The theme of racial discrimination is shown as members of the 38th Street Gang contend with the ways that they are mistreated by officers of the law. They are often stuck in jail for small crimes, and are treated more poorly than their white peers. The ev

A major theme in the play revolves around the wrongful imprisonment of the members of the 38th Street Gang, who are persecuted primarily because of their race. The police force has a bigoted attitude towards the Hispanic gang members and characters regularly make reference to the second-class citizenship of the Hispanic characters.

In addition to the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial, the play also looks at the Zoot Suit Riots, which took place during the same time, in which servicemen stationed in Southern California committed racially motivated violent acts against local Hispanic residents.