After the Zoot Suit Riots ended, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged a press conference to address the racial antagonism aspect of the event. She was direct in explaining that the riots were based on discrimination against Mexican-Americans, rather than a “juvenile delinquency problem.” Mrs. Roosevelt explained, “For a long time I’ve worried about the attitude toward Mexicans in California…” She also stated that the fights “have roots in things that happened long before.” Unlike other officials, the First Lady didn’t deny the fact that there was racism toward Mexican-Americans. Instead, she addressed the problem in hopes that the US could work together to end racial segregation.
The Los Angeles Times responded to Eleanor Roosevelt’s speech in an editorial called “Mrs. Roosevelt Blindly Stirs Race Discord.” In this article, they argued that California is proud of its Mexican heritage and respects Mexican-Americans.“We like Mexicans and we think they like us,” the article claimed. It also stated that the riots were solely based on a “juvenile problem.” Furthermore, “[i]t seems incredible that the wife of the President of the United States in wartime would deliberately seek to create a vicious international racial antagonism without a foundation in fact.” They continued by calling the First Lady arrogant and saying that she had not investigated the event enough; therefore she couldn't form such a strong opinion about it. The article argues against everything that Mrs. Roosevelt stated and continually denies the fact that there was a race-hatred problem.
California governor Earl Warren was insulted by the criticism directed at his state. He formed a citizens' commission headed by Catholic bishop Joseph T. McGucken to investigate the cause of the riots. The report was a complete humiliation. It stated that the government’s poor policy and treatment toward Mexican-American communities created the ideal breeding ground for juvenile delinquency, causing the problems. It explained that the many strategies used by police, such as racial profiling and a systematic dragnet, led people to believe that all members of that race were "guilty of crime." It also said that whites had overreacted to zoot suits. "It is a mistake...and an aggravating practice to link the phrase 'zoot suit' with the report of a crime." The McGucken Report also criticized the press for writing biased reports. However, the newspapers claimed that the riots happened because of youths' insulting clothing and not race. Finally, military officials seemed detached from all the drama. Instead, they simply worked on how to prevent their servicemen from falling into such disorder in the future. However, most outcries supporting the pachucos were quickly shut down long before they had an impact.
