1940's Los Angeles In the summer of 1943, Los Angeles erupted in
violence. The city, a major training and transit point for
military personnel, saw itself on the front lines of the war in
the Pacific. Sailors, soldiers, and marines in the area read in
the L.A. press about the war overseas, and the war against
Mexican "pachuco" gangs at home. More and more, people believed
Mexican American youths were predisposed to criminality. These
notions were encouraged by sensationalistic news reports and an
overaggressive police department. At the time, many Mexican
American teens were challenging the unwritten codes of
prejudice. Those who wore the zoot suit-- an outrageous,
attention-grabbing fashion -- knew they were placing themselves
in the public eye. What they learned from the Zoot Suit Riots,
however, was that self-expression can come with a heavy price. A
group of "zoot-suiters" fight 11 sailors who walk through the
Alpine barrio; according to witness Henry Marin, the sailors
were attacked for dating two of the