Museum of Resistance and Resilience Main MenuPraxis #1: Curation and Annotation (Group Project)details of Praxis #1 assignmentPraxis #1.1 War, Memory, And Identity: Beyond Victims and Voice Museum of Resistance and ResilienceProfessor Marjory Wentworth Honor's Class at College of CharlestonPraxis #2 Media Intervention, Multimedia Essay (Individual Project)Entry 2 in our Museum of Resistance and ResiliencePraxis #3 Manifesto of Future Resistance and ResilienceMedia Intervention/Media PostsFinal Course Reflection - A Letter to the FutureDue November 18Vicki Callahanf68c37bed83f129872c0216fae5c9d063d9e11baLisa Müller-Tredecc71af55f5122020f2b95396300e25feb73b6995
What is a Zoot Suit?
12020-09-23T00:15:45-07:00Annie Zheng06f73f1d4eed923be34aff2d2892e21670204942377842plain2020-09-23T00:16:37-07:00Annie Zheng06f73f1d4eed923be34aff2d2892e21670204942Zoot suits were popularized by Harlem dances in black dance halls during the mid-1930s, particularly among the African American and Mexican American communities. These suits are vibrantly colored, consist of high-waisted ballooned trousers that are cuffed at the ankle, long jackets with heavily padded shoulders and wide lapels, long, glittering watch chains, and hats ranging from porkpies to fedoras to broad-brimmed sombreros (Gregory, 2016).
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1media/Zoot Suit Aftermath_thumb.jpg2020-09-23T00:13:15-07:00Annie Zheng06f73f1d4eed923be34aff2d2892e21670204942Teens in Zoot Suits5On the right, an image of a teenager in a zoot suit, circa 1943. On the left, a photograph of two zoot suit wearers post-riot, with their suits torn by rioters. SOURCE: Getty Images, 2015. Sourced from History.commedia/Zoot Suit Aftermath.jpgplain2020-09-23T15:14:48-07:00Annie Zheng06f73f1d4eed923be34aff2d2892e21670204942
Zoot suits were a powerful symbol of social nonconformity in the late 1930s and early 1940s, with its racial and social tensions culminating the in 1943 Zoot Suit Riots. Created from dance hall and jazz fashion, these suits quickly evolved from a fashion trend to a "uniform of resistance" (O'Shaughnessy, 2017) against the dominator culture of affluent, white, suit-and-tie culture and the all-American values this represented: to be obedient, successful, and accepted.
