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The 1942 lynching of Cleo Wright. The 2020 police shooting of Denzel Taylor. Two Black men killed nearly 80 years apart by a public health threat of their time. A reporting project told through a podcast, documentary film, and stories.
Silence in Sikeston explores what it means to live with racism and violence, then charts the toll on our health — from hives, high blood pressure, inflammation, and heart disease to struggles with mental health.
In 1942, Cleo Wright was removed from a Sikeston, Missouri, jail and lynched by a mob. Nearly 80 years later, Denzel Taylor was killed by police in the same community. The deaths of these two Black fathers tell a story about the public health consequences of racism and systemic bias. Meet residents determined to live healthier lives after generations of community silence.
Silence in Sikeston is the podcast about finding the words to say the things that go unsaid. This is an invitation. Perhaps this journalism, these stories, will spark a conversation that you’ve been meaning to have.
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Episode 1 — Racism Can Make You Sick
Sept. 10, 2024
Host Cara Anthony visits with a witness to the 1942 lynching of Cleo Wright and asks about the physical and emotional burden of racial violence.
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Episode 2 — Hush, Fix Your Face
Sept. 17, 2024
Staying silent in the face of racial violence is a survival tradition many Black families have passed down to keep their children safe.
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Bonus Episode — Meet the Makers
Sept. 24, 2024
The tables have turned as Cara Anthony, podcast host and ýҕl Health News Midwest correspondent, answers questions from WORLD’s editor-in-chief and executive producer, Chris Hastings.
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Episode 3 — Trauma Lives in the Body
Oct. 1, 2024
Police body-cam video from the 2020 shooting death of Denzel Taylor launches a conversation about the loss experienced by his three daughters.
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Episode 4 — Is There a Cure for Racism?
Oct. 8, 2024
A debate between a confident teenager and a candid police chief leads to a discussion about what it will take to stop racism from making Black people sick.
“Silence in Sikeston” premiered Sept. 16 on WORLD’s “Local, USA.” Find it online at , on , on the , or below. Visit YouTube to .
ýҕl Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony sat down with WORLD executive producer Chris Hastings to discuss the origins of the “Silence in Sikeston” project.
Beyond the Lens
ýҕl Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discusses her reporting for the “Silence in Sikeston” multimedia project, which explores the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community — and what it led her to learn about her own family’s past.
Every family has secrets. I spent the past few years reporting about racial violence in Sikeston, Missouri. Interviewing Black families there helped me uncover my family’s traumatic past, too.
: “Beyond the Battlefield: Double V and Black Americans’ Fight for Equality”
Through the Double V campaign, Black Americans demanded fair treatment, seeking victory in World War II abroad and for civil rights at home. ýҕl Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony narrates a short video from Retro Report explaining the history.
: “Ida B. Wells and the Long Crusade to Outlaw Lynching”
Ida B. Wells, a journalist, civil rights activist, and suffragist, dedicated her life to documenting injustice against Black Americans and calling for change. ýҕl Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony narrates a short video from Retro Report explaining the history.
Reporter & Producer: Cara Anthony
Editors: Taunya English, Kytja Weir, Simone Popperl
Copy Editors: Terry Byrne, Gabe Brison-Trezise
Audio Producers: Zach Dyer, Taylor Cook
Sound Designer: Lonnie Ro
Web Producers: Lynne Shallcross, Oona Zenda, Lydia Zuraw
Photographer: Michael B. Thomas
Social Media Producers: Tarena Lofton, Hannah Norman
Director: Jill Rosenbaum
Writer: Jill Rosenbaum
Editors: Cheree Dillon, Brian Kamerzel
Senior Producer: Karen M. Sughrue
Executive Producer: Kyra Darnton
Host: Tina M. McDuffie
Producer & Editor: Hannah Paul
Digital Producer: Sharon Wong
Editor: Jill Poisson, Cecilia Préstamo
Assistant Editor: Abhi Indrekar
Digital Associate Producer: Brigitte McIndoe
Post Production Assistant: Jenny Tan
Senior Editorial Advisor: Judith Vecchione
Project Manager, Acquisition and Distribution: Georgiana Lee
