The
Zoot Suit Riots were a series of
racial attacks in 1943 during
World War II that broke out in
Los Angeles, California, during a period when many migrants arrived for the defense effort and newly assigned servicemen flooded the city. United States sailors and marines attacked
Mexican youths, recognizable by the
zoot suits they favored, as being unpatriotic.
American military personnel and
Mexicans were the main parties in the riots; servicemen attacked some
African American and
Filipino/
Filipino American youths as well, who also took up the zoot suits. The Zoot Suit Riots were related to fears and hostilities aroused by the coverage of the
Sleepy Lagoon murder trial, following the killing of a young Latino man in a
barrio near Los Angeles. The riot appeared to trigger similar attacks that year against Latinos in
Chicago,
San Diego,
Oakland,
Evansville,
Philadelphia, and
New York City.