The Color of Debt: How Collection Suits Squeeze Black Neighborhoods

On a recent Saturday afternoon, the mayor of Jennings, a St. Louis suburb of about 15,000, settled in before a computer in the empty city council chambers. Yolonda Fountain Henderson, 50, was elected last spring as the city's first black mayor.

On the screen was a list of every debt collection lawsuit against a resident of her city, at least 4,500 in just five years.  Read more.