In 1942, a young Black man named Cleo Wright was removed from a Sikeston, Missouri, jail and lynched by a white mob.
Nearly 80 years later, another young Black man, Denzel Taylor, was shot at least 18 times by police in the same small community.
In the hourlong “Silence in Sikeston” documentary film broadcast on WORLD’s “Local, USA,” KFF Health News and Retro Report explore how the impact of these men’s killings tells a story about trauma and racism, but also resilience and healing.
Stemming from a reporting trip by KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony in 2020, this film takes the audience to Indiana, Alabama, and where it all began in the southeastern corner of Missouri known as the Bootheel.
Wright’s lynching put this rural community on a world stage and led to the first federal attempt to prosecute a lynching. But no one was held accountable. The killing was quickly hushed among locals, and his name was largely forgotten. When Taylor was shot by police in 2020 —a year when protests about police brutality rocked the nation — his killing drew little attention.
The film breaks the silence and shares the stories of these men’s families, community members, and police to uncover the consequences of this trauma on Sikeston. A limited-series podcast exploring the health effects of racial violence and articles are also part of this journalism collaboration.
“Being quiet isn’t the answer,” Michael Snider, Cleo Wright’s great-grandson, told the filmmakers.
Credits
KFF Health News
Producer and reporter: Cara AnthonyEditors: Taunya English, Kytja WeirCopy editors: Terry Byrne, Gabe Brison-TreziseWeb producers: Lynne Shallcross, Oona Zenda, Lydia ZurawPhotographer: Michael B. ThomasSocial media producers: Tarena Lofton, Hannah Norman
Retro Report
Director: Jill RosenbaumWriter: Jill RosenbaumEditors: Cheree Dillon, Brian KamerzelSenior producer: Karen M. SughrueExecutive producer: Kyra Darnton
WORLD
Host: Tina M. McDuffieProducer and editor: Hannah PaulDigital producer: Sharon WongEditor: Jill Poisson, Cecilia PréstamoAssistant editor: Abhi IndrekarDigital associate producer: Brigitte McIndoePost-production assistant: Jenny TanSenior editorial adviser: Judith VecchioneProject manager, acquisition and distribution: Georgiana Lee
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
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This story can be republished for free (details).
By Cara AnthonyKaiser Health News is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
