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It's Been 80 Years Since The Zoot Suit Riots. Understanding The Fashion Statement That Sparked A Racist Mob
Caption from 1943: "Luis V. Verdusco, known as 'The Chief,' must face trial for deadly weapons law violation in the zoot suit riot aftermath."
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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Update June 2, 2023
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This month marks the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of violent attacks in L.A. that targeted non-white men wearing a style of clothing known as a zoot suit.
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Ahead of that anniversary, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion last month calling the 1943 events "one of Los Angeles’ most shameful moments in history." The motion also said the county would "recommit to fighting against racial discrimination."
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We looked back at the ugly history of that time in a photo history first published in 2019.
The zoot suit riots are considered to be "the first time in American history that fashion was believed to be the cause of widespread civil unrest," writes historian Kathy Peiss in Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style.
But the word "riot" is actually misleading, said Shmuel Gonzales, a blogger and local historian. It was actually more of an assault by groups of white U.S. soldiers and sailors, who were awaiting deployment during World War II. On June 3, 1943, the men charged through the city to harm young Mexican American men for wearing baggy (but stylish) suits. African American and Filipino men on the streets were also attacked.
The violence was the result of widespread panic among white Angelenos, who felt that "ethnic minorities were taking their claim on the town, and encouraging mixed race dancing during the age of segregation," Gonzales said. To summarize: White people rioted because of mixed race dancing.
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Reports from the time explain that white residents saw men in zoot suits as "menacing street thugs, gang members and rebellious juvenile delinquents." And the L.A. Times fanned the flames. On June 2, 1943, the Times reported: "Fresh in the memory of Los Angeles is last year's surge of gang violence that made the 'zoot suit' a badge of delinquency. Public indignation seethed as warfare among organized bands of marauders, prowling the streets at night, brought a wave of assaults, [and] finally murders."
"Frank wears his drapes, a variation on the zoot suit style widely popular in the 1940's."
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Shades of L.A. Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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The June attacks were carried out with clubs and other crude weapons. And the resulting wave of racism inspired other mobs of servicemen to take to the streets, often stripping Latino men of their clothes and beating them until they were bloody and unconscious. Local police officers watched the beatings, then arrested the victims.
More servicemen, off-duty police officers and civilians joined in the mob mentality over the next several days, marching into cafes and movie theaters, beating up anyone wearing zoot-suit clothing or hairstyles.
No one was killed during the riots but hundreds of people were injured ... and the event sparked other zoot suit-related racial violence in other American cities like Philadelphia, Chicago and Detroit.
Next month marks the 80th anniversary of L.A.'s "riot." But to find the origins of zoot suit fashion, you have to go back to Harlem in the 1930s.
Zoot suits originated out of drape suits, which became popular in Black communities in 1930s New York. The style quickly spread throughout the U.S. and became fashionable among performers like Cab Calloway. In L.A., a pachuco or pachuca became a common phrase for Mexican American men and women who wore zoot suits.
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Despite strict rationing of wool and other textiles during WWII, many bootleg tailors in Los Angeles (and New York) continued to make the suits with high-end fabrics.
Today, many Angelenos still embrace the style by wearing its trademark threads — baggy trousers and long jackets with padded shoulders — especially in majority Latino neighborhoods like Boyle Heights. "It's still a style that resonates," Gonzales said. "People identify with it."
But zoot suits were about more than just fashion. The style was a political statement for some men in L.A. and became a symbol for the racial tension in the city.
In honor of that history, please join us for a visual tour of the aftermath of the zoot suit fashion and the riots that followed, courtesy of the L.A. Public Library's (amazing) photo archive.
The only newspapers that decried the attacks at the time (during the age of Jim Crow) was the L.A. Reporter and Eastside Journal published by Al Waxman (the uncle of former Congressman Henry Waxman).
Editor's note
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These photos include the the original captions from the Herald Examiner. The language used was heavily biased and tell a different story of the "riot" events. Shmuel Gonzales told us that's because the Herald Examiner was "notorious as one of biased newspapers, repeatedly skewing the news and causing hysteria about working-class people of color and their children."
"Twenty juveniles are shown today after they were arrested by police in Watts in the latest roundup of rioters. These boys allegedly stoned Pacific Electric cars which passed through the town," June 11, 1943.
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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"Donald Jackson, 20-year-old sailor, who was slashed in the abdomen in a riot between service men and zoot-suiters today, is shown being treated in the hospital," June 8, 1943.
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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The Kim Sing Theater (original name has been changed), in L.A.'s Chinatown, where the Zoot Suit Riots were said to have started. (circa 1990)
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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"State Attorney General Robert W. Kenny and members of a citizens' committee are shown when they met today and opened investigation of the zoot suit riots in Los Angeles. Left to right, Kenny, Dr. Willsie Martin, Karl Holton, Bishop Joseph T. McGucken, and Walter Gordon." June 12, 1943.
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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"Vicent Duarte, 15, who said he 'liked the Zoot Suit and liked to run with the gang,' is shown in hospital, being comforted by his mother, Mrs. Vera Trugello, after he was shot in both legs during an Azusa theater riot." June 10, 1943.
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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From left to right, Johnny Rodriguez, Jesus Martinez, and Ray Serna at the Grand Jury hearing for the Zoot Suit riots. (circa 1943)
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library
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"Alleged leaders of Zoot Suit groups are shown as they appeared today before the County Grand Jury for the opening of an inquiry into the series of riots between Zoot-suiters and servicemen." June 15, 1943.
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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"Luis V. Verdusco, known as 'The Chief,' must face trial for deadly weapons law violation in the zoot suit riot aftermath." June 9, 1943.
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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"Joaquin Porras. 'Zoot suit youth held as a robbery suspect." Porras was accused of being one of five men who knocked down Josephine George near the 800 block of Temple Street, stealing her purse, and threatening to take a diamond ring by cutting off her finger. November 6, 1942.
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Herald Examiner Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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"Manuel Ybarra in zoot suit, 1942."
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Shades of L.A. Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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"Josie is wearing her zoot suit while waiting for the Red Car at E. 41st St. and Long Beach Ave. in Los Angeles. The restaurant on the corner is El Tonga." (circa 1945)
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Shades of L.A. Collection
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Los Angeles Public Library Collection
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