The Zoot Suit Riots: Causes, Significance, and Legacy
by Robert Longely/Thought.Co
Health Editor’s Note: The TV series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (Showtime) is a good interpretation of this time and pretty entertaining in the bargain…..Carol
The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of violent conflicts that occurred from June 3 to June 8, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, during which U.S. servicemen attacked young Latinos and other minorities who wore zoot suits—outfits featuring balloon-legged trousers and long coats with wide lapels and exaggeratedly padded shoulders. While ostensibly blamed on the so-called “zoot suiters’” lack of “patriotism” during World War II, the attacks were actually more about race than fashion. Racial tensions at the time had been heightened by the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial, involving the 1942 slaying of a young Latino man in a Los Angeles barrio.
- The Zoot Suit Riots was a series of street fights between groups of U.S. servicemen and zoot suit-wearing young Latinos and other minorities that occurred during World War II, from June 3 to June 8, 1943, in Los Angeles, California.
- The U.S. servicemen sought out and attacked the zoot-suited “pachucos” claiming that wearing zoot suits was unpatriotic due to a large amount of wool and other war-rationed fabrics used in making them.
- In stopping the riots, police arrested more than 600 young Latinos, beating many victims, but only a few servicemen.
- …Read More:
Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.
She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.
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