WHEREAS, Every June marks the annual anniversary of the Zoot Suit Riots; and

WHEREAS, The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of conflicts that occurred in June 1943 in the City of Los Angeles between United States servicemen and Mexican American youths, the latter of whom wore outfits called zoot suits; and

WHEREAS, The zoot suit consisted of a broad-shouldered drape jacket, balloon-leg trousers, and, sometimes, a flamboyant hat; and

WHEREAS, Mexican and Mexican American youths who wore these outfits were called zoot-suiters; and

WHEREAS, These individuals referred to themselves as pachucos, a name linked to the Mexican American generations rebellion against both the Mexican and American cultures; and

WHEREAS, Pressures related to the United States involvement in World War II contributed to the racial tensions that preceded the riots; and

WHEREAS, Workers were needed in the agricultural and service sectors of the United States to fill the jobs vacated by those who were serving in the military; and

WHEREAS, An agreement was reached with Mexico whereby temporary workers from Mexico were brought into the United States; and

WHEREAS, This influx of Mexican workers was not particularly welcomed by White Americans; and

WHEREAS, As part of the war effort, by March 1942, the United States had begun rationing various resources; and

WHEREAS, Restrictions on wool had a direct effect on the manufacture of wool suits and other clothing; and

WHEREAS, There were regulations prohibiting the manufacturing of zoot suits, but a network of bootleg tailors continued to manufacture them; and

WHEREAS, This exacerbated racial tensions, as Mexican American youths wearing the zoot suits were seen as un-American because they were deliberately ignoring the rationing regulations; and

WHEREAS, The Zoot Suit Riots are commonly associated with the Sleepy Lagoon murder, which occurred in August 1942; and

WHEREAS, The Sleepy Lagoon, as it was nicknamed, was one of the larger reservoirs outside the City of Los Angeles; and

WHEREAS, On the night of August 1, 1942, zoot-suiters were involved in a fight at a party near the Sleepy Lagoon; and

WHEREAS, The next morning, one of the partygoers, Jose Diaz, was dead; and

WHEREAS, There was public outcry against the zoot-suiters, fueled by local tabloids; and

WHEREAS, Citing concerns about juvenile delinquency, California Governor Culbert Olson used Diazs death as the impetus for a roundup by the Los Angeles Police Department of more than 600 young men and women, most of whom were Mexican American; and

WHEREAS, Several of the zoot-suiters who were arrested were tried and, in January 1943, convicted of murder; and

WHEREAS, However, many people denounced the circus atmosphere of the trial and attacked the verdict as a miscarriage of justice; and

WHEREAS, The convictions of the Mexican American youths were later reversed on appeal in October 1944; and

WHEREAS, During the period from 1942 through 1943, the news media continued to portray the zoot-suiters as dangerous gang members who were capable of murder; and

WHEREAS, On the basis of the news reports, more and more people began to believe that the Mexican American youths, particularly the zoot-suiters, were predisposed to committing crime; and

WHEREAS, It was in this racially charged atmosphere that the conflict between predominantly White servicemen stationed in southern California and Mexican American youths in the area began; and

WHEREAS, Incidents initially took the form of minor altercations, but later escalated; and

WHEREAS, Within months of the Sleepy Lagoon convictions, the City of Los Angeles erupted in what are commonly referred to as the Zoot Suit Riots; and

WHEREAS, The riots began on June 3, 1943, after a group of sailors stated that they had been attacked by a group of Mexican American zoot-suiters; and

WHEREAS, As a result, on June 4, 1943, a number of uniformed sailors chartered cabs and proceeded to the Mexican American community, seeking out the zoot-suiters; and

WHEREAS, What occurred that evening and in the following days was a series of conflicts primarily between servicemen and zoot-suiters; and

WHEREAS, Many zoot-suiters were beaten by servicemen and stripped of their zoot suits on the spot; and

WHEREAS, The servicemen sometimes urinated on the zoot suits or burned them in the streets; and

WHEREAS, One local paper printed an article describing how to de-zoot a zoot-suiter, including directions that the zoot suits should be burned; and

WHEREAS, The servicemen were also portrayed in local news publications as heroes fighting against what was referred to as a Mexican crime wave; and

WHEREAS, The worst of the rioting occurred on the night of June 7, 1943, when thousands of servicemen and citizens prowled the streets of the downtown area of the City of Los Angeles, attacking zoot-suiters as well as members of minority groups who were not wearing zoot suits; and

WHEREAS, In response to these confrontations, police arrested hundreds of Mexican American youths, many of whom had already been attacked by servicemen; and

WHEREAS, There were also reports of Mexican American youths requesting to be arrested and locked up in order to protect themselves from the servicemen in the streets; and

WHEREAS, In contrast, very few sailors and soldiers were arrested during the riots; and

WHEREAS, Shortly after midnight on June 8, 1943, military officials declared the City of Los Angeles off-limits to all military personnel; and

WHEREAS, Deciding that the local police were completely unable or unwilling to handle the situation, officials ordered military police to patrol parts of the city and arrest disorderly military personnel; this, coupled with the ban, served to greatly deter the servicemens riotous actions; and

WHEREAS, The next day, the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution that banned the wearing of zoot suits in the City of Los Angeles streets; and

WHEREAS, The number of attacks dwindled, and the rioting had largely ended by June 10, 1943; and

WHEREAS, In the following weeks, however, similar disturbances occurred in other states; and

WHEREAS, Remarkably, no one was killed during the riots, although many people were injured; and

WHEREAS, The fact that considerably more Mexican Americans than servicemen were arrested, upward of 600 of the former, according to some estimates, fueled criticism of the Los Angeles Police Departments response to the riots from some quarters; and

WHEREAS, As the riots died down, California Governor Earl Warren ordered the creation of a citizens committee to investigate and determine the cause of the Zoot Suit Riots; and

WHEREAS, The committees report indicated that there were several factors involved, but that racism was the central cause of the riots and that it was exacerbated by the response of the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as by biased and inflammatory media coverage; and

WHEREAS, The City of Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, concerned about the riots negative impact on the citys image, issued his own conclusion, stating that racial prejudice was not a factor and that the riots were caused by juvenile delinquents; and

WHEREAS, The Zoot Suit Riots are an important part of the City of Los Angeles and California history and it is critical that we mark the 83rd anniversary of this event appropriately; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby commemorates every June as the annual anniversary of the Zoot Suit Riots; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

ACR 211: Zoot Suit Riots.

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