The Sleepy Lagoon mystery

by S. Guy Endore

Six hundred Mexican American youth were rounded up by a citywide dragnet led by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Eventually twenty-two alleged members of the 38th Street Gang were accused of the murder of José Díaz. Young women of the 38th Street Gang were also detained and placed in jail on suspicion of wrongdoing.On October 13, 1942 People v. Zamora went to trial as the largest mass trial in California history. The trial took place in an atmosphere of intense prejudice fed and sustained by the press in Los Angeles. Throughout the trial the prosecutor pointed to the clothing and hairstyle of Pachucos as evidence of their guilt. This only added fuel to the fire of prejudice held by the non-Latino community. The prejudice and discrimination encountered by Leyvas and the 38th Street Gang was an example of racial profiling.In failing to provide an unbiased trial, the United States Justice System failed to protect its citizens. Today, the trial is still considered by many as one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in the United States.

48 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Bill Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Besides writing novels and screenplays, Guy Endore was a lifelong crusader for progressive causes. This short book is a scathing attack on the Los Angeles establishment in the wake of the city's (and WR Hearst's) racist attack on Mexican American youth following the death of a young man in a fight. Hearst's rag and the LAPD turned the incident into an indictment of the zoot suit culture common among young Latinos of the era, leading to multiple sentences with little evidence and eventually to notorious riots wherein our brave military personnel roamed the streets beating up Mexican kids. Not one of the city's or the country's better moments.

Endore attacks Hearst directly, pretty much accusing him of helping out Hearst's old friend Hitler by undermining tolerance. The LA Legal authorities are called out for brutality and abuse of the judicial system. Endore and others did influence the eventual release of most of the accused. The book is a well written screed against a type of injustice still practiced in some corners of this fine nation.

Recommended.