DOCSLIB.ORG

Sample Pages

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sample Pages Table of Contents Preface . .vii How to Use This Book . .xi Research Topics for Defining Moments: The Zoot Suit Riots . .xiii NARRATIVE OVERVIEW Prologue . .3 Chapter One:Caught in the Currents of Empire and Conquest . .7 Chapter Two: Rising Tensions in California . .25 Chapter Three: A City on Edge . .43 Chapter Four: The Trial of the 38th Street Boys . .59 Chapter Five: The Zoot Suit Riots . .75 Chapter Six: Release from Prison . .91 Chapter Seven: Legacy of the Zoot Suit Riots . .107 BIOGRAPHIES Fletcher Bowron (1887-1968) . .125 Mayor of Los Angeles during the Sleepy Lagoon Trial and Zoot Suit Riots José Díaz (1919-1942) . .128 Mexican Farm Worker Whose Murder Resulted in the Sleepy Lagoon Trial Charles William Fricke (1882-1958) . .131 Judge Who Presided over the 1943 Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial Alice Greenfield (1917-2009) . .134 Civil Rights Activist and Member of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee v Defining Moments: The Zoot Suit Riots Henry “Hank” Leyvas (1923-1971) . .137 Mexican-American Defendant in the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial Carey McWilliams (1905-1980) . .141 American Journalist and Attorney Who Headed the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee Edward Roybal (1916-2005) . .145 First Hispanic-American Member of the Los Angeles City Council and Longtime U.S. Representative George Shibley (1910-1989) . .148 Defense Attorney in the Sleepy Lagoon Murder Trial PRIMARY SOURCES Anglo Squatters Swarm Mexican-Owned Haciendas in California . .153 Examples of Anti-Mexican Discrimination in 1930s America . .156 Depression-Era Los Angeles Targets Mexicans for Repatriation . .161 A Los Angeles Police Officer Issues a Racist Report on the Mexican “Element” . .164 Courtroom Clashes between Fricke and Shibley . .168 Trying to Survive the Zoot Suit Riots . .173 Mexican-American Activists Assess the Causes of the Zoot Suit Riots . .174 The Los Angeles Times Attacks Eleanor Roosevelt’s Stance on the Riots . .177 New Hispanic Hopes and Dreams in the Post-World War II Era . .180 From the Barrio to a German POW Camp—and Back . .185 A Landmark Legal Decision for Mexican Americans . .188 Honoring the Heritage and Contributions of Hispanic Americans . .193 Important People, Places, and Terms . .195 Chronology . .199 Sources for Further Study . .203 Bibliography . .205 Photo and Illustration Credits . .207 Index . .209 vi Chapter Three A City on Edge 5 We’re tired of being told we can’t go to this show or this dance hall because we’re Mexican or that we better not be seen on the beach front, or that we can’t wear draped pants or have our hair cut the way we want to.1 —A Mexican-American zoot suiter in World War II-era Los Angeles fter the U.S. government decided to imprison its Japanese-American pop- ulation in internment camps for the duration of World War II, white Cal- Aifornians turned their anxious gaze toward the growing numbers of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in their midst. The bombing of Pearl Harbor had brought to the surface long-simmering white anxieties about nonwhites living and working in the state. Many white residents of Los Ange- les and other cities up and down the Pacific Coast expressed heightened fears that African Americans, people of Mexican descent, and other minorities did not share their appreciation for American customs or their sense of patriotism. Of all these minorities, Mexican-American workers, families, and communities were regarded by white Angelenos with particular distrust. Their uneasiness was fed not only by racist stereotypes that had been passed down from generation to gen- eration, but also by more recent developments. In the late 1930s and early 1940s the sheer number of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles and its surrounding region had grown significantly. Like workers of every other ethnicity, they came to take advantage of a wartime economy that had shifted into high gear in 1939, when World War II began in Europe and America agreed to provide England and other Allied 43 Defining Moments: The Zoot Suit Riots nations with military arms and other supplies. These wartime job opportuni- ties had become even more lucrative after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when the United States entered the war. All told, an estimated two million Mexican-American workers relocated during the war to California, where many of the country’s major shipyards and aircraft manufacturers were located. Whites still received preferential treatment over workers of Mexican descent in these bustling defense factories, which made the rifles, jeeps, planes, submarines, and other materials needed by U.S. armed forces. But many Mexican Americans did manage to secure employment in the defense industry, albeit in lower-paying jobs. From 1941 to 1944, for example, the number of Mexican Americans working in Los Angeles shipyards jumped from almost zero to more than 17,000. In addition, the fast-growing defense industry attracted so many Anglo workers that non-defense industries and businesses had to admit greater numbers of Mexicans and African Amer- icans to their payrolls to keep their doors open. The Rise of the Zoot Suit Another factor responsible for escalating white anxieties about Mexicans was a social phenomenon that was taking place all across the city during the early 1940s. Like several other large American cities of the era, Los Angeles experienced a wave of youthful rebellion that greatly disturbed older genera- tions. One of the trademarks of this rebellion was a love for swinging jazz music, which conservative, older Anglo Americans viewed as a sign of slipping moral- ity. As scholar Eduardo Obregón Pagán wrote, “Jazz was to white Americans in the 1940s what rock and roll was in the 1950s and rap was in the 1980s.”2 Critics thought that jazz and swing—a high-energy, big band variation of jazz—encouraged sexual promiscuity and drinking among young people. Even worse in the eyes of many, the theaters and nightclubs where this music was fea- tured showed a complete disregard for longstanding rules of racial segregation. “Race mixing on and off the stage and dance floor was common, and in the age of segregation, such a violation of white supremacy was an outrage,” said Pagán. “As a behavior spreading among the youth, it was perceived as a social danger.”3 The most visible symbol of this cultural revolt by young people, though, was their enthusiasm for a radical, exaggerated version of the traditional busi- ness suit known as the zoot suit. The zoot suit featured long coats with wide padded shoulders and lapels, as well as high-waisted, pleated pants that bil- 44 Defining Moments: The Zoot Suit Riots The exact origins of the zoot suit have been difficult to pinpoint. Frank Walton, who directed the federal government’s efforts to conserve clothing material during World War II, spoke for many when he said that “many attempts have been made to analyze the idea [of the zoot suit] and to see just what caused it and what was behind it but so far there is no good answer.”4 His- torians believe, though, that the zoot suit, which was also sometimes called “the drape,” originated in the mid-1930s in African-American communities in New York and other Eastern cities. Jazz artists based on the East Coast then spread it across the country as they toured. Each region of the country put its own dis- tinctive stamp on the fashion. Eastern zoot suiters, for example, preferred much more colorful suits than their western counterparts. All across the country, though, zoot suit culture symbolized excitement, pleasure, and youthful defi- ance of the expectations of parents and wider society. “Like youth of any gen- eration, the zoot suit was a symbol of one’s own generational style,” explained George Sanchez, who came to adulthood in Los Angeles during the zoot suit era. “This was to really assert that, you know, we are here, and we want to make a statement about the fact that we’re here. But it was also, I think, a connection with other minority and poor youth in the United States.”5 As Sanchez indicated, zoot suiters could be found in American working- class neighborhoods of all ethnicities. The outfit was popular with young African Americans on both coasts, as well as Filipino Americans and Japanese Americans along the Pacific Coast. Zoot suits were also sported by Italian Amer- icans and Irish Americans from mixed-race working-class neighborhoods. In the West, though—and especially in Los Angeles—the most visible champions of so-called “zoot suit culture” were young Mexican Americans. Young zoot suiters of Hispanic heritage in Los Angeles offered a variety of reasons for their attraction to the zoot suit lifestyle. Many saw it as a fun and even glamorous escape from the drab reality of their daily existence. For some young men, wrote Pagán, “putting on the zoot [suit] was nothing less than a rebirth of identity, transforming him from an awkward country boy who couldn’t dance to the bezooted hipster who exploded on to the dance floor in the rhythmic fury of the lindy hop.… His zoot was a public signal that he had gone from square to cool, from awkward to hip. He was born a new man.”6 Others saw the zoot suit culture as something that was uniquely their own, a creation that could not be taken away by overbearing parents or racist white authorities. It was a declaration of self-worth by a socioeconomic group that was 46 Defining Moments: The Zoot Suit Riots gone off to fight in the war and mothers who worked long hours to support their families. Yet they had few ways to pass their idle hours in a city that restricted most of its recreational opportunities to white residents.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Justice and Injustice in Three Mexican-American Playwrights
    MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN: JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE IN THREE MEXICAN-AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS by JOSHUA AL MORA, B.A., M.A. A DISSERTATION IN • SPANISH Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Accepted Dean of the Graduate School December, 1994 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this time to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Janet Perez, Dr. Harley Oberhelman, Dr. Wendell Aycock and Dr. Roberto Bravo. A special thanks goes out to Dr. P6rez who worked very closely with me and spent many hours reading and editing my dissertation. A special note of thanks goes out to all of my committee members for their belief in me and their inspiration during what have been the most difficult times of my life. Thank you for offering your help and for all you did. A special thank you also to the Department of Classical and Modern Languages at Texas Tech University and the faculty and staff for all of your support and encouragement. Esta obra va dedicada a mi padre, que en paz descanse, y a mi madre quienes con mucha paciencia esperaron que yo terminara. Gracias a su fe y sus oraciones se cumplib esta obra. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iv I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THE ROOTS OF CHICANO AND OTHER TERMS 40 III. THE WAR IN THE FIELDS 72 IV. THE STRUGGLE TO ENTER THE UNITED STATES 113 V. IN SEARCH OF RESPECT IN THE SCHOOLS 148 VI.
    [Show full text]
  • Los Veteranos—Latinos in WWII
    Los Veteranos—Latinos in WWII Over 500,000 Latinos (including 350,000 Mexican Americans and 53,000 Puerto Ricans) served in WWII. Exact numbers are difficult because, with the exception of the 65th Infantry Regiment from Puerto Rico, Latinos were not segregated into separate units, as African Americans were. When war was declared on December 8, 1941, thousands of Latinos were among those that rushed to enlist. Latinos served with distinction throughout Europe, in the Pacific Theater, North Africa, the Aleutians and the Mediterranean. Among other honors earned, thirteen Medals of Honor were awarded to Latinos for service during WWII. In the Pacific Theater, the 158th Regimental Combat Team, of which a large percentage was Latino and Native American, fought in New Guinea and the Philippines. They so impressed General MacArthur that he called them “the greatest fighting combat team ever deployed in battle.” Latino soldiers were of particular aid in the defense of the Philippines. Their fluency in Spanish was invaluable when serving with Spanish speaking Filipinos. These same soldiers were part of the infamous “Bataan Death March.” On Saipan, Marine PFC Guy Gabaldon, a Mexican-American from East Los Angeles who had learned Japanese in his ethnically diverse neighborhood, captured 1,500 Japanese soldiers, earning him the nickname, the “Pied Piper of Saipan.” In the European Theater, Latino soldiers from the 36th Infantry Division from Texas were among the first soldiers to land on Italian soil and suffered heavy casualties crossing the Rapido River at Cassino. The 88th Infantry Division (with draftees from Southwestern states) was ranked in the top 10 for combat effectiveness.
    [Show full text]
  • San Diego County Board of Education Paulette Donnellon • Guadalupe González • Alicia Muñoz • Mark Powell • Rick Shea
    San Diego County Board of Education Paulette Donnellon • Guadalupe González • Alicia Muñoz • Mark Powell • Rick Shea Dr. Paul Gothold San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Tracy E. Thompson, Executive Director Juvenile Court and Community Schools 6401 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, CA 92111 | www.sdcoe.net | 858-292-3500 ©2020 SDCOE Please note that there may be grammatical errors,etc., but since this is narrative writing, we chose not to edit them in order to retain an authentic student voice. The Storytellers | 1 What What a strong, independent, resilient women Victoria J. (Urban Camp GRF) Momma Bear Momma bear protects baby from lion Victoria J. (Urban Camp GRF) Gymnastics is Life Sam loved and lived for gymnastics Victoria J. (Urban Camp GRF) Care Mama bear will protect her cub Ruby B. (Urban Camp GRF) Be Be fair, be strong, be independent Ruby B. (Urban Camp GRF) Bored Emily is jumping because she’s bored Nicole C. (Urban Camp GRF) Grizzly Bears Big and brown, splinters, and hospitalized La’Ney M. (Urban Camp GRF) Excitement It’s the weekend, sunny day, excitement La’Ney M. (Urban Camp GRF) The Notorious RBG Notorious RBG was an incredible judge Dianna J. (Urban Camp GRF) Big Bears Baby bear and mama bear are relaxing Dianna J. (Urban Camp GRF) 2 | The Storytellers Almost Flying Joselin, jumping of joy almost flying Cassandra O. (Urban Camp GRF) Jump Jasmine jumped up to the sky! Alissa C. (Urban Camp GRF) Single Mother Dad left mom stayed later died Aaliyah P. (Urban Camp GRF) Rest Easy Strong-willed determined fighter rest easy Aaliyah P.
    [Show full text]
  • Trends in the Hired Farm W( Force, 1945-J
    ? Aq& ■CJ ^afís, UnMed States *ii! Oepartmjintof Agricunure Trends in the Economic Research Service Hired Farm W( Agriculture Information Bulletin Force, 1945-J Number 561 Victor J. Olivetra ^ 'f W' 917698 Want Another Copy? It's Easy. Just dial 1-800-999-6779. Toll free. Ask for Trends in the Hired Farm Worl< Force, 1945-87 {AIB-561 ). The cost is $3 per copy. For non-U.S. addresses, add 25 percent (includes Canada). Charge your purchase to your VISA or MasterCard, or we can bill you. Or send a check or purchase order (made payable to ERS-NASS) to: ERS-NASS P.O. Box 1608 Rockville, MD 20850. We'll fill your order via 1st class mail. Trends In the Hired Farm Work Force, 1945-87. By Victor J, Oüveira, Agriculture and Rural Economy Division, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 561. Abstract New technology, nonfarm labor conditions, farm prices, and government policies have altered both the size and composition of the hired farm work force. Average annual farm employment dropped 70 percent between 1945 and 1987. Although family members continue to provide the major portion of agricultural labor, hired farmworl<ers contribute relatively more labor now, 36 percent in 1987 compared with 22 percent in 1945. The numbers of domestic workers and legally admitted foreign nationals doing hired farmwork have stabilized in recent years after wide variations responding to wartime labor shortages, changes in government work programs, and increased mechanization. The number of illegal aliens working in U.S. agriculture is unknown owing to lack of accurate data, but the increase in apprehensions of these aliens after 1965 suggests a large population.
    [Show full text]
  • Brown Youth, Black Fashion and a White Riot by Margarita Aragon
    Brown Youth, Black Fashion and a White Riot By Margarita Aragon Table of Contents Preface: The Zoot Suit Riots………………………………………………………...2 I. Introduction: Made in America…………………………………………………..3 II. Sources……………….……………………………………………………………4 III. Background………………………………………………………………………7 IV. “Terrific as the Pacific, Frantic as the Atlantic”: From hipsters to pachucos, the zoot-suit from coast to coast…………………………………….....12 V. Zoot Suits and Service Stripes…………………………………………………21 VI. The Riots…………………………………………………………….…………27 VIII. Conclusion: Dismantling the Machine………………………….………….34 References………………………………………………………………...………..37 Brown Youth, Black Fashion, and a White Riot Preface: The Zoot Suit Riots In the 1940’s a large generation of Mexican American1 youth were coming of age in Los Angeles. Born and raised in the segregated, working class outskirts of urban America, they were captivated by black jazz culture and a number of them, who became known as pachucos, adopted the extravagant zoot-suit style. Importantly, unlike their parents, this generation was not content to adhere to the city’s strict racial barriers. To dominant white Los Angeles, unaccustomed to seeing Mexicans –much less Mexicans deliberately dressed to stand-out - in downtown shopping and entertainment districts, pachuco came to mean a Mexican delinquent. The pair of words rapidly became correlated to redundancy. In a self-generating spiral of escalation, the repressive policing of Mexican Americans provided the media fodder for stories about zoot suit crime, which they printed in an exaggerated and salacious manner. The crime wave stories ironically convinced that the public that the police were not in control, thus generating pressure for even heavier handed policing tactics. The hysteria peaked when a young Mexican national was found dead in August at a reservoir the press labelled the Sleepy Lagoon.
    [Show full text]
  • School Desegregation, Student Activism, and Busing in Los Angeles, 1963 - 1982
    Fragmented Diversity: School Desegregation, Student Activism, and Busing in Los Angeles, 1963 - 1982 by Herbert R. Sosa A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in The University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Professor Terrence J. McDonald, Chair Professor Jeffrey E. Mirel Associate Professor Matthew D. Lassiter Associate Professor Michele Mitchell © Herbert R. Sosa 2011 Dedicated to mi abuelita Rosa Torres, Reverend William Miles, Carlos, Minerva, and Cynthia ii Acknowledgements I am grateful to many individuals and institutions that have supported me during my pursuit of a PhD in history and the completion of this dissertation. I would like to thank my dissertation chair Terrence McDonald and my dissertation committee members Jeffrey Mirel, Matthew Lassiter, and Michele Mitchell for their constant kindness and support. I especially want to thank Terrence McDonald for his enduring guidance, encouragement, and patience that helped me navigate through different stages of the PhD program. At the University of Michigan, I have been fortunate to meet several professors whose positive influence gave me the wherewithal to complete my degree. They include: Kathleen Canning, Gina Morantz-Sanchez, Geoff Eley, Penny Von Eschen, Kevin Gaines, Sueann Caulfield, Matthew Countryman, Carroll Smith-Rosenberg (and Alvia), Ginang Weller, Sarita See, Chun-shu Chang, and Sonya Rose. I express my gratitude to the entire award-winning History Department staff at the University of Michigan, specially Lorna Altstetter, Sheila Coley, Kathleen King, and Diana Denney, and the School of Literature, Sciences, and Arts Dean’s Office staff, particularly Sue Marsh and Kayla Niemann.
    [Show full text]
  • UC Santa Barbara Journal of Transnational American Studies
    UC Santa Barbara Journal of Transnational American Studies Title Excerpt from Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/78k1r8vc Journal Journal of Transnational American Studies, 4(2) Author Peiss, Kathy Publication Date 2012 DOI 10.5070/T842015761 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Excerpted from Kathy Peiss, Zoot Suit: The Enigmatic Career of an Extreme Style (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011). 6 For JTASZooting Around use the World only ‘‘ ome authorities feel that the only thing to do is to let the whole myste- rious business wear itself out and disappear through inner exhaus- Stion of its possibilities,’’ reported Agnes Meyer in the wake of the Los Angeles riot.1 In fact, it was much harder than those authorities thought to shrug off the zoot suit. During the war and for decades there- after, this style traveled across time and place, appealing to youths whose lives otherwise diverged. It turned up in wartime Great Britain and Aus- tralia, despite orders by their governments to conserve cloth for the du- ration. Bahamian farm hands, brought to Florida to pick crops, surprised their hosts by appearing in zoot suits. Canada had its own versions of zoot-suit unrest in the summer of 1944, and in occupied France, zazous sporting long coats and narrow trousers outraged officials. After the war, young people in other countries—from the stiliagi of the Soviet Union to the tsotsis of South Africa—picked up and adapted elements of an extreme style that had originated in American culture.
    [Show full text]
  • George I. Sanchez and the Civil Rights Movement: 1940-1960
    George I. Sanchez and the Civil Rights Movement: 1940-1960 Ricardo Romo* This article is a tribute to Dr. George I. Sanchez and examines the important contributions he made in establishing the American Council of Spanish-Speaking People (ACSSP) in 1951. The ACSSP funded dozens of civil rights cases in the Southwest during the early 1950's and repre- sented the first large-scale effort by Mexican Americans to establish a national civil rights organization. As such, ACSSP was a precursor of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and other organizations concerned with protecting the legal rights of Mexican Americans in the Southwest. The period covered here extends from 1940 to 1960, two crucial decades when Mexican Ameri- cans made a concerted effort to challenge segregation in public schools, discrimination in housing and employment, and the denial of equal ac- cess to public places such as theaters, restaurants, and barber shops. Although Mexican Americans are still confronted today by de facto seg- regation and job discrimination, it is of historical and legal interest that Mexican American legal victories, in areas such as school desegregation, predated by many years the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education and the civil rights movement of the 1960's. Sanchez' pioneering leadership and the activities of ACSSP merit exami- nation if we are to fully comprehend the historical struggle of the Mexi- can American civil rights movement. In a recent article, Karen O'Conner and Lee Epstein traced the ori- gins of MALDEF to the 1960's civil rights era.' The authors argued that "Chicanos early on recongized their inability to seek rights through traditional political avenues and thus sporadically resorted to litigation ..
    [Show full text]
  • The Bracero Program (1942-1964) a Critical Appraisal
    THE BRACERO PROGRAM (1942-1964) A CRITICAL APPRAISAL JORGE DURAND ABSTRACT. Because of its dimension and duration, the Bracero Program (1942-1964) has been perhaps the most relevant example worldwide of a Temporary Workers Program. However, it has been widely criticized and not thoroughly studied. This article uses documents from the time to reappraise the pros and cons of the Bracero Program and re- formulates the possibility of a future program of temporary workers for Mexico and the United States. KEYWORDS: Bracero Program, Migration, Temporary Workers, Mexico, United States. 2007 SECOND SEMESTER 25 MIGRACIÓN Y DESARROLLO JORGE DURAND THE BRACERO PROGRAM INTRODUCTION he discussion about the relevance of a bilateral agreement to develop a new program for migrant workers makes it essential to look back on the Bracero Program. Although it is an old topic, it still contains rectifi- able mistakes and wise examples. The Bracero Program has ultimately Tbeen the largest and most far-reaching and consistent effort to think and reflect on this topic and the problem of temporary contracts for migrant workers. The immediate background of the Bracero Program was the labor-recruiting system known as enganche (“hooking”) and the mass deportations from the 1920s and 1930s. Both modes of recruiting and managing migrant labor were dreadful. The enganche system, a private business of the recruiting agencies, was a model of extreme exploitation that left recruitment, transportation, salaries, internal man- agement of labor camps and work loads in private hands. The consequences of this system were unfair contracts, eternal indebtedness, miserable life condi- tions, child labor, private police and recruitment agencies (Durand, 1993, 1994).
    [Show full text]
  • VINCENT VALDEZ the Strangest Fruit
    VINCENT VALDEZ The Strangest Fruit Staniar Gallery Washington and Lee University April 27–May 29, 2015 The Strangest Fruit Vincent Valdez Staniar Gallery Department of Art and Art History Washington and Lee University 204 West Washington Street Lexington, VA 24450 USA http://www.wlu.edu/staniar-gallery The Staniar Gallery endeavors to respect copyright in a manner consistent with its nonprofit educational mission. If you believe any material has been included in this publication improperly, please contact the Staniar Gallery. Copyright © 2015 by Staniar Gallery, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia All essays copyright © 2015 by the authors All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Layout by Billy Chase Editing in English by Kara Pickman Editing of Spanish translations by María Eugenia Hidalgo Preliminary Spanish translations by Mariana Aguirre, Mauricio Bustamante, Sally Curtiss, Franco Forgiarini, Ellen Mayock, Alicia Martínez, Luna Rodríguez, and Daniel Rodríguez Segura Printed and bound in Waynesboro, Virginia, by McClung Companies English and Spanish covers: Vincent Valdez, Untitled, from The Strangest Fruit (2013). Oil on canvas, 92 x 55 inches. © 2015 Vincent Valdez. Photo: Mark Menjivar MUDD CENTER EFGFoundation for ETHICS This catalogue has been funded in part by the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Washington and Lee’s Roger Mudd Center for Ethics. The Strangest Fruit Vincent Valdez April 27–May 29, 2015 Staniar Gallery Washington and Lee University Lexington, Virginia Catalogue Contributors: Clover Archer Lyle William D.
    [Show full text]
  • Lead Summit Viiithursday
    THURSDAY2017 LEAD Summit, LEAD SUMMIT VIII MARCH 30, 2017 “SIN FR NTERAS - Educating Bey nd Borders” leadsummit.csusb.edu 2017 LEAD Summit Welcome! ¡BIENVENIDOS! 2017 LEAD Summit Dear Friends and Colleagues, Welcome! ¡BIENVENIDOS! ..............................................................................1 Welcome to our eighth annual Latino Education and Advocacy Days Summit, and LEAD Week 2017. Our inaugural Latino Education and Advocacy Day at Cal State San Bernardino was a historical success in bringing needed atten- Honorary Chairs, 2010-2017 .........................................................................4 tion and discussion to critical issues in Latino education. As a direct result, the State of California had declared the last week of March as a statewide Week of Advocacy for Latino Education (Assembly Concurrent Resolution 137); and then reified (Assembly Concurrent Resolution 109). Featured Speakers ......................................................................................12 Our LEAD network promotes “Working Together” – allowing par- ticipants to connect with each other and relevant leaders such as Schedule .......................................................................................................15 yourselves, to address how we can improve educational access, learning outcomes, offerings, and resources for our communi- Program ........................................................................................................16 ties, both here and abroad. “Netroots” is one way to describe
    [Show full text]
  • On Luis Valdez
    ashley lucas university of north carolina at chapel hill Reinventing the Pachuco The Radical Transformation from the Criminalized to the Heroic in Luis Valdez’s Play Zoot Suit n 12 January 1943, at the highly publicized Sleepy Lagoon mur- der trial, a court wrongly convicted seventeen young men from Othe 38th Street neighborhood for murder and assault associated with the death of a young Mexican American named José Díaz.1 Th e Zoot Suit Riots occurred later that spring when members of the U.S. Navy and Marines attacked Mexican American youths, beat them, and stripped them naked in the streets of Los Angeles.2 In 1978, Luis Valdez’s landmark play Zoot Suit opened at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and in doing so became the first professionally produced Chicana/o play.3 All three events reflect the performance of terror in Mexican American communities and the processes of racial othering that create that terror. In his book Stages of Terror: Terrorism, Ideology, and Coercion as Th eatre History, Anthony Kubiak describes the fundamental links between the performance of terror in life to the performance of terror in theater and the media.4 He sees acts of terror as necessarily taking place in view of a specific audience, those being terrorized. Acts committed with the intention of inspiring terror in others possess a theatrical or performative quality; they put on a show to elicit the specific emotional response of terror. This article examines the ways in which the play Zoot Suit reshapes performances of terror from the Journal for the Study of Radicalism, Vol.
    [Show full text]