From Sleepy Lagoon to Zoot Suit: The Irreverent Path of Alice McGrath

Alice McGrath, an activist who successfully coordinated the appeal efforts for a group of Chicano teenagers wrongly convicted in the infamous 1940's "Sleepy Lagoon Case," is profiled in this intriguing documentary. The case revolved around a Mexican national found dead in the barrio; 22 young men were rounded up and tried en masse for murder. Ten were acquitted, nine sentenced for second degree murder and three sentenced for first degree murder, even though the coroner's report didn't indicate the dead man had died of anything other than natural causes. The young men went to jail and their girlfriends were sent to a reform school for girls--guilt by association. Alice McGrath, who spearheaded the public outcry for the case's appeal, later became the inspiration for a character in Zoot Suit, Luis Valdez's play and film about the case. Still alive, active and lecturing, McGrath is interviewed here with Valdez about the Sleepy Lagoon Case (and the so-called "Zoot Suit Riots," which were actually caused by WWII servicemen on a rampage). An interesting profile. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Reagan)