Today in Labor History June 4, 1943: The Zoot Suit riots began in Los Angeles, with white soldiers attacking and stripping mostly Latino, but also some black, Italian and Filipino youth who wearing zoot suits. During this time, there was also a rise of pachuco culture among Latin youth. Chicano or pachuco jazz had become incredibly popular. Some of the great Pachuco band leaders included Lalo Guerrero, Don Tosti and Don Ramon Martinez.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyBLQg8CGJs

#workingclass #LaborHistory #racism #raceriot #Riot #ZootSuit #chicano #mexican #losangeles #propaganda #ww2 #WorldWarTwo #immigration #deportation #jazz #boogie #latinjazz

"Los Chucos Suaves"

YouTube

Today in Labor History June 3, 1943: The Zoot Suit riots began in Los Angeles, with white soldiers attacking and stripping mostly Latino, but also some black, Italian and Filipino youth, who wearing zoot suits. They did it in response to wartime propaganda vilifying the wearers of zoot suits as unpatriotic hoodlums. There was a government ban on zoot suits and other long, woolen articles of clothing because of war rationing. Additionally, the LA Times had been whipping up racial tensions by publishing propaganda associating Mexican and Hispanic youth with delinquency, particularly in the wake of the Sleepy Lagoon murder. Race riots also occurred that summer in Mobile, Beaumont, Detroit, Chicago, San Diego, Oakland, Philadelphia and New York City.

During the Great Depression, the U.S. had deported between 500,000 and 2 million Mexicans. Of the 3 million who remained, the largest concentration lived in Los Angeles. Because of discrimination, many were forced into jobs with below-poverty wages. And then, the U.S. military built a naval academy in the Latino community of Chavez Ravine, further exacerbating tensions.

Zoot suits (baggy pegged pants with a long, flamboyant jacket that reached the knees) became popular in the early 1940s, particularly among young African American men. It was associated with a sense of pride, individuality and rebellion against mainstream culture. The trend quickly made its way into the Hispanic and Filipino subcultures in southern California. During this time, there was also a rise of pachuco culture among Latin youth. Chicano or pachuco jazz had become incredibly popular. Some of the great Pachuco band leaders included Lalo Guerrero, Don Tosti and Don Ramon Martinez. Margarita Engle depicted The Zoot Suit riots in her young adult novel, Jazz Owls (2018), which she wrote in verse.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #racism #raceriot #Riot #ZootSuit #chicano #mexican #losangeles #propaganda #ww2 #WorldWarTwo #immigration #deportation #jazz #boogie #hisfic #fiction #novel #books #author @bookstadon

Today in Labor History June 2, 1945: World War II: The segregated, all-Nisei U.S. 522nd Field Artillery Battalion stopped a death march from Dachau to the Austrian border. As a result, they saved several hundred prisoners. Ironically (and criminally), back in the states, most Nisei (Japanese-Americans) were living in concentration camps.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #WorldWarTwo #concentrationcamps #dachau #antisemitism #AntiAsianHate #racism #fascism #nazis #nisei

Vultee XP-54 Swoose Goose - Destination's Journey

Photos of the Vultee XP-54 Swoose Goose, a high altitude interceptor designed for the USAAF. Poor performance led to project cancellation

Destination's Journey
Westland P.12 Delanne Lysander - Destination's Journey

Photos of the Westland P.12 Delanne Lysander, sometimes referred to as the Westland Wendover. A modified Lysander with a powered gun turret

Destination's Journey
HMS Bonaventure British Light Cruiser - Destination's Journey

Photos of the British light cruiser HMS Bonaventure. Commissioned in May 1940. Sunk by the Italian submarine Ambra 31 March 1941 off Crete

Destination's Journey
HMS Charybdis British Light Cruiser - Destination's Journey

Photos of the British Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Charybdis of the Did0-class. Launched in 1940. Sunk in Oct 1943 by German torpedo boats

Destination's Journey
Focke Wulf Fw 190 in Spanish Service - Destination's Journey

Photos of the Focke Wulf Fw 190 in Spanish Service on the Eastern Front during World War Two. Operated by Blue Squadron 15.(span.)/JG 51

Destination's Journey