Zoot Suit Riots

Riots break out between US Military Men and Young Minority Swing Dancers of California. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
The zoot suit ryots we'll discuss aswe take a bite out of history with
ingles markets. In the nineteen forties, swing music and swing dancing were very
popular in the nightclubs of the UnitedStates. Zoot Suits, with their baggy
pants, oversized jackets, and largeshoulders, quickly became the attire of the
swing dancers, especially young black andMexican American men. With the United States
entrance into World War Two, wooland other textiles were being rationed for the

(00:22):
war effort, yet some tailors stillcarefully crafted the zoot suits. US servicemen
saw the zoot suits as unpatriotic,a waste of good material, and some
even associated them with draft dodgers.In the summer of nineteen forty three,
race tensions were at an all timehigh in Los Angeles, thousands of US
servicemen waiting to be shipped out,and many of the young minorities still wearing
the zoot suits. In June,full on riots covered the streets of LA

(00:44):
servicemen, with clubs marched up anddown, beating and ripping the clothes off
of anyone seen wearing the zoot suit, mainly the young minorities. Amazingly no
one was killed in the La zootSuit riots and history blames them not on
fabric but racism. This has beena bite out of history with Ingles Markets