‘Silence in Sikeston’ explores the effects of racism on justice and public health

The documentary film “Silence in Sikeston” juxtaposes two instances of violence and interrupted justice. The first is the 1942 lynching of Cleo Wright, a Black man accused of stabbing a white woman. Then the 2020 police shooting death of Denzel Taylor who was killed outside his family’s home after a violent altercation with his father. Both killings left mental and emotional scars on their families and in Sikeston, Missouri, which is just a two hour drive south of St. Louis. Producer and KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony shares what she learned from the film’s production and how justice and public health go hand-in-hand.