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Silence in Sikeston | Before Lynching Became a Crime

Season 8 Episode 12

Before the death of Cleo Wright in 1942, lynching was never prosecuted as a federal crime.

In 1942, Cleo Wright was lynched by a white mob before Sikeston, Missouri's Black community. Wright's death was the first federally investigated lynching but not before 3,842 had occurred around the country. Before the 2022 Emmett Till Antilynching Act, an anti-lynching campaign that began in the late 1800s, and led by Ida B. Wells, the NAACP and many activists, aimed to make the offense a crime.

AIR DATE 9/16/24

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Silence in Sikeston | In the Aftermath of Trauma

Silence in Sikeston | Witnesses to a Lynching

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Silence in Sikeston | Before Lynching Became a Crime

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About Local, USA

Culled from public television stations and independent producers from across the country, LOCAL, USA is a half-hour series featuring fascinating stories of diverse people, curated around a single theme.

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