Zoot Suit Blog.

Based on Research by Louis Alcareza music was an “intellectual part of zoot subculture” (6) which brought together musicians and caused collaborative work and performances. The bands that worked together embodied their culture and realities. Culture attitudes are motivated by their surrounding peers, their wants and desires, and them wanting to rebel against the war efforts.  This helped them combat Jim Crow Segregation and by “reclaiming their own bodies and time by valuing leisure… confin[ing] young women to the home and challeng[ed] war time cultural and political consensus” (7).

Music often brought together the community as a whole. The research article From Zoot Suits to Hip Hop written by Luis Alcareza disputes that the Zoot Suit fashions and music choice was a way to stand out from the dominant white community. “…non-white youth showed that another social world was possible” (7). The zoot music helped give the youthful culture more courage and strength to represent their community and to show what hardships they have endured and to prove to everybody that they still have the strength to party.

Youth used the zoot suit fashion to make an impression on society to show their identity and non conformity. They were also trying to make a political and cultural statement. Identity is an important aspect to who a person is, who they see their self as, and how others see them. Some people don’t know what to identify themselves as, and they can be lost because of that. Once you determine who you are and how you identify, it will make you a more confident, self assured individual. Identity can be based off of one’s values, interest, appearance, ethnicity, friends, choices, creations, etc. It all depends on how you see yourself; it is not defined by how others think of you, unless you let it define who you are.

The zoot suitors wore long coats and pegged trousers, French shoes, and top hats. Malcolm X described them as "a killer-diller coat with a drape shape, reet pleats and shoulders padded like a lunatic's cell". They would also feature a long chain and a watch on a chain as well. It took a lot of material to make these tailored zoot suits and many thought that it was a waste, when the materials and fabric sued for the suits could be used for the war instead. The War Production Board was also not happy about the materials that were to going to the soldiers. Because of this Time magazine made a statement about lowering the age to left 18 year olds go to the war, but their side of it was that they wore the suits to declare self-determination, freedom, rebellion, and respect. This topic also was a factor in the Zoot Suit Riots. The riot was between young white marines and sailors against the youthful Mexican Americans who where notably wearing the suits. The riots showed disconnect between the youth in races during a wartime period. The ones against the zoot culture said that it was turning the areas into hoodlumism. As the riots subsided, there was talk about it being led by communist. With the debunked and the riots ending, some questioned if it was a racial prejudice at all or if it was a long term effect of the problems between white Southerners and the Latino community.