Misplaced Pages

#936063

43-584: The zoot suit originated in African American comedy shows within the Chitlin' Circuit in the 1920s. Comedians such as Pigmeat Markham , Stepin Fetchit , and many others would dress in rags or in baggy suits for their comedic routines. This style of oversized suits would later become more stylish and popular in the inner city ghettos. Many tap and Lindy hop dancers would wear loose fitting suits to

86-445: A Black man who had his eye gouged out with a knife by "a crowd of whites." After being attacked, Mexican and Black zoot suiters rioted against white U.S. servicemen. On the fifth day of the riots, the zoot suiters repelled attackers in a coordinated effort. Busloads of police were brought in to rescue "the retreating servicemen," after which "dozens of Mexicans" were arrested. Military officials declared Los Angeles off limits to servicemen

129-637: A bridge that marries what's deemed 'legitimate theater' and so-called 'chitlin' circuit theater,' and I think I've done pretty well with that, in bringing people in to enjoy a more elevated level of theater. ' " Leading figures in establishing the Chitlin' Circuit were the Black Indianapolis entrepreneurs Sea and Denver D. Ferguson . After the collapse of the Theatre Owners Booking Association (TOBA) in 1930,

172-469: A drape shape, reet pleats, and shoulders padded like a lunatic's cell ". Zoot suits usually featured a watch chain dangling from the belt to the knee or below, then back to a side pocket. A woman accompanying a man wearing a zoot suit would commonly wear a flared skirt and a long coat. The amount of material and tailoring required made them luxury items, so much so that the U.S. War Production Board said that they wasted materials that should be devoted to

215-480: A dual display of formal wear and cultural pride. It is also worn in certain urban areas in Mexico for similar purposes. Traditionally, zoot suits have been worn with a fedora or pork pie hat color-coordinated with the suit, occasionally with a long feather as decoration, and pointy, French -style shoes. A young Malcolm X , who wore zoot suits in his youth, described the zoot suit as: "a killer-diller coat with

258-567: A small resurgence mostly based in nostalgia of the 1940s era, yet notably missed many of the racial dynamics that surrounded the zoot suit. Bands included The Brian Setzer Orchestra , Royal Crown Revue , and Cherry Poppin' Daddies . One of the popular songs of the era was the Cherry Poppin' Daddies' " Zoot Suit Riot ", which presented the historical moment of the Zoot Suit Riots through a lens of masculine power. The zoot suit

301-513: Is regularly memorialized by the Chicano community today as a symbol of cultural pride. Some of this is owed to Luis Valdez 's 1979 play Zoot Suit and its subsequent 1981 film , which carried knowledge of the era and interest in the style forward. Outside of memorialization events, such as those held on the anniversary of the Zoot Suit Riots , the zoot suit is still sometimes worn by Chicanos for special occasions, including proms , usually as

344-661: The Bama State Collegians , Carolina Cotton Pickers, Snookum Russell , Milton Larkin , Clarence Love , Gene Pope , and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm , and organised tours around the South playing to Black audiences. Musician Sax Kari described Denver Ferguson as "the man who invented the chitlin’ circuit". The Chitlin' Circuit was primarily by, for, and about black people. There are discrepancies among different sources about when

387-562: The Chicano Movement . It experienced a brief resurgence in the swing revival scene in the 1990s. The suit is still worn by Chicano in Mexican subcultures for memorialization events, regular celebrations, and special occasions. The suits were first associated with African-Americans in communities such as Harlem , Chicago , and Detroit in the 1930s, but were made popular nationwide by Jazz and Jump Blues musicians in

430-623: The San Diego Padres —later adopted pinstripes on their own uniforms. The Yankees, in particular, are associated with the pattern. This was later carried over into the National Basketball Association , with teams like the Chicago Bulls , Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic incorporating pinstripes into their uniforms. In baseball lingo, the term "wearing pinstripes" has become synonymous with being

473-609: The War Production Board issued restrictions aimed at stopping the sale of zoot suits. In the so-called Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, groups of predominately Mexican zoot suiters became victims of repeated racial mob violence . Wearing of the zoot suit was never banned, despite a debate of its prohibition by the Los Angeles City Council in the aftermath of the riots. The zoot suit become an important symbol of cultural pride and defiance of oppression in

SECTION 10

#1732780171937

516-556: The World War II war effort. When Life published photographs of zoot suiters in 1942, the magazine joked that they were "solid arguments for lowering the Army draft age to include 18-year-olds ". This extravagance, which many considered unpatriotic in wartime, was a factor in the Zoot Suit Riots . To some, wearing the oversized suit was a declaration of freedom and self-determination, even rebelliousness. Some observers claim that

559-541: The " Edwardian -look" suits with velvet lapels worn by Teddy Boys in Britain are a derivative of the zoot suit. Chitlin%27 Circuit The Chitlin' Circuit was a collection of performance venues found throughout the eastern, southern, and upper Midwest areas of the United States. They provided commercial and cultural acceptance for African-American musicians, comedians, and other entertainers following

602-460: The "saga boys" had the appearance of adapting to the urban American way of life, they were in fact using this clothing and lifestyle as a way to improve their lives in Trinidad, rise above the restrictions that imperialism brought and create through this oppositional dress, a culture of their own. In the swing revival era, which started in 1989 and carried to about 1998, the zoot suit experienced

645-518: The 1940s through the 1960s. Chitterlings are part of the culinary history of African Americans, who were often limited to the intestines of the pig to eat as opposed to the bacon or ham. Henry Louis Gates Jr. suggests the food symbolized acquiring a taste out of necessity and eventually coming to like it. The term "Chitlin' Circuit" did not appear in print until a 1972 article on Ike & Tina Turner in The Chicago Defender . In

688-477: The 1940s, but also shaped a new generation of men in Trinidad . These Trinidadian men who adopted this American fashion became referred to as the "saga boys"; they wore these suits and embraced the glamorous lifestyle that they represented. "Their fondness for the zoot suit, in particular signified a rejection of Anglo-centric precepts not only about fashion but, more profoundly, about manhood." Therefore, although

731-479: The 1940s. According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the word "zoot" probably comes from African American Vernacular English and reduplication of suit. The origin of the zoot suit has been disputed through out the years. Essentially Zoot suits were just oversized or baggy suits, frequently seen with loud colors. Then over time it would become creatively tailored for a dandyish look. There

774-633: The 1943 film Stormy Weather . In his dictionary, Cab Calloway's Cat-ologue: A " Hepster 's" Dictionary (1938), he called the zoot suit "the ultimate in clothes. The only totally and truly American civilian suit." Pachucos and Pachucas were early Chicano youth who participated in a subculture that fashioned zoot suits. The subculture emerged in El Paso, Texas , in the late 1930s and quickly spread to Los Angeles . Pachucos and Pachucas embraced this style that challenged white American norms around race and gender norms The Mexican American zoot suit style

817-577: The 20th century they were also used on suit jackets. The Chicago Cubs ' baseball uniforms have had pinstripes since 1907 and they are recognized as the first Major League Baseball team to incorporate pinstriping into a baseball uniform Many other former and current Major League Baseball teams—including the Florida Marlins , Minnesota Twins , Montreal Expos , Colorado Rockies , New York Mets , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox , Detroit Tigers , Philadelphia Phillies , Houston Astros and

860-467: The 21st century, the term is applied to the venues, especially in the South, where contemporary African-American blues singers such as Bobby Rush , Denise LaSalle , and O.B. Buchana continue to appear regularly. Ebony magazine prefers the term "urban theater circuit" for recent work like that of playwright and actor Tyler Perry . In a January 2004 interview with Perry, the genre's leading practitioner, Ebony wrote his work marked "a new chapter in

903-461: The Circuit peaked, whether it was the 1930s, after World War II, or during the heyday of the blues . Several definitive books reviewed on NPR's Fresh Air have recognized "the names and careers of men and women – and, yes, some of the toughest of these people were women – who ran bars, booking agencies and clubs, where traveling musicians could come into a black community, play, make money and go to

SECTION 20

#1732780171937

946-582: The Ferguson brothers drew on bandleader and influential columnist Walter Barnes and his contacts to bring top Black entertainers to Indianapolis in the 1930s. When their businesses' licenses were revoked in 1940, they opened Ferguson Brothers, a booking agency, which grew rapidly and became the most powerful Black-owned talent agency in the country. They helped various orchestras, bands, and vaudeville shows book gigs, including Jay McShann , King Kolax , Tiny Bradshaw , Roosevelt Sykes , Claude Trenier ,

989-916: The Regal in Chicago, the Howard in Washington D.C., the Uptown in Philadelphia, and the Apollo in New York City. This was called the "litchman chain". The song " Tuxedo Junction " was written about a stop along the Chitlin' Circuit in Birmingham . Once the performance was over, the band would leave for the next stop on the circuit. After composing the music, Erskine Hawkins explained the reason for

1032-781: The birth of rock 'n' roll" in the 1950s as the Civil Rights Movement emerged. Noted theaters, nightclubs , and dance halls on the Chitlin' Circuit included: Seasonal venues included the still-standing auditorium at John Brown's Farm (also known as "the Kennedy Farm ") outside Sharpsburg, Maryland; Carr's and Sparrow's Beach in Anne Arundel County, Maryland ; and Rosedale Beach in Millsboro, Delaware . According to Ruth Brown , an artist needed to play at four specific theaters to prove they had made it:

1075-473: The case sensationalized and further fanned the flames of hostile anti-Mexican sentiments in the city and abroad. This made some Mexican Americans hesitant to wear the zoot suit, since they did not want to be viewed as criminals simply for their style of dress. Some Pachucos became affiliated with early gangs in Los Angeles and embraced their presumed-to-be criminal status with the zoot suit. Others wore

1118-510: The circuit was strongly associated with blues, jazz, rock, and soul musicians and singers such as Billie Holiday, B.B. King, Denise LaSalle, and James Brown. Entertainers felt they had “made it” if they performed at one of the highly coveted venues: Atlanta’s Royal Peacock, Baltimore’s Royal Theater, Chicago’s Regal Theater, Detroit’s Paradise Theatre, Harlem’s Apollo Theater, Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater and Washington, D.C.’s Howard and Lincoln Theaters. The Chitlin' Circuit "eventually brought about

1161-453: The clubs and ballrooms. These suits made it much easier to navigate through the dance floor while dancing. Jazz and Jump Blues singers helped popularize the style in the 1930s and 40s. Cab Calloway called them "totally and truly American". The suits were worn mainly by African American men, including a young Malcolm X . During the rationing of World War II , they were criticized as a wasteful use of cloth, wool being rationed then. In 1942,

1204-506: The early 1940s, Pachucos were associated with violence and criminal behavior by the American media, which fueled anti-Mexican sentiment and especially negative views of the zoot suit style in Los Angeles. Pachucas , some of whom also wore the zoot suit, often with some modifications and additional accessories like dark lipstick, were seen as threatening to ideas of family stability and racial uplift , often shunned by their communities and

1247-623: The era of venues run by the "white-owned-and-operated Theatre Owners Booking Association (TOBA)...formed in 1921." The Chitlin Circuit sustained black musicians and dancers during the era of racial segregation in the United States from the 1930s through the 1960s. The name derives from the soul food dish chitterlings (boiled pig intestines). It is also a play on the term " Borscht Belt ", which referred to particular resort venues (primarily in New York State's Catskill Mountains ) very popular with Jewish performers and audiences during

1290-645: The flourishing club scene to hear Delta blues , big band , jump blues , and jazz . Pinstripes Pinstripes are a pattern of very thin stripes of any color running in parallel. The pattern is often found in fashion . The pinstripe is often compared to the similar chalk stripe. Pinstripes are very thin, often 1 ⁄ 30 inch (0.85 mm) in width, and are created with one single-warp yarn. Although found mostly in men's suits, any type of fabric can be pinstriped. Pinstripes were originally worn only on suit pants but upon being adopted in America during

1333-616: The next day. After hearing of the event, an article for the Pittsburgh [PA] Courier warned that Black zoot suiters could be the next target for "the patriotic lawlessness of men in uniform" and stated that both "Los Angeles Negro and Mexican zoot suiters are closer together than they are to members of their own racial group." Norris J. Nelson , Los Angeles City Council member, proposed outlawing zoot suits, although this did not occur due to questions about its constitutionality. Cesar Chavez sported zoot suit attire in his younger years and

Zoot suit - Misplaced Pages Continue

1376-474: The next town." The exclusionary systems of racial segregation necessitated the creation of a touring circuit for numerous African American, then Negro or Colored, musicians to make a living in U.S. cities from Indianapolis, Indiana and Clarksdale, Mississippi to "unlikely places like North Dakota and Minnesota" and more: [V]enues ranged from rudimentary juke joints in rural areas to nightclubs, restaurants, and higher-end theaters in larger cities. For decades,

1419-421: The origins of the zoot suit as a Black cultural symbol, which made it more acceptable to white Americans. Prior to the Zoot Suit Riots , the zoot suit was sometimes positioned as a symbol of American individualism and even patriotism in comparison to the fascist uniform attire and regimentation of Nazi Germany . White and Black soldiers would sometimes be seen "zooting" their uniforms in war effort photos, with

1462-403: The press presenting the zoot suit as a symbol of youthful relatability rather than as an oppositional or unpatriotic symbol. Most of the visible tension surrounding the zoot suit prior to the riots was concentrated in the Los Angeles area regarding the spread of anti-Mexican sentiment among whites in the city. Zoot suits not only played a historical role in the subculture in the United States in

1505-614: The title to Buddy Feyne , who created lyrics to express the concept. Notable 20th-century performers who worked on the Chitlin' Circuit included: A historic marker designated by the Mississippi Blues Commission on the Mississippi Blues Trail was placed in front of the 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The 100 Men Hall is one of the rare still standing, still active blues venues on

1548-717: The trail. The second historic marker designated by the Mississippi Blues Commission on the Mississippi Blues Trail was placed in front of the Southern Whispers Restaurant on Nelson Street in Greenville, Mississippi , a stop on the Chitlin' Circuit in the early days of the blues. The marker commemorates the importance of this site in the history of the blues in Mississippi. In the 1940s and 1950s, this historic strip drew crowds to

1591-525: The urban theater circuit as a whole—a genre that has been dogged by criticism from some Blacks in the traditional theater. Perry, as the most visibly recognized player in the circuit, has felt the brunt of this criticism." "They say that Tyler Perry has set the Black race back some 500 years with these types of "Chitlin' Circuit" shows. The problem with the naysayers is that they don't take the opportunity to see my shows,' Perry argued. "With my shows, I try to build

1634-477: The wider public. The zoot suits became framed as unpatriotic, referring to the excessiveness of cloth during wartime. In 1942, police from across Los Angeles arrested 600 Mexican Americans in the Sleepy Lagoon murder case, which involved the murder of one man, José Gallardo Díaz, at a party. Almost all of those arrested as allegedly potential suspects were wearing zoot suits. Media coverage before and after

1677-411: The zoot suit became an important cultural symbol for the Chicano Movement . The earliest youth who reclaimed the word Chicano as an identity of empowerment were in fact Pachucos . Throughout the 1940s, white American views on the zoot suit varied. The jive talk of African American hepcats had spread, or been appropriated , among white middle class youth in the early 1940s. This began to erase

1720-676: The zoot suit, but refused to refer to themselves as 'zoot suiters.' Mexican Americans who rejected Pachucos and zoot suit attire became known as 'squares' who were said to believe in assimilation and racial uplift theory . This tension exploded in 1943 in a series of anti-Mexican riots in Los Angeles that became termed the Zoot Suit Riots . For ten days, white U.S. servicemen cruised Mexican American neighborhoods searching for zoot suiters to attack. In some cases, youth as young as twelve were attacked and dragged out of establishments. Filipinos and Black zoot suiters were also targeted, such as

1763-473: Was no one designer in creating the zoot suits, however many tailors have taken credit for its definitive style. Harold C. Fox, a Chicago clothier and big-band trumpeter ; Charles Klein and Vito Bagnato of New York City ; Louis Lettes, a Memphis tailor; and Nathan (Toddy) Elkus, a Detroit retailer. Harold C. Fox has graciously given inspirational credit to African American teenagers for the Zoot Suits. He

Zoot suit - Misplaced Pages Continue

1806-427: Was quoted in saying “The zoot was not a costume or uniform from the world of entertainment. It came right off the street and out of the ghetto.” "A Zoot Suit (For My Sunday Gal)" was a 1942 song written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Bob O'Brien. Jazz bandleader Cab Calloway frequently wore zoot suits on stage, including some with exaggerated details, such as extremely wide shoulders or overly draped jackets. He wore one in

1849-404: Was usually black, sharkskin, charcoal gray, dark blue, or brown in color with pinstripes . African American styles usually incorporated brighter colors, thick chalk stripes, floppy hats, and long chains more often than Mexican Americans. Both Pachucos and Hepcats functioned on the margins in American society. Some Pachucos and Hepcats shared solidarity or respect for one another because of this. In

#936063