Zoot suiters lined up outside Los Angeles jail. June 9, 1943.
Library of Congress
American Experience Revisits Zoot Suit Riots
80 years ago, racial tensions between Mexican Americans and sailors led to violence in L.A.
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Christina Zeiders
Library of Congress
Zoot suiters lined up outside Los Angeles jail. June 9, 1943.
In 1942, Los Angeles was on the verge of exploding. America had just entered World War II and the wartime pressures, an influx of servicemen, overzealous authority, rebellious youth and racial conflict brought the city to its breaking point.
At the center of the conflict were thousands of sailors looking to blow off steam before being shipped off to war, and Mexican American teenagers called “zoot suiters” for the baggy pants and long jackets they wore. For the sailors and many white Los Angelenos, the zoot suiters had come to symbolize all that was wrong with the city.
Zoot Suit Riots by American Experience uses archival footage and interviews with eyewitnesses and historians to capture the moment when tensions boiled over and the city erupted into violence.
Watch the encore broadcast of Zoot Suit Riots Tuesday, March 29 at 9pm on WITF TV, at witf.org/watch or through the free PBS Video app.
Watch an extended preview:
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