The conk haircuts, the wide-brimmed hats adorned with long, flashy feathers, the shoulder pads on the jackets that extended to the knees, the baggy pants that narrowed at the bottom – all of it was a form of expression, a form of protest. Protest against the discrepancy of fighting for freedom overseas during World War II, while not sharing in the same “white” freedom described in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States and experienced in their own country. Zoot suiters used their bodies as a form of expression against the norms of the era. Their consumerist lifestyles upset many and the media quickly demonized African Americans as criminals. The rumors and negativity that surrounded the zoot suiters calumniated in the Zoot Suit Riots of Los Angeles, California in which servicemen attacked young minorities (whether they were donning the zoot suit or not). In the media and popular opinion, the victims were made out to be the perpetrators and the sailors were seen as heroes fighting those who were considered to be distracting from the war effort. While history has often shown the Zoot Suit Riots in a more or less racially binary way, it was actually a very multiethnic experience. Here in lies the true significance of the zoot. While many groups were being oppressed, they also came together to express themselves and fight that very oppression. Zoot suits were a terrific early example of African Americans using their bodies, clothing and language as a form of civil disobedience during a time in which ethnic youth came together to share in a culture all their own.
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