Radio Rootz' This Day in History

• produced by Hana Georg
• in

The Zoot Suit Riots spread throughout Los Angeles as tension erupted between the white sailors, soldiers, and marines on-leave from WWII and the local Mexican-American and African American Communities. With the progression of the Jazz era in Los Angeles, the Zoot Suit had become both a bold fashion statement and a symbol of social resistance for young Black and Mexican-Americans. When a soldier was injured in a confrontation between a group of soldiers and a group of young men in Zoot Suits a week earlier, racial tensions exploded. The rioting only stopped after all sailors, soldiers and marines were banned from Los Angeles – the next day the Zoot Suit was also banned.