High-waisted trousers of generous proportions pegged at the ankle. Shoulder-padded jackets draped at knee-length. Outfits accessorized by wide-brimmed hats with feathers, long watch chains and shiny shoes.
The zoot suit, worn in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s by Black and Mexican American men, prompted a violent racial attack against a minority population.
In June 1943, 80 years ago, roving bands of white Navy seamen and other enlisted soldiers stationed in L.A. during WWII used sticks, clubs and fists to beat Mexican American youth wearing the hip suits, leaving them bloodied and stripped of their clothes on the streets of downtown L.A. and East Los Angeles.
The attacks became known as the Zoot Suit Riots. They began on May 31 with a street scuffle and escalated on June 3, June 4 and June 20 of 1943, according to historical articles and records.
The Zoot Suit Riots are described as a “dark chapter in Los Angeles County history” in a motion to be heard by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, May 16. In marking the 80th anniversary, the board asks that the violent display of racism against Mexican American, African American and Filipino American men living in L.A. at that time not be forgotten.
In the motion by First District Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, the attacks are denounced as devastating reminders of a black mark on the county’s history. The motion includes historic details of the attacks as a way for county residents to not just remember, but to fight against racial and ethnic discrimination.
“The Zoot Suit Riots have been one of Los Angeles’ most shameful moments in history,” read the motion.
To keep the attacks in the forefront and not let them get lost in history, and to celebrate Mexican American heritage in L.A., Manny Alcaraz, 74. of Paramount, a historian and classic car owner, is planning a classic car show and cruising event on June 3. It starts at 8 a.m. at Lorena Street and Whittier Boulevard in…
Read the full article here