Zoot Suit Riots Essay

The Zoot Suit Riots began in the early 1940’s up until the late 1990’s. The riots took place in Los Angeles and California and during this time the riots were seen as the most horrendous racial tensions between the Anglo Americans and White men. Although the battle was between the White sailor and the Anglo American men, African American’s and Filipino’s were engaging in the riots as well. The start of the Zoot Suit Riots in 1992 was due to the murder of Jose Diaz. Jose Diaz was murdered by one of the known street gangs in LA at that time. Jose attended a party to celebrate the fact that he would be joining the Army and later brutally beaten and murdered by the gang known as the 38th Street gang. The gang was convicted and tried but the

It was known as the bottom of the drawer style because the clothing material used were scarps from other clothing. A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a men's suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, trousers, and a long coat with wide padded shoulders. The Latino’s would dress in a zoot suit and call their self Pachucos. The zoot suit was also very popular in the Jazz world. The media interfered with this style of clothing by claiming that anyone dressed in zoot suits were criminals and immigrants. The White Sailormen would dress in their uniform which were made to fit and when they noticed the Mexican Americans clothing were baggy, this made them feel disrespected. The Sailors and Army men would take the Mexican American boys ranging from the aged of 12 to 17. They would remove them from restaurants, theaters and shopping stores and brutally beat them on public display. At a no given time they would strip the boys of their clothing and burn them, leaving with nothing. The sailors and army men had many supporters that would help in the riots or the beaten. With no other choice, the Anglo Americans fought back to protect their families, homes and