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Race relations in america
Race relations in america
Race relations in america
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In the United States, prior to the World War II, the large influx of Latino population to some states brought the fear to local residents from foreigners. In the Los Angeles area the large numbers of US soldiers were stationed during the War, and soon the conflicts between them and Latino youth broke out. One of the conflicts that were important for the recognition of Mexican-Americans in the United States was the “Zoot Suit Riots”, which is known as a series of attacks, in June 1943, by white American servicemen against Mexican-American youth. It had a significant effect on ethnic consciousness among young Mexican-Americans and for the recognition of their identity within American culture. The creation of the zoot suit traces to Harlem in the mid to late 1930s, when tailors began making them out of wool or colorful varieties of rayon. “Although its exact origin is unknown, the term “zoot suit” appears to have come from the rhyming slang, or jive, spoken in the African-American community at the time” (Peiss, K, 2011). Even the suits differed in color they all looked similar and symbolized a unit among the ostracized group. It is believed that In August 1942, the young man, Jose Diaz, was found dead in the southeast of LA, and the case became known as Sleepy Lagoon Murder. Young men, Mexican-Americans, who belonged to the 38th street club were put on trial and charged with murder. The two years later the district court of appeals canceled the decision of the lower court that found them the guilty, and stated that most of the decision to convict them was based on prejudice. The Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial was just one of the steps towards the fight for civil rights of
Rosales, F. Arturo. Lecture 2/14 Film The US-Mexican War Prelude. Weber, David J. - "The 'Path of the World'" Foreigners in Their Native Land: The Historical Roots of Mexican Americans.
The zoot suit symbolized several different things for the Mexican American population in the Los Angeles community. Not only was it a symbol of pride in their Mexican heritage, but also a form of rebellion from the norms emplaced upon the Mexican teenagers by their parents. These suits were also a symbol of unity, these young men wanted to look different and feel as if they’re culture could be something they could display and be proud of. This whole image was seen by the modern culture of Los Angeles to be “gang” related or distasteful. These “Pachuco” or punks often spoke a hybrid of English and Spanish, this was known as “calo.” However, many of the Mexican American teenagers at the time, spoke only English. The outfit often included pants wide at the knee often 40 inches or more, a broad shouldered jacket, hat, chain wallet and shined shoes called “calcos.”
New fashions were surfacing in both men’s and women’s fashions. Men were wearing Bermuda pants, baggy pants that were cut off at the knee, while women were wearing capris, tight pants that cut off just below the knee. Men were wearing tailored jackets and making a slight move towards the casual dress of today’s workplace. Women were wearing natural shoulders as opposed to the heavily padded ones of the war years. Flat, neck-hugging collars replaced the mannish collars of the late 1940’s. Waists were tightly fitted and skirts were long (Melinkoff 46). The jeans of the time were often lined with plaid flanel and dungarees were worn to the most casual occasions. The sandals of the fifties were not much different than the sandals of today.
Zoot Suit, a play written by Luis Valdez, depicts the racially charged trial of the Sleepy Lagoon Case of 1942 in which the courts charged a group of Pachucos with the murder of another Mexican-American. During the 1940s, many Mexican-Americans suffered widespread discrimination as dramatized in Zoot Suit. To combat such discrimination, many Chicano youth wore stylized zoot suits, adorned with oversized jackets during fabric shortages, as a form of social and political rebellion. Zoot Suiters felt disempowered by their position within society and used their fashion to send out a message and as a means to regain their masculinity. The Pachucos were accused of the murder of a fellow Mexican-American not because of clear evidence or proof, but because of their ethnic identity, renegade style of dressing, and behavior.
Clothing is a necessity that is need throughout life for protection and comfort, especially in a lifestyle that leads one to have direct contact with the outside environment and a life in the fields. With the low income that a sharecropper and his family had to work with, being fashionable was not one of their top priorities. Even having sufficient clothing at all was a struggle for the family. The clothing that they did have was “coarse, crude, and not warm enough” (Gentry 138). The typical attire for men was “denim overalls”, and...
“The trial was brought to a speedy conclusion. Not only did Judge Evans find the twelve guilty, fine them $100 each, and committed them to jail, but five people in the courtroom who had served as witnesses for the defense arrested. […] The police were then instructed to transfer the seventeen prisoners that night to the county jail”(30).
The Chicano Movement, like many other civil rights movements, gained motivation from the everyday struggles that the people had to endure in the United States due to society. Mexican-Americans, like many other ethnicities, were viewed as an inferior group compared to white Americans. Mexican-Americans sought to make a change with the Chicano Movement and “the energy generated by the movement focused national attention on the needs of Mexican-Americans” (Bloom 65). The Mexican-American Movement had four main issues that it aimed to resolve and they ranged from “restoration of la...
In the early morning hours of January 12th 1981, twenty-five detonations were heard coming from the ramp at Muñiz Air National Guard Base, located in the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico (PR). It was a terrorist attack. The result? Ten A-7D aircrafts and a single F-104 destroyed, with a total of $45,000,000 in damages. It was the largest attack on the US military since the Vietnam War. The culprits? All members of a separatist domestic terrorist group called Ejercito Popular Boricua (English: Boricua Popular Army or BPA, EPB) more commonly known as Los Macheteros (“The Machete Wielders”); a nickname that conjures images of the improvised group of Puerto Ricans that banded together to defend and fight the United States Army when they invaded during the Spanish-American War. BPA’s main ideology is a free Puerto Rico, free from the colonial status that United States has on PR, and for PR to become its own sovereign state. Although BPA is not as active as it once was, they still promote and will fight for PR’s independence. But to understand the history and origins, ideologies, and goals of BPA we must go back in time to recognize why such a group even exists.
Ever since the United States acquired land from Mexico, Chicanos have struggled with finding their own place in the United States. In order to prove that this was a problem, the Chicano movement came about post World War II. When Mexican-American servicemen returned from duty, many were discriminated and were being segregated.
Montoya, Margret E. "Masks and Identify," and "Masks and Resistance," in The Latino/a Condition: A Critical Reader New York: New York University Press, 1998.
In this piece, the zoot suit is being studied to show its influence on African American males. Moreover, many different components were also included to signify black culture such as Hep Cat, the “conk” hairdo, Bebop, and Lyndy Hop. The time period being studied is during the 1940s.
The zoot suit riots, according to my understanding of the film, were a racialized backlash towards the Hispanic community of East Los Angeles. The zoot suits which began as wide bell bottom like pants for men during outings to jazz clubs became a racial marker after the coverage of the Sleepy Lagoon Trial gained attention across California. These riots broke out due to the uncertainty the trial brought over the Hispanic community. Rioting began the night after a fight initiated by one Sailor against a Latino wearing a zoot suit broken out. That night Sailors took to the streets and attacked any Hispanic man wearing a zoot suit just based on appearance. I personally do not believe that the name ‘Zoot Suits’ gives the accurate description of the events that took place during the time period.
It was 1940s, the world was on chaos due to war braking out. I was nineteen when World War II was happening. The Americans were fighting against Germany and Japan, which caused some tensions and fears among the Americans. Many young people turned their eyes toward music to get away from such tensions and fears. During 1940s, musics were “ mainly built around the jazz and big band styles” that aroused some joys and positive moods (“1940’s Music” 1). I was also one of people who enjoyed these musics and wore a type of clothing called “Zoot Suit”. During that time people considered wearing zoot suit as rebellion against the “ norms of segregation”, with exaggerated clothing worn by social minorities (“People &
A zoot suit is a style of men clothing with high-waisted and wide legged trousers and a long coat with wide lapels and padded shoulders. This style of clothing was particularly popular amongst African-American, Hispanic-pachuco, and Italian-American communities during the 1940s. The zoot suit became a part of the politics of warfare due to the World War II efforts in rationing materials to with the war. The zoot suit is a material sign of the emblematic of ethnicity and a way of negotiating identity. A headscarf or hijab is a veil that is particularly worn by Muslim women covering
Since the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexican Americans have been treated unfairly due to their ethnicity and background. Throughout the years Mexican Americans/Chicanos have dealt with so numerous amount of issues against the Anglo Americans and faced many injustices. It was not until the 1940’s with the Mexican American Civil rights movement and the Chicano movement in the 1960’s that Mexican Americans fought back against discriminations. I argue that the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement and The Chicano Movement equally fought for their people, because they fought for sufficient labor laws, equality within the education system and against overall Mexican American discrimination.