1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Today is the eightieth anniversary of the start 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: of a multi day outbreak of violence in Los Angeles 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,640 Speaker 1: that came to be known as the zoot Suit Riots. 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,680 Speaker 1: Our episode on the zoot Suit Riots came out on 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: August thirteenth, twenty eighteen, even though I had been planning 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: for months to do it in connection to the seventy 7 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: fifth anniversary, which took place that year. I had my 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: act together this time around, though, And this is Today's 9 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:34,720 Speaker 1: Saturday Classic Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 10 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. For the 12 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: last I don't even know how many months I've had 13 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: this note on my podcast shortlist that had in all 14 00:00:54,400 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: capital letters the word June followed by Zootsuit Riots. You 15 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: may notice it is not June right now. It's a 16 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: little after June. It's fine, yeah, I mean, unless you're 17 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: listening to podcasts much later than they come out, and 18 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: in somehow June of twenty nineteen, So we're recording this 19 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 1: in July. It'll be August before it comes out. I 20 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,360 Speaker 1: one hundred percent dropped that ball on this thing that 21 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: I had a note to myself to do for months 22 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:24,680 Speaker 1: and months. But because the zoot Suit riots happened seventy 23 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: five years ago this past June, and because we got 24 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: a bunch of listener requests for it, and because I 25 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: answered a lot of those requests by saying that I 26 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: was doing it in June of twenty eighteen, I'm going 27 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,960 Speaker 1: to do it now, a couple of months late. As 28 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: is often the case when we talk about riots on 29 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:43,280 Speaker 1: the show, the name of this one is really a misnomer. 30 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: It didn't have a lot of the traits that people 31 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: think of when you say riot. There was not really 32 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: much property damage. It was more about attacking people. And 33 00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: it also wasn't really about the zoot suits, although zoot 34 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 1: suits had come to symbolize a lot in Los Angeles 35 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: and in other parts of the United States when this happened. 36 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: So today we're going to talk about some context of 37 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: the Mexican community in Los Angeles and the nineteen forties, 38 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: as well as a murder that became a major precursor 39 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: to this mass violence, and then we will talk about 40 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: the violence itself. Okay, So to start it off, we're 41 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 1: going to talk about Spain actively colonizing what's now California 42 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: starting in the late seventeenth century, and the region was 43 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,640 Speaker 1: under Spanish control until the end of the Mexican War 44 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: of Independence in eighteen twenty one, at which point it 45 00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: became a part of Mexico. After the Mexican American War 46 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: ended in eighteen forty eight, Mexico seeded a huge swath 47 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,399 Speaker 1: of land in the southwest to the United States, including 48 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: what would become California. California became the thirty first state 49 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: on September ninth, eighteen fifty We talk more about the 50 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: history of immigration between Mexico and the United States in 51 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: our twenty sixteen episode on the Brazil Programs, so we're 52 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: not going to walk through all of that again today, 53 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: but the border between these two nations wasn't particularly regulated 54 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: until the nineteen teens. There were several waves of immigration 55 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: from Mexico to the United States, including refugees fleeing the 56 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,639 Speaker 1: Mexican Revolution, which started in nineteen ten. So by the 57 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,760 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, when the Zootsuit Riots took place, the Mexican 58 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: community in the southwestern United States included immigrants as well 59 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: as people of Mexican ancestry whose families had been there 60 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: since way before the state of California even existed. In 61 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: Los Angeles and other cities, the Mexican population overwhelmingly lived 62 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: in tight knit communities known as barrios, from the Spanish 63 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: word for neighborhood, and these neighborhoods evolved through a range 64 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: of social and economic conditions, as well as discriminatory housing 65 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:56,280 Speaker 1: policies and employment and lending practices. Basically the same policies 66 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: that enforced segregation of black residents in other parts of 67 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: the country enforced segregation of Mexican and other Hispanic and 68 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: Latino residents in the American Southwest. The barrios in Los 69 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: Angeles included really densely populated urban neighborhoods, as well as 70 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: Chavez Ravine, which had been home to a predominantly Mexican 71 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: population going back into the middle of the eighteen hundreds. 72 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: Because of its steep terrain, parts of the Chavez Ravine 73 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:27,479 Speaker 1: were almost rural. Poverty was widespread in these neighborhoods. The 74 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: housing was frequently substandard and overcrowded, and often managed by 75 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: predatory landlords. While the Anglo community tended to view the 76 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,160 Speaker 1: barrios as slums or eyes sores. The people who were 77 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: actually living there had extremely tight knit relationships with one another. 78 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: There was a simultaneous mix of intense neighborhood and cultural 79 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: pride and social and economic isolation from the rest of 80 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: the city. That wasn't necessarily the case for the young 81 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: people living in the barrios, though. In the nineteen forties, 82 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,279 Speaker 1: young people in the barrios were dominantly the children of 83 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: Mexican immigrants who had been born in the United States 84 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: and were citizens, and many of them felt like outsiders 85 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: both within and outside of their neighborhoods. They were being 86 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: educated in English speaking American schools, and a lot of 87 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,919 Speaker 1: them wanted to experience life outside the barrio, or even 88 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: leave the barrio. This really put them at odds with 89 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:25,280 Speaker 1: their parents, who tended to be traditional and conservative. These 90 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,799 Speaker 1: second generation Mexican Americans were also subject to huge pressure 91 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: to assimilate with Anglo life from outside the barrio, and 92 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: huge pressure to maintain a strong sense of Mexican cultural 93 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 1: identity from within it and outside of their neighborhoods. They 94 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: faced discrimination because of their ethnicity and sometimes outright exclusion 95 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: from the types of activities that would otherwise be completely 96 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:55,160 Speaker 1: typical for a teenager. Economic hardship, social isolation, exclusion from 97 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,039 Speaker 1: recreation and social activities, and a sense of being an 98 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: outsider are all factors that are cited as reasons why 99 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 1: young people join gangs, and this happened in California in 100 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties and forties as well. Although we should 101 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: make it really clear that a lot of the gangs 102 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: in question were more like tight knit neighborhood clicks than 103 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: criminal organizations. Rivalries between young people from different barrios could 104 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 1: become really intense, though. I mean, there was definitely crime, 105 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: and there definitely were criminal organizations, but overwhelmingly crimes were 106 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: being committed by adults, not by adolescents. And the panic 107 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: that we're about to talk about was about this nefarious 108 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:41,000 Speaker 1: specter of violent criminal teens and that that was really 109 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 1: not what was going on. As Tracy just alluded to. 110 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: In the media, these Mexican American youth were portrayed as 111 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: violent and incorrigible delinquents. This became even more true in 112 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: August of nineteen forty two, following a murder at a 113 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: reservoir known as Sleepy Lagoon. Mexican youth used Sleepy Lagoon 114 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: as a swimtle because they weren't allowed to use the 115 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: public swimming pools, and on August first, nineteen forty two, 116 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: a fight broke out after a party near the reservoir 117 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: and twenty two year old Jose Diaz was beaten and 118 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: left for dead. Diaz had recently enlisted in the US 119 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: Army and it was his last weekend before he was 120 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: scheduled to leave. He died not long after reaching the hospital. 121 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: In response to this murder, law enforcement rounded up roughly 122 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: six hundred people in a citywide dragnet. Most of them 123 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: were Mexican American and most of them were teenagers. Ultimately, 124 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: twenty two teens and young men from the thirty eighth 125 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:42,480 Speaker 1: Street neighborhood were arrested on murder charges, and seventeen of 126 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: them were indicted. They were between the ages of fourteen 127 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: and twenty two, and they were tried in the largest 128 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: mass trial in California history. This trial was a huge 129 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 1: miscarriage of justice. The judge, Charles Williams Fricky, was known 130 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: as sam Quentin Fricky because of how often he sentenced 131 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,480 Speaker 1: people to prison there and during the trial he consistently 132 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: sided with the prosecution. The prosecution was making the case 133 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: that the defendants were a violent street gang, and to 134 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: that end, the judge refused to allow them to get 135 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: clean clothes or have their hair cut because their clothing, 136 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: their hair, and their disheveled appearance was evidence of their 137 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: gang status. We're going to get more into clothing in 138 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: a bit, but just know they basically kept them in 139 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,720 Speaker 1: a state that would keep the public mindset completely confirmed 140 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: that they were everything horrible. These people were saying, yeah, 141 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: even if when they originally were arrested they had been 142 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:44,280 Speaker 1: wearing neatly attired clothing, they were in these same clothes 143 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,480 Speaker 1: for the length of these proceedings, so they just became 144 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: more and more disheveled. The defense also had seventeen different 145 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: defendants to deal with, and the judge continually ruled that 146 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: their attempts to confer with their clients were disruptive. The 147 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:03,160 Speaker 1: defense fendants were ultimately seated in two rows facing the jury, 148 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: physically separated from their attorneys. Some of the defendants also 149 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,199 Speaker 1: really did not take this trial seriously. Some of them 150 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: had never even met the victim and seemed to just 151 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: assume that they were definitely going to be acquitted because 152 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:20,560 Speaker 1: clearly they were not involved. That meant that an all 153 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: white jury was constantly face to face with a bunch 154 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: of teenagers, some of whom were chatting with each other 155 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:31,319 Speaker 1: and rolling their eyes and generally acting like teenagers who 156 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,720 Speaker 1: weren't really being supervised in the courtroom. The trial lasted 157 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,840 Speaker 1: until January of nineteen forty three. In the end, five 158 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: of the defendants were acquitted. The rest were found guilty 159 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: of a number of crimes and sentenced to between six 160 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:50,319 Speaker 1: months and life in prison, depending on the charge. During 161 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: these proceedings, girls and young women from the thirty eighth 162 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:56,640 Speaker 1: Street neighborhood had also been called to testify and to 163 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: participate in the investigation, but they refused to cooperate. Afterward, 164 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,880 Speaker 1: they were taken from their parents' custody, made wards the state, 165 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: and placed in a reform school called Ventura School for Girls, 166 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:12,840 Speaker 1: and they remained there until they were legally adults. This 167 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: trial and the news reporting that surrounded it, continued to 168 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:21,119 Speaker 1: inflame tensions between the Mexican and Anglo communities in Los Angeles. 169 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,480 Speaker 1: News reports described the kids from the thirty eighth Street 170 00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: gang as a violent gang, and the whole incident was 171 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: used as evidence that Mexican youth were inherently criminal and dangerous. 172 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: Mexican youth gangs were blamed for all kinds of crime 173 00:10:35,679 --> 00:10:39,680 Speaker 1: and social ills. The idea of a dangerous Mexican criminal 174 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: element spread among the Anglo population. Rather than doing anything 175 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: about the social and economic conditions and the barrios, lawmakers 176 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 1: and media instead used these young people as evidence of 177 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: a nefarious criminal element that needed to be dealt with, 178 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: and Mexican American youth, who already felt like outsiders, felt 179 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:04,920 Speaker 1: even more targeted by an obviously unfair legal and law 180 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,439 Speaker 1: enforcement system. After two years of advocacy by the Sleepy 181 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 1: Lagoon Defense Committee, these convictions were overturned on appeal in 182 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:17,320 Speaker 1: nineteen forty four. Although the charges were never formally cleared. 183 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: The appellate court found a number of problems with that 184 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: original trial, from inadmissible evidence being admitted, to inadequate defense 185 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:28,559 Speaker 1: representation to the judge's treatment of the most vocal of 186 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,680 Speaker 1: the defense attorneys. Today, the murder of Jose Dias is 187 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,679 Speaker 1: still officially unsolved. Most of the young men who had 188 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,719 Speaker 1: been convicted of his murder were still in prison when 189 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:42,719 Speaker 1: the zoot Suit riots happened. Were going to get into 190 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,040 Speaker 1: the riots, and before that into the zoot suits after 191 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:57,840 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. The Zootsuit Riots were named for a 192 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 1: style of clothing that was popular among the Mexican American 193 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,640 Speaker 1: youth in Los Angeles in the nineteen thirties and forties. 194 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:06,959 Speaker 1: The etymology of zoot suit is a little unclear. You'll 195 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: see a lot of different places of like this is 196 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: the where the term zootsuit comes from, and they all 197 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: kind of contradict each other. It's also unclear exactly who 198 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: made the first one. But these suits grew out of 199 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:21,079 Speaker 1: jazz culture in African American communities. In other parts of 200 00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,679 Speaker 1: the United States, they were really popular among swing dancers 201 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,160 Speaker 1: because the cut and the volume of the fabric really 202 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: accentuated the dancing. Zootsuits became popular among minority communities all 203 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,320 Speaker 1: across the United States. Whichever minority community was living in 204 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 1: a particular place was probably also wearing zoot suits. Even 205 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: though we are talking about Mexican Americans in this episode, 206 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: these suits were culturally very important in these other communities. 207 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 1: They are part of a lot of literature and essays 208 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: from the nineteen thirties and forties, especially by Hispanic and 209 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:58,160 Speaker 1: Black writers. Among Mexican Americans, zoot suits were one part 210 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: of a counterculture movement known as Pachuco. Patuco incorporated zootsuits 211 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:07,240 Speaker 1: along with music and dance and an inventive slang called calo, 212 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: which combined Spanish, English, and jazz inspired words, as well 213 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: as words from other influences. Zootsuits were the most recognizable 214 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: hallmark of the Pachuco man. These are suits with high 215 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:23,199 Speaker 1: waisted pants, suspenders, and very wide legs that then are 216 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 1: pegged at the ankle. The corresponding coats are very long 217 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:31,360 Speaker 1: and have exaggerated broad shoulders. Men usually wore them with 218 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: a coordinating pork pie hat and a distinctive watch chain. 219 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:39,720 Speaker 1: Some Pachucas are women in this culture, wore full zootsuits 220 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:43,839 Speaker 1: with the pants. Others paired them with short skirts, big hair, 221 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: and bright makeup, regardless of which she was doing, though, 222 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: women who dressed this way were really pushing gender norms. 223 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 1: Wearing the pants was thought of as too masculine, but 224 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,719 Speaker 1: the short skirts and the loud makeup were regarded as 225 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:02,760 Speaker 1: too aggressively feminine and to two sexual to both Anglos 226 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: and the Mexican parents of these youths. Pachuco wasn't a culture. 227 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 1: It was just another word for punk or thug. Mexican 228 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: parents worried that their children were going to quote become Pachuco's, 229 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:17,320 Speaker 1: and among Anglos, part of the response to this culture 230 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: might be summed up as how dare you zoot? Suits 231 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,280 Speaker 1: were expensive, and news reporting about the style tended to 232 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:28,200 Speaker 1: hype up the cost. Pachucos took great care in their appearance. 233 00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: They walked with a swagger, and they took pride in 234 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,560 Speaker 1: being able to dance and going out and having a 235 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 1: good time. So from Anglos there was this whole element 236 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: of how dare you spend so much on a suit 237 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,000 Speaker 1: when you should be living in poverty? How dare you 238 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: walk with that swagger when you live in a slum. 239 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: Caesar Shavez, who co founded the National farm Workers' Association 240 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 1: with the lur Shuerta, described it this way. Quote we 241 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: were a minority group of a minority group, so in 242 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 1: a way we were challenging cops by being with two 243 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 1: or three friends and dressing sharp. But in those days, 244 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: I was prepared for any sacrifice to be able to 245 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: dress the way I wanted to dress. I thought it 246 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: looked sharp and neat and it was the style. And 247 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: to circle back around to the Sleepy Lagoon murder case, 248 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: the defendants were part of a culture that valued dressing 249 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,640 Speaker 1: well and taking care of their clothing in appearance. But again, 250 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,320 Speaker 1: if you recall, they were forced to wear the same 251 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: increasingly shabby clothes for the duration of their trial. So 252 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: for Patucco's this one outfit, the zoot suit had a 253 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: whole lot of adolescent rebelliousness and community pride and Mexican 254 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,360 Speaker 1: American culture all rolled up into it, and in the 255 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: nineteen forties, wearing one became an overtly political act. In 256 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: another way as well, during World War Two, fabric was 257 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:49,239 Speaker 1: tightly rationed, and zoot suits used a lot of fabric. 258 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:53,120 Speaker 1: The Wartime Productions Board limited the use of wool in 259 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:55,920 Speaker 1: March of nineteen forty two, and it banned a number 260 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: of extra flourishes on clothing that required more fabric, including cuffs, plats, 261 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: pocket flaps, and vests. Zoot Suits were pretty much all 262 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:11,080 Speaker 1: extra fabric. Having made one, I will wholly endorse this fact. 263 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,880 Speaker 1: They take up a lot of yardage and at first 264 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: tailor's got around this by making zoot suits out of 265 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: other fabrics besides wool, but in October of nineteen forty two, 266 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: the WPB specifically banned those as well. It wasn't illegal 267 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,120 Speaker 1: to wear a zoot suit, but it was illegal to 268 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: make them, although bootleg tailors continued to do it anyway. 269 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:36,560 Speaker 1: The City of Los Angeles also debated banning the wearing 270 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:40,400 Speaker 1: of zoot suits that year, but ultimately did not. By 271 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: nineteen forty three, zoot suits were very closely associated with 272 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: crime and with juvenile delinquency. We talked before the break 273 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 1: about the widespread media coverage of Mexican youth portraying them 274 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:58,040 Speaker 1: as incorrigible criminals. Tied to that stereotype was the clothing 275 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: that they were wearing. Under present Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Good 276 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 1: Neighbor Policy, which was meant to improve American relationships with 277 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 1: Latin America, news outlets in some cities stopped using the 278 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: word Mexican and crime reporting. Instead, they were writing things 279 00:17:14,080 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: like zoot suited thugs, which everyone read as basically a 280 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,080 Speaker 1: Mexican gangster in a zoot suit. This use of language 281 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: didn't really do anything to shield Mexicans from the perception 282 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,000 Speaker 1: that they were criminals, and it did reinforce the connection 283 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:33,400 Speaker 1: between zoot suits and crime. On June second, nineteen forty three, 284 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:36,160 Speaker 1: an article in the La Times called the zoot suit 285 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,679 Speaker 1: quote a uniform of delinquency. Calls to police were common 286 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: just because someone in a zoot suit was inherently suspicious. Simultaneously, 287 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: in the early nineteen forties, there were a lot of 288 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 1: service members from the US military in Los Angeles. At 289 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,240 Speaker 1: any given time. Some of them were passing through, some 290 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,439 Speaker 1: were preparing to deploy, some were on shore leave, and 291 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: some were training at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve 292 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:07,120 Speaker 1: Center in Chavezravine, also known as the Naval Reserve Armory. 293 00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:10,879 Speaker 1: This facility opened in a predominantly Mexican part of the 294 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:15,399 Speaker 1: city in nineteen forty. Especially on weekends, the number of 295 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 1: military personnel in Los Angeles could swell to about fifty thousand. 296 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: A lot of these servicemen felt like the zoot suitors 297 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 1: were deliberately antagonizing them. They were wearing unpatriotic clothing that 298 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,200 Speaker 1: flew in the face of wartime rationing. And on top 299 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:33,640 Speaker 1: of that was the perception that the zoot suitors were 300 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 1: also draft dodgers. And while that may have been the 301 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,080 Speaker 1: case for some, a lot of the Mexican youth who 302 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: were part of the Pachuco culture were too young to enlist. 303 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,800 Speaker 1: There were also stories of men wearing their zoot suits 304 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: when they reported in and being turned down for military 305 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 1: service because of the perception that they would be troublemakers. 306 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,439 Speaker 1: And of course, there were plenty of Mexican Americans serving 307 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:58,639 Speaker 1: in the armed forces, although numbers were not clear because 308 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 1: their numbers were not separated out from the white population. 309 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: At the same time, there was also a lot of 310 00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:08,480 Speaker 1: overall anti immigrant sentiment going on, even though most of 311 00:19:08,480 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: the young people being targeted here were American citizens of 312 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: Mexican descent. What we're talking about today was happening in 313 00:19:16,760 --> 00:19:20,200 Speaker 1: parallel with the signing of Executive Order ninety sixty six 314 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: and the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West 315 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,960 Speaker 1: coast of the United States. Almost two thirds of the 316 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,040 Speaker 1: people who were incarcerated under that executive order were also 317 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:36,680 Speaker 1: American citizens. Fights between service members and Mexican civilian use 318 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: became increasingly common in late nineteen forty two. In December, 319 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: they were reported at a rate of about one per week. 320 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,480 Speaker 1: By the spring of nineteen forty three, that had increased 321 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 1: to between two and three fights per day. Each fight 322 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: became justification for the next one, and sometimes they erupted 323 00:19:55,640 --> 00:20:00,320 Speaker 1: into mass violence. It's not totally clear what caused these 324 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:05,119 Speaker 1: ongoing clashes between service members and civilians of Mexican descent 325 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 1: to escalate into mass violence. According to a number of sources, 326 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,360 Speaker 1: it was a fight between eleven sailors and a group 327 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 1: of zoot suitors on May thirtieth, nineteen forty three, which 328 00:20:15,520 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: left one sailor with a broken jaw. These riots started 329 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:22,719 Speaker 1: on June third and were at least in theory in 330 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:26,040 Speaker 1: retaliation for that earlier fight. And we're going to get 331 00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:28,840 Speaker 1: into the details of the zootsuit riots after we first 332 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: pause for a break where we hear from one of 333 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: the sponsors that keeps his show going. On June third, 334 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: nineteen forty three, a group of about fifty sailors left 335 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,440 Speaker 1: the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Schabzravine. They 336 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: were armed with makeshift weapons, and they made their way 337 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,480 Speaker 1: through the neighborhoods near the armory looking for a fight. 338 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:01,760 Speaker 1: They specifically looked for and attacked anyone wearing a zoot suit. 339 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: This was the first night of the zoot suit riots. 340 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: June fourth was a Friday, and that evening, sailors began 341 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: hiring cabs to take them into the barrios. They treated 342 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: this like a seek and destroy mission, seeking out and 343 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:20,200 Speaker 1: beating Mexican youth, especially the ones in zootsuits, but they 344 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 1: also attacked people who were not in zoot suits. Five 345 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,280 Speaker 1: victims were hospitalized. Most of the sailors had returned to 346 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:29,920 Speaker 1: base by the time shore patrol and the police arrived, 347 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:32,680 Speaker 1: and there were only a few arrests, and those were 348 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:37,480 Speaker 1: mainly Mexican victims. On June fifth, the scene was much 349 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:41,119 Speaker 1: the same, with the riots spreading further into East Los Angeles. 350 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: The attacks targeted men, especially the ones who quote looked 351 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,520 Speaker 1: like Pachuco's. This included a group of musicians who were 352 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 1: leaving Aztec Recording Company. On June seventh, news reports spread 353 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 1: that zoot suitors were planning a coordinated effort to kill police. 354 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,679 Speaker 1: Based on what evidence, we have no idea. It was 355 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: kind of just a rumor as far as we know. Yeah, 356 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:05,800 Speaker 1: we don't know why that was being reported as though 357 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 1: it was a real thing. That's the question of a 358 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,800 Speaker 1: lot of the reporting that happened with this, and in response, 359 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 1: thousands of servicemen came to downtown Los Angeles, some of 360 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,920 Speaker 1: them from as far away as San Diego. Cab drivers 361 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 1: offered the servicemen free rides, and they attacked people not 362 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: only in Mexican neighborhoods, but also in the predominantly black 363 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 1: neighborhood of Watts. June seventh was really the peak of 364 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,200 Speaker 1: the zootsuit riots, and throughout this sort of war, servicemen 365 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 1: attacked and beat up young men in zoot suits. They 366 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: were often armed with things like clubs and tire irons. 367 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: In some cases, they stripped their victims down to their 368 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 1: underwear in the streets and then sometimes set fire to 369 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: their zoot suits in front of them. Sometimes the soldiers 370 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 1: cut off their target's hair. They also invaded people's homes, 371 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: and they stormed movie theaters to drag Mexican and other 372 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: minority patrons out into the street and attack them. While 373 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:05,679 Speaker 1: there were definitely cases of Mexicans and other minorities fighting 374 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:11,639 Speaker 1: back or like taunting the sailors, like being generally aggressive, 375 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: this was not a case of two factions coming together 376 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: and fighting. The servicemen were definitely the instigators here, and 377 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,840 Speaker 1: law enforcement did little to intervene In all of this, 378 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: officers often arrived on the scene after the violence was 379 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: over and then arrested the victims instead of the perpetrators, 380 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,719 Speaker 1: purportedly for their own protection. Servicemen who were picked up 381 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,680 Speaker 1: by law enforcement were typically taken back to base or 382 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,320 Speaker 1: just taken a few blocks away from the violence and 383 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: dropped off and otherwise faced no consequences. There were also 384 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:50,399 Speaker 1: reports of young Mexican American men turning themselves into police 385 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 1: stations and asking to be taken into custody rather than 386 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:57,440 Speaker 1: face being the victims of violence in their own neighborhoods. 387 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: Throughout all of this, news reports generally praised the servicemen 388 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 1: as carrying out a much needed vigilante war against uncontrollable 389 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 1: Mexican delinquents. The Los Angeles Times read headlines like zo 390 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: suitors learn lesson in fight with servicemen. Here's how The 391 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 1: New York Times kicked off its reporting on June seventh, 392 00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:23,119 Speaker 1: quote subdued and no longer ready to do battle. Twenty 393 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 1: eight zoot suitors stripped of their gears, clothing, and with 394 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: County jail barbers hopefully eyeing their flowing ductail haircuts, languished 395 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 1: behind bars today after a second night of battle with 396 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: flears and servicemen, and the next paragraph the article acknowledges 397 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,879 Speaker 1: that this was quote a war declared by servicemen. First 398 00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:47,280 Speaker 1: Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about the riots in her mind 399 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 1: Day column, saying, quote, the question goes deeper than just suits. 400 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,679 Speaker 1: It is a racial protest. I have been worried for 401 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,399 Speaker 1: a long time about the Mexican racial situation. It is 402 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 1: a problem with roots going along way back, and we 403 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,960 Speaker 1: do not always face these problems as we should. After 404 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: this appeared, the La Times accused her of sowing racial discord. 405 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 1: On June eighth, the violence largely stopped because the servicemen 406 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:18,159 Speaker 1: were barred from leaving base, and downtown Los Angeles was 407 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:21,439 Speaker 1: made out of bounds for soldiers and sailors. At the 408 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 1: same time, the official Navy position was that all of 409 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: the actions by sailors were in self defense. That was 410 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:35,000 Speaker 1: patently false. They were picking the fights themselves. The Shore 411 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: Patrol was also given orders to arrest any member of 412 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,639 Speaker 1: the military whose behavior was disorderly. On the ninth, the 413 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:46,399 Speaker 1: Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution banning the public 414 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:50,359 Speaker 1: wearing of zoot suits, with fifty days in jail as punishment. 415 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:54,800 Speaker 1: Although there had been hundreds of injuries, some of them severe, 416 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,240 Speaker 1: There were no deaths during the zoot Suit riots, but 417 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,280 Speaker 1: the racial aspect of the violences off obvious by the numbers. 418 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:07,160 Speaker 1: In terms of hospitalizations, about one hundred Mexican Americans suffered 419 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:12,040 Speaker 1: serious injuries compared to roughly sixteen servicemen. There also would 420 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: have been lots and lots of people who were hurt 421 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: but didn't seek medical care. There were also arrests of 422 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 1: close to one hundred Mexican Americans compared to about twenty 423 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:26,960 Speaker 1: servicemen and about thirty non Hispanic civilians. After this was over, 424 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 1: two committees were formed to investigate and find out the 425 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:34,119 Speaker 1: cause of the riots. One was a Citizens Committee ordered 426 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,879 Speaker 1: by California Governor Earl Warren. The other was an Anti 427 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:42,959 Speaker 1: American Activities investigation presided over by State Senator Jack B. Tenney, 428 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 1: which looked for fascist and Nazi instigators. No evidence was 429 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: ever found or published to back up the whole fascist 430 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: slash Nazi angle, but the Citizens Committee report was clear 431 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: quote in undertaking to deal with the cause of these outbreaks, 432 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: the existence of race prejudice can not be ignored In response, 433 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 1: to this. Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Boren, on the other hand, 434 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:08,199 Speaker 1: maintained that race was not a factor and continued to 435 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,760 Speaker 1: blame the riots on the zoot seaters and on juvenile delinquents. 436 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: The Citizens Committee report outlined some of the social conditions 437 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,800 Speaker 1: that had led to all of this quote there are 438 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: approximately two hundred and fifty thousand persons of Mexican descent 439 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,720 Speaker 1: in Los Angeles County. Living conditions among the majority of 440 00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 1: these people are far below the general level of the community. 441 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,480 Speaker 1: Housing is inadequate, Sanitation is bad and is made worse 442 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 1: by congestion. Recreational facilities for children are very poor, and 443 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 1: there is insufficient supervision of the playgrounds, swimming pools, and 444 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:48,680 Speaker 1: other youth centers. Such conditions are breeding places for juvenile delinquency. 445 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 1: The report also addressed the basically ubiquitous idea that there 446 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:59,800 Speaker 1: was an epidemic of juvenile delinquency, specifically among Mexican youths. 447 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: All juvenile delinquency has increased recently in Los Angeles. This 448 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 1: includes crimes committed by youths of Mexican origin. But the 449 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 1: fact is that the increase of delinquency in the case 450 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: of youths of Mexican families has been less than in 451 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:21,240 Speaker 1: the case of other national or racial groups, and less 452 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:25,119 Speaker 1: than the average increase for the community. The committee also 453 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:27,720 Speaker 1: made a number of recommendations to try to address the 454 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: root causes of delinquency and gang formation, better training for 455 00:28:32,119 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: police officers who were working in multi racial communities, better 456 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 1: and more widely available youth and recreation facilities in Mexican neighborhoods, 457 00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:46,200 Speaker 1: an end to discrimination and segregation at public facilities. What 458 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:50,160 Speaker 1: the committee really did not investigate, though, was the actions 459 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:53,680 Speaker 1: of the Anglo servicemen and any Anglo civilians who had 460 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: participated in these riots. It didn't touch on the fact 461 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,959 Speaker 1: that large numbers of servicemen were leaving their bases during 462 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,600 Speaker 1: an actual war, that being World War Two, to go 463 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 1: and attack civilians. So even though the report included an 464 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,480 Speaker 1: acknowledgment of racism as a factor in all of this, 465 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,320 Speaker 1: and even though it included a lot of common sense 466 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: recommendations that could help the Mexican community in Los Angeles, 467 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 1: it really did not touch on anything that could have 468 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: addressed the servicemen's decision to stage a vigilante attack on 469 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 1: Los Angeles's Mexican community. There was a whole lot of 470 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 1: this is what we should do to prevent delinquency among 471 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,680 Speaker 1: Mexican youth, but virtually no, this is what we should 472 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,520 Speaker 1: do to prevent servicemen from forming a racist vigilante mob. 473 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,960 Speaker 1: This whole incident was really formative in both the Hispanic 474 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: and the Anglo communities. It was a national news story, 475 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:51,640 Speaker 1: and for a lot of people who didn't live in 476 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 1: the Southwest, it was the first time that they really 477 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 1: heard about a significant Mexican minority living in the United States, 478 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 1: which makes it particular ularly unfortunate that much of the 479 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: news reporting was handled in such a racist way with 480 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 1: the Hispanic and Latino community. The Sleepy Hollow murder case 481 00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,880 Speaker 1: and the zoot Suit riots were both precursors to the 482 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: Ticano movement, also called the Mexican American Civil rights movement. 483 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: We've talked about some of the other events that were 484 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 1: also part of the development of this movement, including Mendes 485 00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,320 Speaker 1: versus Westminster, which was a school segregation case, and the 486 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,760 Speaker 1: case of Macario Garcia, who was the first Mexican national 487 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: to be awarded the Medal of Honor, who was arrested 488 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:35,320 Speaker 1: after being denied service at a restaurant after returning home. 489 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: There were also similar incidents in other cities after the 490 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:42,320 Speaker 1: zoot Suit riots, although not as massive or as widely 491 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 1: reported as what took place in Los Angeles, and it 492 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:48,840 Speaker 1: could have become an international incident since most of the 493 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 1: people targeted were not Mexican nationals, and because this happened 494 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: during World War II, Mexico's diplomatic response was somewhat muted. 495 00:30:57,880 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 1: There was also a lot of other just mass racist 496 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 1: violence that happened that wasn't necessarily similar to the Zootsuit Riots, 497 00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:08,440 Speaker 1: but did follow in the immediate months and years after this. 498 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: It's also a whole other topic, but worth mentioning. Chavez 499 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:16,360 Speaker 1: Ravine was emptied through a series of evictions starting in 500 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, so just a few years after this, 501 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,880 Speaker 1: with the city originally saying that it was going to 502 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,880 Speaker 1: be redeveloped and that the evicted residents would get the 503 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,360 Speaker 1: first choice of the newly built homes instead. It's now 504 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: the site of Dodger Stadium. There is also a Broadway 505 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: play called zoot Suit, directed by Louis Miguel Valdez that 506 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: debuted in nineteen seventy nine, and it was the first 507 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 1: play with a Chicano director on Broadway that has also 508 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: been made into a film. And there's also that song 509 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:46,560 Speaker 1: by the Cherry Pop and Daddy's which we're only mentioning 510 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: so that everyone will know that, yes, we do know 511 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 1: that it exists, and yeah, makes it sound like a 512 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: whole lot of fun when it was not. It was 513 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:07,360 Speaker 1: not fun at all. Thanks so much for joining us 514 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,440 Speaker 1: on this Saturday. Since this episode is out of the archive, 515 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:12,800 Speaker 1: if you heard an email address or a Facebook RL 516 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,160 Speaker 1: or something similar over the course of the show, that 517 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:19,400 Speaker 1: could be obsolete now. Our current email address is History 518 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:24,480 Speaker 1: Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. Our old hell Stuffworks email 519 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 1: address no longer works. You can find us all over 520 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: social media at missed in History, and you can subscribe 521 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:35,520 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple podcasts, Google Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, 522 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed 523 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 1: in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more 524 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or 525 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,640 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.