Effects Of The Zoot Suit Riots

The zoot suit was a popular, fashionable article of clothing primarily worn by Mexican-Americans in the 1930s and 40s. However, people wearing zoot suits were targeted in the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943. The cause of this event was racism against Mexicans in Los Angeles, California. Even though the Zoot Suit Riots were violent, they did have positive effects. In 1943, the Zoot Suit Riots that were caused by racial discrimination in did eventually help improve the social standing of Mexican-Americans, despite being violent.

June 3rd, 1943, marked the start of the Zoot Suit Riots. The violence began with a rumor spread by some sailors. They said that “they had been attacked by zoot suiters” ("Zoot Suit Riots Exemplify…"). This was code for Latinex

In his article, David Wolcott directly states that “The zoot suit riots resulted from intense bias against the growing Mexican-American community, exacerbated by anxieties generated by World War II.” (WOLCOTT). World War II put the whole country on edge, giving the American people an “us versus them” mentality. Mexican-Americans, with their unique culture, were viewed by most people as separate from the rest of the country. Besides the general public, in years prior, the Los Angeles police force, who was heavily involved in the riots, had proven themselves to be racist. “During the war years, the LAPD routinely pulled over cars driven by Mexican-Americans to conduct ‘field interrogations.’ In 1942 they began making mass arrests, blockading streets in the barrios and detaining teenagers and young adults on vague charges, such as vagrancy or unlawful assembly.” (WOLCOTT). The police department in Los Angeles specifically targeted Mexican-Americans for years, blatantly showing their racism. Even the theme of unfair arrests had started a year before the actual riots. In addition to the police, the military men also had their own biases against Mexicans. “By wearing their own sort of uniforms and having their own customs of style and communication, the youth seemed foreign to servicemen who came from all over the nation (many never having seen a Mexican person). Fear of the unknown combined

For example, it raised awareness about the racial problems in the city: “the riots did serve to raise the issue of racial prejudice and hardship in Los Angeles. Neither the city authorities nor the local military leaders wanted a repeat of such riots, so they began to examine of the conditions of all minorities living in the city” ("Zoot Suit Riots Exemplify…"). The Zoot Suit Riots brought these issues of racism to the attention of the city officials in Los Angeles. This led to numerous other positive impacts for the Mexican-American community. One of these happened a few years after the riots. “The Welfare Planning Council brought many of these groups into an affiliation in 1947 called the Community Relations Conference of Southern California. The conference remains active into the twenty-first century and has worked to end racial segregation in public housing, among other projects.” ("Zoot Suit Riots Exemplify…") The Community Relations Conference was the amalgamation of many groups that were created after the Zoot Suit Riots with the goals of helping underprivileged minorities. This is a long term effect as the organization is still active in the present. In addition to this, there was also a more unofficial effect of the Zoot Suit Riots. This was an “improvement in the relations between the Anglo-American communities and the Mexican-American community that helped