Zoot Suiters

In the 1940’s, there was a tremendous amount of racism lying within the heart of California. This racism caused a lot of strife and tension between the Mexican-Americans and the Military men who lived in and around California. The three major factors to this racial issue were the “Zoot Suiters”, the Sailors, and the government. Not only did these factors had a major contribution to the environment during 1943, but it also set the tone of the environment for many years later. Due to the lack of control by the government, the “Zoot Suiters” fought against the sailors to protect the Mexican-American race from discrimination and getting abused physically and mentally. This hopeless effort to fight for rights as Mexican-Americans was later recognized as the “Zoot Suit Riot in 1943”. So, who are the “Zoot Suiters”?

The “Zoot Suiters” were young Mexican-Americans men (and some women) who wore the infamous “Zoot Suit”. Andrews stated, " At the time, the jazz-inspired outfits were particularly popular among the city’s Mexican American population.” The movement of Jazz inspired a bunch of young people, of all races, to come together and have a great time on the dance floor. Even though other races were wearing Zoot Suits, like African-Americans, the image was eventually pinned as a rebellious group of young Mexicans. The Sailors seen the
If the military officials didn’t step into the situation in time, this confrontation could have easily escalated into civil war. The government wanted to have more control over the Mexican-American community. So they allowed the Zoot Suiters to be harassed and be beaten down by the military. In the aftermath, the government of California passed a law to get rid of wearing Zoot Suits to “protect” the community from future violence. In reality, this historical event was to give the government more power in taming the free-will of the “rebellious” men behind the