In Not So Sleepy Towns, With or Without Lagoons ~

                     3


Nineteen forty-two, the big war
raging over in Europe and
back home people's heads in the sand -
scapegoated, Mexicans and more.
Japanese put behind locked doors,
Though it was Germans who murdered
Millions, just because of who they were.
Our people, loyal to Country
Served in the war, then treated badly.
Not the last time this would occur...

During the 1940’s the print media played a big role in sparking the fire of hatred towards Mexicans. The imagery in the newspapers portrayed Mexicans as disloyal foreigners, murderers and Zoot suiters. As a result many young Mexican American males were killed in L.A. These riots got really big after some time when around 5,000 civilians and servicemen attacked the Mexican Americans. World War II saw the Mexican Americans working together with the general American population as around 300,000 of them served in the US armed forces. Unfortunately this did not deter the Mexican American discrimination as many of them were denied medical services on their return to the U.S.