wear. Along with stereotypes 34 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: of Mexican Americans who faced discrimination in media and in 35 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,560 Speaker 1: daily life, came judgment about the types of people who 36 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: wore zoot suits. Many people thought of Mexican Americans and 37 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: those who wore zoot suits, especially as criminals and delinquents. 38 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: The zoot suit became a sign of suspicion. In nineteen 39 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: forty three, Los Angeles was full of service members from 40 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: the U. S. Military. The Naval and Marine Corps Reserve 41 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:59,760 Speaker 1: Center in Chavez Ravine, or the Naval Reserve Armorne, was 42 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 1: located in a part of the city that was mostly Mexican. 43 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: Many service members thought that wearing zoot suits was an 44 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,480 Speaker 1: affront considering wartime rationing. The idea that zoot suitors were 45 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: draft dodgers was also floating around. Zoot Suit wearers were 46 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: viewed by many as antagonists, and immigrants in general were 47 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: looked down upon in the sentiment of the day. Mexican 48 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: Americans and service members were often at odds and fought 49 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: with each other. By the spring of nineteen forty three, 50 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: there were about two or three fights between people in 51 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: each group every day. These small but frequent conflicts escalated 52 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: into a larger one that became known as the zoot 53 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: suit riots. On May nineteen forty three, a sailor left 54 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,160 Speaker 1: a fight between zoot suitors and sailors with a broken jaw. 55 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: This fight is theoretically the inciting incident for the riots 56 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: that began on June three, when sailors attacked people wearing 57 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: zoot suits. In the following days, the violence spread. Service 58 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,760 Speaker 1: members beat zoot suitors and stripped off their clothes. Police 59 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: officers arrested some of the people who had been beaten. 60 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: Thousands more people joined the mobs who were punishing people 61 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:19,240 Speaker 1: for wearing zoot suits or donning related hairstyles. In addition 62 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: to Mexican Americans, black people and Filipinos were also attacked. 63 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: Cab drivers gave service people free rides, so more came 64 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: to the city from throughout southern California. The violence made 65 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: its way from downtown Los Angeles to Watts East Los 66 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: Angeles and other nearby neighborhoods. Some people did fight back, 67 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: but the violence was largely perpetrated by the service members. 68 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,840 Speaker 1: Police officers mainly protected the service members and arrested many 69 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,839 Speaker 1: of the victims. Local officials did little to stop the violence, 70 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:57,840 Speaker 1: and service members did not face serious consequences. Many news 71 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: reports implied that the violence was justified. The conflict basically 72 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: ended on June eighth, when service members were kept from 73 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: leaving bases and soldiers and sailors were barred from entering 74 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:14,240 Speaker 1: downtown Los Angeles. The next day, the Los Angeles City 75 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: Council banned people from wearing zoot suits in public, and 76 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:21,479 Speaker 1: anyone who did would get thirty days in jail. Two 77 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: committees were formed to investigate the riots. The Citizens Committee 78 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: report found that race prejudice was part of the cause 79 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 1: of the riots. It also said that the poor living 80 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:35,479 Speaker 1: conditions many Mexican Americans face contributed to any delinquency, and 81 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,040 Speaker 1: that the problem of juvenile delinquency in general was not 82 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: confined to any race. But the report did not address 83 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: the violent actions of the service members. Zoot Suit riots 84 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: later happened in other cities in the United States. Zoot 85 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: suitors later became leaders in the Chicano movement and were 86 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:59,040 Speaker 1: active in other fights for social justice. I'm Eve jeffco 87 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 88 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,600 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more 89 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,479 Speaker 1: about the riots, listen to the episode of Stuff You 90 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:12,840 Speaker 1: Missed in History class called zoot Suit Riot. And if 91 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,280 Speaker 1: you can't get enough history, check out Unpopular, a new 92 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: podcast that I host about people in history who challenge 93 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: the status quo and how their stories can help us 94 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 1: think about protests, dissent, and change in today's societies. Thanks 95 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: again for listening and we'll see you tomorrow. For more 96 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:38,480 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 97 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.