When a fashion trend becomes a target for violence, what does that reveal about a society? In wartime Los Angeles 1943, young Mexican-Americans who wore zoot suits—characterized by their distinctive wide-legged, tapered pants and long coats—found themselves hunted through the streets by uniformed servicemen, beaten, stripped naked, and left humiliated while police arrested the victims rather than the perpetrators.

The road to this explosion of violence begins with the story of José Diaz, a 22-year-old Mexican immigrant preparing to serve in the U.S. Army, found brutally murdered after his farewell party. What followed was a massive dragnet that saw over 600 Mexican-American youths arrested within 48 hours, leading to California's largest murder trial where Henry "Hank" Leyvas and 17 others faced charges based on virtually no evidence. Through brutal interrogation techniques and a blatantly prejudiced court proceeding, these young men received harsh sentences for a crime they didn't commit.

Against the backdrop of World War II hysteria following Pearl Harbor, the zoot suit—with its excess fabric during rationing—became branded as unpatriotic, and those who wore them as un-American troublemakers. We trace how five days of unchecked rioting only ended when military authorities declared Los Angeles off-limits to service personnel, and how activists including Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth fought for justice for the wrongfully convicted. Most remarkably, decades later, the truth about who really killed José Diaz would finally come to light through a deathbed confession, confirming what many had long suspected: the entire case had been a miscarriage of justice motivated by racial prejudice.

This forgotten chapter of American history forces us to confront uncomfortable questions about how easily fear can be weaponized against minority communities, even as those communities' members were serving their country in uniform. Subscribe now to dive deeper into these hidden historical moments that continue to resonate in our society today.

PBS American Experience
Enrique "Henry" Reyes Leyvas (1923-1971) By Eduardo Obregón Pagán
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/zoot-enrique-henry-reyes-leyvas/#:~:text=He%20remained%20embittered%2C%20however%2C%20and,members%20of%20his%20family%20worked


Zoot Suit Riots | Full Documentary | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | PBS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzgZBH0oiwQ&t=524s

Mexican-Americans Risked Their Lives Wearing Zoot Suits | History Of | Racked
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpQqfuxRxh8&t=8s

PBS American Experience
Lorena Encinas (1922-1991) By Eduardo Obregón Pagán
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/zoot-lorena-encinas/

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