• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / History / When did the Zoot Suit Riots take place and What caused the Zoot Suit Riots in 1943?

When did the Zoot Suit Riots take place and What caused the Zoot Suit Riots in 1943?

June 18, 2020 by Karen Hill

In June 1943, several young zoot-suiters believed to be Mexican American got involved in a brawl with U.S. Navy sailors on leave in Los Angeles.

The rest of the ship’s crew decided to take revenge.

In the days that followed, sailors drove around the city in taxis, grabbing and beating every zoot-suiter they found. Young Mexican American men, whether wearing a zoot suit or not, were pulled out of buses and dragged from movie theaters to be beaten. Anglo civilians joined in the assaults. Police responded by arresting the victims.

The zoot suit riots spread to other cities, from California to Texas; from Chicago to Philadelphia to New York. When it was all over, a Los Angeles citizens’ committee determined that racial prejudice was behind the riots.

For the first time, Americans in high places began to see and investigate the racism of Anglos against Mexican Americans.

Chicanos began to realize that their very right to exist was in danger. They had to unite and become politically active as advocates in their own behalf.

Related Facts

  • What is a zoot suit and When was the zoot suit popular among urban youths in the United States?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • What happened during the Summer 1943 Race Riots?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • History of Newspapers
  • Who Invented the First Car and Where Did Cars Come From?

Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What was Operation Bootstrap and How did Operation Bootstrap help reduce poverty in Puerto Rico?
Next Post: What is a zoot suit and When was the zoot suit popular among urban youths in the United States? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy