Race Riots During Ww2

Yee Xiong Hing

Hist 076

Professor Mallea

Race Riots during World War 2

During World War Two, America was portrayed to be a united nation, a manufacturing powerhouse and unparalleled military right that turned the tides of war. While this may mostly be true, stark economic differences and pure racial hatred painted a different story on different parts of America. This essay analyzes the reasons behind the riots, effects we can see today and why it matters for us to understand such issues.

One of the biggest factors leading to racial riots during World War 2 was the apparent difference in socioeconomic status of different ethnic groups that led to tensions. Generally, Blacks and Mexicans were poor and lived in squalid conditions. There certainly was inequality in the way different racial groups lived and this leads to resentment. Whites obviously felt more superior to Blacks and Mexicans and treated them poorly and with disrespect. They were often also segregated and had to live in designated areas of the city. This is illustrated through Hollitz where there was a Black and White neighborhood, in the movie Raisin in the Sun where the Younger family was approached with an offer to sell their home once they moved into a white neighborhood.This meant that Whites didn’t want any Blacks or Mexicans living in their neighborhood and this also helped fuel racial tensions.

Another big reason was the existing stereotype of certain ethnic groups. In Hollitz, this was portrayed in the Zoot Suit riots where Mexicans were labelled by Whites as young, aggressive, prone to violence, gambling and so forth. Whites found any excuse they could to degrade and insult other ethnic groups. What made it worst was even Mexicans who were not dressed up in Zoot suits were lumped into the same category. The Zoot suits just made it convenient to use as a weapon to justify their actions. Hollitz illustrated events where young White adults would go around beating up Mexicans just for the...