Zoot Suit Riots

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Description

In June 1943, Los Angeles erupted into the worse race riots in the city to date. For ten straight nights, American sailors armed with make-shift weapons cruised Mexican-American neighborhoods in search of "zoot-suiters" - hip, young teens dressed in baggy pants and long-tailed coats - symbols that blurred cultural lines and pushed the boundaries of race and class. Their posturing and self-assurance made Anglos nervous and soon a violent street battle ensued. When it was over, scores of Latinos and servicemen were in hospital beds. Zoot Suit Riots, an episode from the PBS American Experience collection, is a powerful film that centers on the story of an unsolved murder that occurred during these strange and turbulent days. It explores the influx of new immigrants, the booming war-time economy, the complicated racial tensions, and the changing social and political landscape that led up to the explosion on LA's streets in the summer of '43.