Alice McGrath

Alice Greenfield McGrath (April 5, 1917 – November 27, 2009), also known as Alice Greenfield, was an American activist who gained fame in connection with the 1942 case of the Sleepy Lagoon Murder. She was the executive secretary of the Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee from 1942 to 1944. She later married blacklisted poet Thomas McGrath, organized a pro bono legal service organization in Ventura County, California, and led 86 missions to Nicaragua in the 1980s and 1990s.

Early years McGrath was born Alice Greenfield in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 1917. She was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants. She spoke only Yiddish until she attended school. She moved with her family to Los Angeles, California in 1922.

After graduating from high school, McGrath briefly attended Los Angeles City College. Her family was not able to afford the cost of college, and she dropped out during her first semester. She became friends with members of the New Negro Theater where she once performed a reading of Langston Hughes' poetry, with Hughes in the audience. She later recalled, "I did it, but badly. Afterward I apologized to Langston Hughes and we laughed about it." At one event, she raised $1,000 after making a speech to longshoremen in San Francisco. McGrath's role in the events was also depicted in the film "Zoot Soot Riots" broadcast on PBS as part of the "American Experience" series.

In 1996, independent filmmaker, Bob Giges, released a documentary film about McGrath's life called "From Sleepy Lagoon to Zoot Suit: The Irreverent Path of Alice McGrath."

Later years McGrath remained active in progressive issues for more than 50 years. McGrath moved to Ventura, California, in 1970, where she lived for the rest of her life. In 1986, after learning that the local bar association had no pro bono program, she offered to start one and for two years she was a full-time volunteer, working with attorneys and court personnel as a client advocate.

McGrath was married three times. Her first husband was real estate developer Max Schechter, with whom she had two children, a daughter, Laura D'Auri, and a son, Daniel Schechter.

McGrath's papers, including correspondence with the Sleepy Lagoon defendants, have been donated to UCLA and are available through the Online Archive of California.