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Essay On Sleepy Lagoon

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Essay On Sleepy Lagoon
Mystery of the Sleepy Lagoon Have you ever heard of the word discrimination? Discrimination is an extremely relevant word, especially in today’s society. Nevertheless what exactly is discrimination? The word discrimination basically means making a distinction. Whether it is a race or religion, it is essentially another way of being prejudiced or racist. You are probably wondering why I am explaining all this to you, however the point of me explaining this to you is strictly to ease my way into a time in history having to do with this very topic. This very topic has affected millions of people worldwide, and is still affecting people till this day. This has to do with the murder of Jose Diaz, mostly known as the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial. I aim to highlight the …show more content…
Around the 1940’s was when the murder of Jose Diaz occurred. The murder took place in Los Angeles, California by a swimming hole called the ‘Sleepy Lagoon swimming hole.’’ This swimming hole was frequented by Mexicans. Back in the 1940’s there were also Mexican-American gangs which was another reason they would be accused of crimes that they didn’t commit. On the night of the murder a man named Jose Diaz went to a party and was heavily drinking. On the way home he ran into one of the Mexican-American gangs and had gotten in an argument with one of the gangs. The next morning he was found unconscious by the Sleepy Lagoon swimming hole. So how was he murdered? And who murdered Jose Diaz? Like I said when Diaz was found he was unconscious. The medics drove him to to hospital and Jose Diaz was pronounced dead soon after arrival. Police were quick to arrest 17 Mexican-American youths for the murder despite the insufficient evidence. The men hadn’t committed the crime they simply were arrested because of their race. A hospital autopsy showed that Diaz had a fracture at the base of his skull from the night he went to the party, the night before he was found. They think that this was
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