Zoot Suit Riots

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Elmer Renderos ETHS 250 Dr. Hubbard Zoot Suit Riots-Los Angeles The Zoot Suit Riots took place in 1943 during World War II between white servicemen of the U.S Navy and Marines and young Latinos. The riots first broke out in Los Angeles, California. This was a time of havoc in the city and dealt with racial discrimination. With the internment of Japanese Americans, racial fear turned to the Mexican community in California. The Zoot Suit Riots were in part in effect after a case known as the “Sleepy Lagoon Murder” (Zoot Suit Riots). The Sleepy Lagoon is a reservoir which was used to irrigate crops. Many young people used it as a place to take swims. As far as any other lakes and marks of water go, many you couples use to go there for a romantic evening. It is located in Bell, California. The Los Angeles’ 38th Street neighborhood gang used the Sleepy Lagoon as a hang out spot. Hank Leyvas was one of the oldest and respected members of the neighborhood (Zoot Suit Riots). He and his girlfriend, Dora, went to hang out at the Sleepy Lagoon one night. They were attacked by a rival neighborhood. This then led to Hank wanting to attack the rival neighborhood and get revenge. He gathered members from the neighborhood and led them to the scene of the attack. They found nobody there. However, they heard noise not too far from where they were. The noise was from a party that had nothing to do with the attack. Hank immediately thought it was the rival neighborhood and attacked the people at the gathering. In the midst of the fighting, a young man named Jose Diaz was stabbed and beaten (Zoot Suit Riots). He was rushed to the Los Angeles General Hospital, but did not survive. Shortly, after the death of Jose Diaz, the governor of California, Cuthbert Olsen, took action. He was very concerned about juvenile delinquency. He used the murder to take action. The Los Angeles Police
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