The Man Who Set Off The Biggest White and Mexican Race Riots in California - José Díaz

califaces

30 Aug 202112:40

Summary

TLDRIn 1942, Jose Diaz, a young Mexican-American, was killed in Los Angeles, sparking the Zoot Suit Riots. The incident, fueled by racial tensions and media portrayal of Mexican-Americans as violent, led to the arrest of 600 individuals. Despite no evidence linking them to the murder, 22 were charged, with 17 convicted. The case remained unsolved until a 2002 documentary revealed the true killer was not among the convicted. The riots, involving military personnel attacking those in zoot suits, resulted in hundreds of injuries and arrests, with no sailors held accountable.

Takeaways

📸 Only one known photo of José Diaz exists, taken in 1942 shortly before his death.
⚰️ José Diaz was killed in 1942, with the LAPD blaming his death on gang violence, leading to mass arrests of Mexican Americans.
🚔 The LAPD arrested 600 Mexican Americans following Diaz's murder, triggering racial tensions and escalating the Zoot Suit Riots.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 José Diaz was born in Durango, Mexico in 1919 and moved with his family to East Los Angeles to escape the Mexican Revolution and seek better opportunities.
💃 José Diaz loved jazz music and enjoyed attending weekend dances while wearing zoot suits, a popular fashion style among Mexican and Black youth in the 1940s.
👖 The zoot suit, considered unpatriotic by some during WWII, became a symbol of cultural identity for many Mexican American youths, though it was also used to stereotype them as criminals.
⚖️ 22 men were charged with José Diaz’s murder, but the trial became a tool for spreading stereotypes about Mexican Americans rather than focusing on proving guilt.
🧑‍⚖️ The trial was biased, with the judge forcing defendants to wear zoot suits to emphasize their perceived criminality, resulting in 17 convictions despite a lack of concrete evidence.
⚔️ The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 involved widespread violence between servicemen and Mexican American youth, with servicemen attacking anyone in zoot suits or of Mexican descent.
🔍 Decades later, it was revealed in a documentary that José Diaz’s actual murderer was a man not originally charged, who had been at the same party as Diaz but was thrown out.

Q & A

Who was José Diaz, and when was he born?
-José Diaz was a Mexican-American who was born in Durango, Mexico, on December 19, 1919.
What event in 1942 led to the death of José Diaz?
-José Diaz was beaten and stabbed after a party near Sleepy Lagoon on August 1, 1942. He died hours later in the hospital.
Why was the death of José Diaz significant in Los Angeles' history?
-The death of José Diaz triggered a wave of arrests of Mexican-Americans by the LAPD and intensified racial tensions, ultimately leading to the Zoot Suit Riots.
What were the Zoot Suit Riots?
-The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of racial attacks and violent confrontations in Los Angeles in 1943, primarily between Mexican-American youths wearing zoot suits and U.S. servicemen.
What was the significance of the zoot suit in the 1940s, especially among Mexican-American youths?
-The zoot suit was a symbol of self-expression and freedom for Mexican-American youths but was viewed negatively by mainstream white society and authorities, who associated it with delinquency and unpatriotic behavior during wartime.
How did the Los Angeles police and media react after the murder of José Diaz?
-The LAPD arrested 600 Mexican-Americans, and the media fueled racial stereotypes, portraying the Mexican-American community as violent and dangerous.
What role did Hank Leyvas play in the events surrounding the death of José Diaz?
-Hank Leyvas and his friends were involved in a brawl at the party where José Diaz was later found murdered. Leyvas was one of the 22 Mexican-American men arrested and charged with Diaz's murder.
What was the outcome of the trial for those accused of José Diaz's murder?
-Seventeen of the 22 defendants, including Hank Leyvas, were found guilty, with some receiving life sentences. However, two years later, their convictions were reversed on appeal due to an unfair trial.
How did the military and sailors become involved in the Zoot Suit Riots?
-Tensions between servicemen and zoot-suit-wearing Mexican-Americans escalated after a fight between sailors and zoot suiters. This led to large-scale attacks by sailors on anyone wearing a zoot suit in Los Angeles.
What led to the reversal of the convictions of those found guilty of José Diaz’s murder?
-A new defense team, supported by celebrities, fought for the men’s release, arguing they had received an unfair trial. Their convictions were eventually reversed in 1944 due to lack of evidence.
What was revealed in the 2002 PBS documentary about the true killer of José Diaz?
-The documentary revealed that a woman confessed her brother had killed José Diaz after being thrown out of the party. She kept this secret to protect him, and he later committed suicide.

Outlines

00:00

📸 The Life and Death of José Diaz

José Diaz was born in Durango, Mexico, in 1919 and moved with his family to East Los Angeles at a young age. They lived and worked as farm workers on a ranch. Díaz dropped out of school to help support his family. Though quiet and hardworking, he loved jazz and the zoot suit style popular among Mexican-American and Black youth. In 1942, at the age of 22, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and attended a birthday party for a friend before reporting for duty. That night, a conflict broke out when Hank Levis and his friends attacked partygoers, believing they were responsible for an earlier altercation. Díaz was found the next morning, beaten and stabbed, and later died in the hospital.

05:00

⚖️ The Aftermath of José Diaz’s Death and the Media Frenzy

Díaz's death sparked a media storm, with police and news outlets perpetuating harmful stereotypes about Mexican-Americans. The LAPD arrested 600 young Mexican-Americans, many of whom were wearing zoot suits, in a supposed effort to find Díaz's murderer. The trial of 22 men, including Hank Levis, became more about demonizing the Mexican-American community than delivering justice. Despite a lack of evidence, 17 men were convicted, with some receiving life sentences. The trial reflected deep racial bias, as the defendants were made to wear zoot suits in court to emphasize negative perceptions of their culture.

10:02

💥 The Escalation of Racial Tensions Leading to the Zoot Suit Riots

Tensions continued to build after the trial, and in May 1943, a clash between sailors and a group of men wearing zoot suits led to a violent retaliation by military personnel. Thousands of sailors began targeting Mexican-Americans, dragging them from restaurants and theaters, beating them, and destroying their zoot suits. The attacks lasted for days, with the police turning a blind eye. When the violence became uncontrollable, the military intervened, banning servicemen from entering Los Angeles and leading the city to prohibit the wearing of zoot suits. The five days of violence became known as the Zoot Suit Riots, one of the most significant race riots in California's history.

🏛️ The Reversal of the Convictions and a Final Confession

The convictions of the 17 men in the José Diaz case were overturned two years later after a new defense team successfully appealed. Although they were declared innocent, the true killer of José Díaz remained unknown for decades. In 2002, a PBS documentary revealed a deathbed confession from a woman who disclosed that her brother, angry after being thrown out of the party, was the one who stabbed José Díaz. The woman had kept the secret for years, possibly contributing to her brother's later suicide. The story of the Zoot Suit Riots and José Díaz’s murder has since become a lasting piece of American history.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Zoot Suit Riots

The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of violent racial attacks that occurred in Los Angeles in 1943, involving U.S. servicemen and Mexican-American youth. The riots were triggered by tensions between the two groups, exacerbated by the killing of José Diaz and the media's portrayal of Mexican-Americans as violent gang members. The violence was directed mainly at those wearing 'zoot suits,' which were considered unpatriotic and associated with criminal behavior by the dominant society.

💡José Diaz

José Diaz was a 22-year-old Mexican-American whose death in 1942 became the catalyst for the Zoot Suit Riots. He was the victim of an attack after attending a party at a ranch near the Sleepy Lagoon reservoir in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department blamed his death on gang violence, arresting hundreds of Mexican-Americans, which fueled racial tensions and led to widespread violence.

💡Sleepy Lagoon

The Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir near the ranch where José Diaz was killed. It served as a gathering spot for Mexican-American youth, who were denied access to city-owned swimming pools due to segregation. The 'Sleepy Lagoon Murder' became a widely publicized case, and it was named after the reservoir. This case further intensified racial stereotypes and prejudice against Mexican-Americans.

💡Zoot Suit

A zoot suit was a style of clothing popular among Mexican-American and Black youth in the 1940s, characterized by high-waisted, wide-legged, and pegged trousers, and long coats. The suit became a symbol of cultural identity and resistance against mainstream norms. However, during World War II, it was seen as unpatriotic due to its excessive use of fabric, leading to discrimination and violence against those who wore it.

💡Mexican-American

Mexican-Americans are people of Mexican descent living in the United States. In the 1940s, they faced racial discrimination and were often stereotyped as criminals, particularly if they wore zoot suits. The Zoot Suit Riots and the wrongful arrest of 600 Mexican-Americans after José Diaz's murder highlighted the racial prejudices and systemic injustices faced by this community during that era.

💡Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD)

The Los Angeles Police Department played a significant role in escalating tensions leading to the Zoot Suit Riots. After José Diaz's death, the LAPD arrested 600 Mexican-Americans, many without evidence, and contributed to the negative stereotyping of the community as violent gang members. The LAPD's actions and bias against Mexican-Americans reflected broader societal prejudices of the time.

💡Racial Stereotypes

Racial stereotypes refer to oversimplified and prejudiced ideas about a particular racial or ethnic group. In this context, Mexican-Americans were stereotyped as violent and criminal, especially after the murder of José Diaz. These stereotypes were perpetuated by the media, law enforcement, and society, leading to unjust treatment, arrests, and violence against them during the Zoot Suit Riots.

💡World War II

World War II was a global conflict from 1939 to 1945, during which the Zoot Suit Riots took place. The war caused fabric rationing, making zoot suits seem unpatriotic to many Americans due to their extravagant use of material. The tension between supporting the war effort and expressing cultural identity through zoot suits contributed to the animosity toward Mexican-Americans, especially among servicemen.

💡38th Street Gang

The 38th Street Gang was a group of young Mexican-Americans accused of being involved in the murder of José Diaz. During the trial, the gang's supposed involvement was used to reinforce negative stereotypes of Mexican-Americans as gang members. Despite the lack of evidence linking them to the crime, several members were wrongfully convicted, reflecting the deep-seated prejudices against Mexican-American youth.

💡Racial Segregation

Racial segregation was the enforced separation of different racial groups in daily life, prevalent in the U.S. during the 1940s. Mexican-Americans, like other minority groups, faced segregation, evident in their exclusion from public swimming pools, leading them to use places like the Sleepy Lagoon. The Zoot Suit Riots highlighted how segregation and racial tensions contributed to violence and discrimination against marginalized communities.

Highlights

Only one photo was ever taken of José Díaz, in 1942, just before his death.

Díaz was killed a week after the photo was taken, leading to mass arrests of over 600 Mexican Americans.

The Los Angeles Police Department blamed Díaz's death on gang violence, which sparked racial tensions and led to the Zoot Suit Riots.

José Díaz was born in Durango, Mexico in 1919 and his family immigrated to East Los Angeles, seeking better opportunities after the Mexican Revolution.

Díaz dropped out of school after eighth grade to support his family by working on a ranch, a common practice at the time.

He loved jazz music and the popular Zoot Suit style, which originated in New York and spread to the West Coast.

Zoot suits were considered unpatriotic during World War II because they used more fabric, which was rationed for soldiers.

On the night of his death, Díaz attended a party near Sleepy Lagoon, a water reservoir used by Mexican youth since segregation kept them out of public pools.

A fight broke out at the party, resulting in Díaz being beaten and stabbed. He died hours later at the hospital.

600 Mexican American youth, aged 12 to 25, were arrested, many of them wearing Zoot Suits, reinforcing racial stereotypes.

During the trial, 17 men were found guilty despite lack of evidence, with the media portraying Mexican Americans as inherently violent.

The trial and media coverage fueled the perception that Mexican Americans were criminals, contributing to the Zoot Suit Riots.

The Zoot Suit Riots involved violent attacks by military servicemen against Mexican American youth wearing Zoot Suits, escalating racial tensions.

The violence continued for five days until military intervention stopped the attacks, while the police did nothing.

In 1944, the convictions of the 17 men were overturned, but the case remained unsolved until a 2002 confession revealed the true killer.