In 1942, in Sikeston Missouri, Cleo Wright was lynched in front of a church. Nearly eight decades later, in 2020, Denzel Taylor was killed in a police shooting in the same small town.
Journalist Cara Anthony is a podcaster who explores the health impact of racial violence. She wanted to explore the connection between these two events – one from the past and one from the present – and to examine how these tragic moments in America’s history might be faced head on. Not erased.
The story started because of a call Cara made to the Sikeston county clerk, who seemed to be one of the few in town willing to talk about Cleo Wright, and introduced her to eyewitnesses of the horrible crime. Cara Anthony’s documentary film is “Silence in Sikeston” – KBIA’s Lucas Johnson sat down to talk to her about it. Here’s an excerpt from their conversation:…