Today the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors formally condemned one of the "most shameful moments'' in local and U.S. history: the series of racial conflicts in that occurred in Downtown, Watts, East Los Angeles, and other L.A. neighborhoods in June of 1943 known as "The Zoot Suit Riots.
A motion brought by Supervisor Hilda Solis was unanimously approved to denounce "the devastation of the Zoot Suit Riots, recognize this as a dark chapter in Los Angeles County's history and recommit to fighting against racial discrimination.''
Solis recounted the uprising's beginnings, when "mobs of U.S. servicemen, law enforcement officers, and civilians ambushed young Mexican Americans, African American, and Filipino American men'' across the county.
The attacks became focused on people wearing "zoot suits,'' which had become popular among young men of color and made them targets of racism and discrimination, she said, bringing to mind recent demonizations of garments like hooded sweatshirts.
"This was especially true among Latino youths in California, who were
known as 'pachucos' for wearing zoot soots,'' Solis said. "The white majority at
the time often viewed them as gang members and delinquents.''