The Hidden History of By Watson’s “Conk” Style Haircut in The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963

Twenty years before The Watsons Go to Birmingham takes place, Mexican American youth were attacked on the streets of Los Angeles. Like many African Americans of the time, the youth were distinguished by their flamboyant zoot suit style. They wore baggy pants tapered closely at the ankles, oversized coats, and ducktail or “conk” style haircuts. In what were known as the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, white sailors and soldiers hunted Mexican American zoot suiters across the city. They beat them, stripped them, and left them humiliated in front of gathering crowds of onlookers. Police intervened only to arrest the zoot suiters for disturbing the peace. The Zoot Suit Riots were the result of rising xenophobia and racism during World War II. Zoot suiters, in particular, were viewed as juvenile delinquents, racially inferior, and subversive (disruptive) to the war effort. Although many Mexican Americans and African Americans joined the military to fight for American democracy overseas, the riots showed that they were treated as second class citizens at home.

By Watson’s “conk” style haircut—and his parent’s response—reflects this deeper history between African Americans and Mexican Americans. When By’s mother and father discover his new haircut, they make fun of his “Mexican-style hair.” They jokingly introduce him as “your long-lost son from Mexico City, Sr. Byroncito Watson.” Their mocking exchange shows that negative views of Mexican Americans and zoot suiters remained in the 1960s. It is also a stark example that discrimination existed in all communities and could be expressed by members of any group, including between those without much economic or political power.

And yet, the story of By’s “conk” reminds us of the commonalities between African Americans and Mexican Americans in the 1960s. Youth continued to express solidarity with one another through style, music, and culture. Such connections also happened in politics.

The African American Civil Rights Movement and its Mexican American counterpart- the Chicano Movement- often came together to demand equality and social justice. The Black Power Movement inspired Brown Power. African American and Mexican American communities found common ground in battles against racial violence, police brutality, poverty, the Vietnam War draft, and colonial regimes (that is, European violence, exploitation, and control over nations and people) in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Despite their distinctive histories, coalitions abounded. Young people, especially, built fraternal bonds. The Black Panther Party, for instance, actively supported the Chicano Blowouts, the protest of thousands of Chicano students who walked out of East L.A. high schools in 1968 to protest for equal education. On university campuses nationwide, student organizations like Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán (MEChA) and Black Student Unions shared concerns over the tracking of minority students away from college preparatory classes and the lack of ethnic studies classes. Their efforts improved educational opportunities for future generations.

The story of By’s “conk” is a powerful reminder that African Americans and Mexican Americans have a shared history of conflict and cooperation. This was true in the 1960s and the zoot suit era of World War II. We might also consider how it remains true today.

About the Author

Luis Alvarez is a professor of history at the University of California, San Diego and the author of The Power of the Zoot: Youth Culture and Resistance during World War II.