Zoot Suit

Finally, on the night of June 4, 1943, six carloads of Anglo military seamen cruised into East Los Angeles looking for the zoot suiters whom they had read about in the newspapers. After the sailors beat up scores of Mexican youths, including boys as young as thirteen, they often ripped their clothes off them.

For several nights, the sailors continued to attack young Mexican men in restaurants, bars, and movie houses. Following close behind the sailors were Los Angeles police cars. "The police came after them in mopping-up operations and arrested the boys who had been beaten up. In the morning, 44 severely beaten Mexican boys were under arrest" (Nava, p. 155).

During the next few days of violence, mobs of white sailors, at least two hundred strong, continued to riot in East Los Angeles. They would seek out and beat Mexican youths on the streets, even stopping trolley cars to pull the young men out. The Chicanos attempted to fight back but were often outnumbered. Finally on June 7, the military authorities declared Los Angeles out of bounds for all military personnel.....

Zoot Suit article

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