Question

According to Eduardo Óbregon Pagán in Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon, what is the root source of the Anglo vs Mexicano conflict over the Sleepy Lagoon trial and the Zoot Suit riots? And more broadly, how are these moments connected, and what do they teach us about the development of race and racism in American history?

Answer 1

The notorious 1942 "Sleepy Lagoon" murder trial in Los Angeles concluded with the conviction of 17 young Mexican American men for the alleged gang slaying of fellow youth Jose Diaz. Just five months later, the so-called Zoot Suit Riot erupted, as white soldiers in the city attacked minority youths and burned their distinctive zoot suits. Eduardo Obregon Pagan provides a comprehensive social history of both the trial and the riot and argues that they resulted from a volatile mix of racial and social tensions that had long been simmering. In reconstructing the lives of the murder victim and those accused of the crime, Pagan contends that neither the convictions (which were based on little hard evidence) nor the ensuing riot arose simply from anti-Mexican sentiment. He demonstrates instead that a variety of pre-existing stresses, including demographic pressures, anxiety about nascent youth culture, and the war effort all contributed to the social tension and the eruption of violence. Moreover, he recovers a multidimensional picture of Los Angeles during World War II that incorporates the complex intersections of music, fashion, violence, race relations and neighbourhood activism. Drawing upon overlooked evidence, Pagan concludes by reconstructing the murder scene and proposes a theory about what really happened the night of the murder.

The Zoot Suit Riots are commonly associated with the Sleepy Lagoon murder, which occurred in August 1942. The Sleepy Lagoon, as it was nicknamed, was one of the larger reservoirs outside the city of Los Angeles. On the night of August 1, 1942, zoot-suiters were involved in a fight at a party near the Sleepy Lagoon. The next morning one of the partygoers, José Díaz, was dead. There was public outcry against the zoot-suiters, fueled by local tabloids. Citing concerns about juvenile delinquency, California Gov. Culbert Olson used Díaz’s death as the impetus for a roundup by the Los Angeles Police Department of more than 600 young men and women, most of whom were Mexican American. Several of the zoot-suiters who were arrested were tried and, in January 1943, convicted of murder. However, many people denounced the circus atmosphere of the trial and attacked the verdict as a miscarriage of justice. The convictions of the Mexican American youths were later reversed on appeal in October 1944.

While the 1992 riots revealed police brutality and discrimination against the Los Angeles black community, the Zoot Suit riots illustrate how unrelated social pressures—such as war—can expose and inflame long-suppressed racism into violence even in a city as racially diverse as the City of Angels.