Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles Essay - 1929 Words

Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles Outline Topic: The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943: What caused them, what happened, and what were the effects? Introduction Causes for the riots in 1943 History of racism Stylish dress seen as un-American during wartime. Stage set for riots Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the Zoot Suit riots Effects of riots Cultural repression Political activism in Mexican American community Series of reforms in the Los Angeles Police Department Causes Mexican Revolution, World War I, â€Å"brown scare†. Mexican Americans depicted as security risk Formation of racist policies and procedures Bias in criminal justice system. Academic theories of criminal behavior Media sensationalized violence in barrio What happened†¦show more content†¦In fact, an â€Å"expert† from the L.A. Sheriff’s Department who testified at the Sleepy Lagoon trial is quoted as saying: Let us view it from the biological basis. . . Total disregard for human life has always been universal throughout the Americas in the human population. And this Mexican element feels a desire to kill or at least to draw blood (Tobar, 1997). On top of the racism faced in the courtroom was the media bias against the Mexican American population. In the process of covering events in the city, the then Hearst-owned papers did a series of articles on the pachuco gangs, depicting Mexican American neighborhoods as being fraught with violence, places of raping and pillaging (Tobar, 1997). This was the atmosphere of the city at the time of the Sleepy Lagoon murder in 1942, when the body of Jose Diaz was found at a common swimming hole after a party. Because of the public outrage over pachuco gangs, which was instigated by the media, the sheriff’s department went on a sweep of the city’s barrios, rounding up and arresting over 600 young men in connection to the Sleepy Lagoon cas e. Eventually 24 men were indicted for murder, and 12 were convicted (Tobar, 1997). During the trial in early 1943, the defendants were forced to stay within a â€Å"prisoners’ box† and notShow MoreRelatedThe Civil Era Of The Zoot Suit Riots Of Los Angeles1772 Words   |  8 Pagesor braceros, through the Bracero Program, a 1942 work assertion between the United States and Mexico. A standout amongst the most genuine occurrences of segregation happened amid World War II in the Zoot-Suit Riots of Los Angeles. The incident got its name from the kind of attire, known as a zoot suit, worn by numerous youthful Mexican Americans of the mid 1940s. In the mid year of 1943, a question between a Mexican American and an Anglo emitted into across the board revolting. Serving or workingRead MoreZoot Suits Riot Film1107 Words   |  5 PagesEurope, riots broke out in the streets of Los Angeles targeting young Latinos. 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