Zoot Suit Riots What Caused the Zoot Suit Riots?

Warm up: Why would servicemen be offended by the “Zoot Suits?” Consider what Americans were being asked to do on the Homefront during WWII

Mexican- Americans During the Mexican revolution ( ) One million people emigrated from Mexico to the Southwestern states. These emigrants combined with the descendents of Mexicans who arrived before By the late 1930’s, there were 3 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans living in the United States. Los Angeles had the largest Mexican-American community in the United States.

1940’s Mexican American urban youth had formed styles of speech and dress tat were neither traditionally Mexican or traditionally American Zoot suits were worn by some urban youth and were popular with Mexican Americans In the 1940’s Mexican Americans continued to face racial segregation in schooling, housing, movie theaters, restaurants, swimming pools, and more. They also faced severe discrimination in employment and the criminal justice system This discrimination was particularly strong in the Southwestern states

Even the media was discriminatory, stating that young Mexican American men were preying upon white women

1940’s WWII Mexican Americans did serve in the military and were not segregated from white units Many Mexican Americans worked in factories and on farms. Mexican American women worked on railroad jobs that were considered “Men’s work” before the war. The Bacero Program allowed Mexican workers to cross the U.S.-Mexico border to fill the large agricultural labor shortage during World War II (started in 1942).

Bacero Program

The Zoot Suit Riots started in Los Angeles The Mexican-American community was angered by the civil rights violations that occurred during the Sleepy Lagoon trial. A Mexican-American teen was found dead and presumed to be murdered. The L.A. police arrested 600 Mexican American teens and detained them. 22 Mexican American teens were found guilty in a trial which violated their rights to due process.

Sleepy Lagoon Trial Arrests

Zoot Suit Riots The majority of servicemen and women stationed in Los Angeles were white Many were offended by the excessiveness of the zoot suit. “Don’t you know there’s a war on?” Many servicemen went into L.A. hunting Zoot Suiters and beating them.

Zoot Suit Riots Rioting occurred in May and June 1943 in los Angeles Thousands of servicemen participated in the attacks in which Mexican American youths were beaten, targets of racial slurs, and stripped of their zoot suits. Some Filipino and African- American zoot suiters were also attacked

Zoot Suit Riots The police arrested more than 500 Mexican Americans. NO SERVICEMEN WERE ARRESTED. The United States military was slow to act. They eventually made Los Angeles off-limits to servicemen, but, rarely enforced the ban. The need to ensure the an agricultural labor supply turned out to be the U.S. government’s main concern in responding to the Zoot Suit Riots

Bacero Program

So, Examine the documents and tell the world the answer to this question: What Caused the Zoot Suit Riots?