History
476
Devine
Spring
2016
World War II
& Minority Youth Study Questions
Study Questions
for Robin Kelley, “The Riddle of the Zoot”
- According
to Kelley, why did Malcolm X – reflecting on his youth from the
perspective of the mid-1960s – fail to see the “oppositional” meaning of
“ghetto adornments” like the conk and zoot suit?
- What was
the “Double V” campaign?
- Why were
there heightened class tensions within the urban black community during
the early years of World War II?
- According
to Kelley, the zoot subculture became a source of resistance for young
blacks like Malcolm on three
different levels – what were they?
- Why does
Kelley argue that wearing a zoot suit, though not intended to be a direct political statement, can still
be read as politically “subversive” or “oppositional”? Why was the “conk” hairstyle and dancing
at the Roseland Ballroom also a “refusal”?
- Why was
“dressing up” important to young working class blacks like Malcolm X and
his friends? How did it restore
both a sense of individuality and community?
- How did
black men like Malcolm feel about the war and the draft? Why did white soldiers find the
“hipsters” so annoying?
- Why did
Malcolm resort to “hustling” when many wartime jobs were available? Why did young black hustlers resist or
resent wage labor?
- Why was
Malcolm’s dating a white woman not an indication of “self-hatred” but
rather a sign of cultural opposition – “the ultimate hustle”?
- Why was
pandering to whites’ stereotypes of blacks a double-edged sword for hustlers
like Malcolm? Why did Malcolm
abandon hustling for burglary?
- Why
does Kelley believe it is important to recognize the existence of
political significance in expressions of youth culture?
Stuart Cosgrove,
“The Zoot Suit and Style Warfare”
- What does
Cosgrove mean when he suggests that the zoot suiters were “the stewards of
something uncomfortable”?
- How were
pachucos doubly
alienated? How did they deal with
their alienation? What role did the
zoot suit play in this process?
- Why did wearing
a zoot suit open pachucos to attacks by soldiers? Why was wearing a zoot suit a form of
opposition?
- How did
press coverage of the zoot suit riots distort or oversimplify the reality
of the situation?
- How did the
presence of groups like the “Black Widows” unsettle both whites and
Mexican adults?
- Why were
government officials concerned about the zoot suit riots? How did initial official reactions to
the riots obscure their true causes and significance?