The Zoot Suit Riots were a turbulent time driven by racial violence and clashes between white servicemen and Mexican-Americans. These battles lasted for an entire week, and each day was worse than the last. Injuries, damages, and arrests were recorded each day. Military servicemen would leave their stations to raid barrios and beat up any Zoot Suited bystanders. As the situation escalated, more men began to join in on these raids. On June 6th, the citizens of L.A joined the riots, and servicemen began to attack other minority groups. However, it was also the first day where the victims began fighting back. The next day, historians estimate that 5,000 servicemen from across California traveled to L.A in order to fight. On June 8th, military officials gave explicit orders to stop the servicemen’s attacks. Because of this, the riots stopped and the city once again dropped into relative peace.

White servicemen marching into barrios looking to beat Mexican-Americans that wore Zoot Suits.

Since Mexican-Americans were viewed as gangsters and starters of violence, military serviceman would forcibly tear off their clothes and beat them up.

During the time of the riots, the newspapers were in favor of the serviceman, saying that zoot suitors deserve to be beaten and thrown in jail.

The unpredictable and chaotic nature of the Zoot Suit Riots made it difficult to be controlled by authorities. If a group of officers reached a battle scene, they would arrest the zoot suited victims of servicemen attacks, thinking the servicemen were doing the right thing. Mass arresting wasn’t a smart solution to end the fighting, since it caused continuous protests against it. As days went by, more policemen and patrol officers would arrive on the scene. Yet their efforts remained insufficient, and some of them would even join in on clashes, encouraging the beating and stripping of zoot suiters. This continued until the riot’s final day, June 8th, when the military banned servicemen from entering Los Angeles, along with police officers who weren’t stationed in LA, to prevent any more fighting. It took quite a while for the military to end the raging battles, but the entire community of LA was grateful that they ceased.