Fast Chat: Immigrant Injustice?

Documentarian Peter Miller illuminates history's lost stories. In his latest film, "Sacco and Vanzetti," he revisits the tragic fate of two Italian immigrants executed in 1927 for a murder they probably didn't commit. He spoke with Joshua Alston.

What interested you in the story of Sacco and Vanzetti?

I was drawn to their ideology. They were hardworking and believed in opportunity and idealism, things we regard as traditional American values. I read the amazing letters they wrote to their children from prison, and I thought theirs was a story that everyone should know.

How much do you think has changed in the way we treat immigrants in America?

Unfortunately, not very much. Now that Italians are a successfully assimilated group, it's easy to forget that there was a tremendous amount of hostility aimed against them when they arrived, and with new immigrant groups, the pattern of our nation not being welcoming continues to recur.

What relevance does this story have to today's culture?