American Experience Season 14 Episode 8 Zoot Suit Riots 2001
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"Zoot Suit Riots" recalls a week of violence that rocked Los Angeles in June 1943, pitting Mexican-Americans against Anglos, many of them servicemen. Hector Elizondo narrates the hour, which uses atmospheric re-creations and interviews with historians and people who lived through it to chart a year of steadily rising tension leading up to the riots. One key event: an August 1942 altercation in which a young Mexican-American man died. The defendants were also Mexican-American, but the circus trial at which they were convicted inflamed prejudices and on June 3, 1943, says Elizondo, "the city exploded."
- Released: 2002-03-01
- Runtime: 55 minutes
- Genre: Documentary
- Stars:
- Director: Cameo George
- Source: CWR-CRB
