Zoot Suit Riots

One thing important to understand about the Zoot Suit riots is the police response to the circumstances surrounding what led up to the riots and the riots themself. The Sleepy Lagoon murder case is widely regarded as the catalyst to the Zoot Suit riots. Twenty two Latino youths were accused of murdering José Díaz with insufficient evidence. During the court case, “evidence” that was brought up included the clothing the accused were currently wearing, pointing out how they all looked like gangmembers. The defendants were not allowed to sit next to their attorneys or consult lawyers during breaks. Seventeen were convicted, although all were later released a few years later, after the Zoot Suit riots. The result of the case made the race relations between the European-American community and the Mexican-American community very tense.

In 1943, an altercation between military personnel on leave and young Mexican Americans wearing zoot suits led to the Zoot Suit riots. Military personnel and civilians marched down the streets assaulting “zoot-suiters”, defacing and destroying their zoot suits, which they saw as a sign of defiance to the war rations. LAPD responded to the riots with orders not to arrest any of the rioters, and some even joined in with the riots. More than 500 Latino civilians were arrested. This racism persisted in the LAPD through decades. This sort of corruption most certainly was not new nor hidden, and is no wonder the 1992 riots were the result of the initial incident with Rodney King and how the courtroom handled his case.

-Herman Wu