Special Reports

A Shared St. Louis: Town Hall Meeting
News 4 broadcasted A Shared St. Louis town hall meeting. The event was taped at the Missouri history museum a short time ago and deals with the issue of race relations in the St. Louis region. Several leaders from around the region joined us to discuss the topic. Watch this story

A Shared St. Louis: Kirkwood
One local community is trying to create unity from one of its darkest days. All of us remember the Kirkwood City Hall shootings when Cookie Thornton killed five city employees before police killed him. Several months later, Mayor Mike Swoboda died from his shooting injuries. Community leaders are stepping forward to bring healing to Kirkwood. Watch this story

A Shared St. Louis: Poor race relations
Right now, the population of the city of St. Louis is about half African American and half white. Many critics from both races say those two halves of St. Louis rarely act as one for the common good. News 4's Craig Cheatham looks at how big an impact of the racial divide is and how the future of A Shared St. Louis may depend on how well people of different races work together. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Corruption and crime in East St. Louis
Each year nearly 40,000 Americans are diagnosed with HIV. However, in shared St. Louis we learn that even though the numbers show a disparity along racial lines, this is a disease that affects all St. Louisans.  Full story

Shared St. Louis: HIV
Each year nearly 40,000 Americans are diagnosed with HIV. However, in shared St. Louis we learn that even though the numbers show a disparity along racial lines, this is a disease that affects all St. Louisans.  Full story

Shared St. Louis: Revitalizing the 5th Ward
Hard times aside, St. Louis is staging a revitalization and it involves people from different walks of life who are now working together and living together. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: School diversity training
Narrowing the achievement gap in education by erasing the cultural gap between races is the idea behind diversity training in some local school districts, including Hazelwood. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Minority-owned businesses
When you think of affirmative action, perhaps you think of employment, but it’s also a factor in the supply chain. News 4’s Laurie Waters has the story of an organization expanding opportunities for minority-owned businesses. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Child care
If you have young children, you know the importance of good child care. For St. Louis’ working poor, including Chrishandra Jacobs, it’s a luxury many cannot afford. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Race and the economy
Over the past several weeks, News 4 has focused on the issue of race in our region. So far, we have explored violence, housing and now we’re taking a look at race and how it relates to the economy. As part of our series, “A Shared St. Louis,” News 4’s Robin Smith introduces us to two brothers who went from inner city to millionaire's row. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Changing face of homelessness
It’s evident that times have changed: St. Louisians are losing their homes or living with family and friends. Some are living on the street. The economy is reshaping the face of the homeless. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Neighborhood revival
St. Louis has made many strides in attracting residents back into the city, and not just in the trendy downtown loft district. There is one area steeped in history that suffered a mass exodus into the county, but is now coming back thanks to a powerful man determined to be a good neighbor. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Crime-free housing
In our ongoing series A Shared St. Louis we take a look at housing. We've already shown you the impact of race on buying a home and in public housing. News 4's Robin Smith takes us to a St. Louis neighborhood that prides itself on an almost crime free environment. It's a neighborhood that happens to be about 95% African American. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Public Housing
In our ongoing series A Shared St. Louis, we focus on public housing. African-Americans make up 98% of St. Louisans who live in public housing. With such a high percentage, when the system fails it not only becomes a housing problem, it becomes a racial issue as well. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Redlining
The practice of denying services to minorities based on where they live is called redlining.  It is called that because banks would literally draw a red line around neighborhoods where they didn't want to do business. The civil rights movement brought the Fair Housing Act which outlawed it. But as Laurie Waters found out, there are those who say redlining is still around. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Vacant house fires
Hundreds of vacant buildings burn every year in the St. Louis area. That problem carries a special risk for people living next to those abandoned houses. News 4's Craig Cheatham shows us why it has such a big impact on many African Americans in A Shared St. Louis. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Vacant buildings
In our ongoing series A Shared St. Louis, we looked at the thousands of abandoned, vacant buildings in the city of St. Louis. News 4's Craig Cheatham looked at the impact of the problem and what the city is doing to fix it. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Solutions
Starting over for almost anyone can be difficult. But what if your new life begins when your prison terms ends? Vickie Newton has a story of inspiration, built on determination to have a better life as part of A Shared St. Louis. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Prosecutions
St. Louis city prosecutors tell News 4 it has to drop half of the criminal cases in some neighborhoods because witnesses refuse to cooperate with law enforcement. News 4's Craig Cheatham investigates the problem and the impact it has in A Shared St. Louis. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: White separatist group
On a history making night for the U.S., the first time a major party has nominated an African American for president. News 4's series A Shared St. Louis looks at the country from a much different perspective. News 4's Craig Cheatham spoke to the founder of a local white separatist group. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Hate crimes
In A Shared St. Louis, we all feel the impact of hate. News 4's Craig Cheatham reports it can have devastating consequences when it becomes the reason for committing a crime. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Racial profiling
News 4's continuing series A Shared St. Louis takes a look at racial profiling, whether police officers disproportionately target people based on their race. News 4's Laurie Waters discovered it's not hard to find St. Louisans who believe racial profiling goes on and according to the Missouri attorney general's office they're right. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Racial tension in State Park
News 4's Craig Cheatham headed to a local community where the population is more than half Hispanic. There, he found gangs are sparking racial tension. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Young black men
Imagine walking down the street only to be harassed by police because of your skin color. Is it fair to judge someone just because someone grew up in a crime-ridden neighborhood? Full story

A Shared St. Louis: How do guns get on the streets?
How do guns get on the streets? That's the focus of in our race relations series A Shared St. Louis. News 4's Laurie Waters found out how guns end up on the streets and what's being done to stop the flow of guns. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Gang Violence
News 4 is taking an ongoing look at issues relating to race in St. Louis and how it affects everyone. News 4's Craig Cheatham investigates the influence of gangs in A Shared St. Louis. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: Violence in Urban Neighborhoods
Violent crime can happen almost anywhere, but it's taking an especially devastating toll on many African American neighborhoods in the St. Louis area. Investigative reporter Craig Cheatham examines the communities hardest hit and efforts to help them in this segment of A Shared St. Louis. Full story

A Shared St. Louis: A look at where we have been, and where we are going
How do we talk about race? Get to know each other better? Understand how our perceptions can handicap each other, our children, and the future of our community? Full story

Reporter Blogs

Craig Cheatham:Gordon Baum is an angry man. His non-profit civil rights organization has 25,000 members.
Continue reading "Gordon Baum"

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