Carole Jenkins was making rounds through a mostly white neighborhood selling encyclopedias when she realized she was being followed by two white men. The sun was going down, and Jenkins was in trouble.
She approached a Black-owned home and asked if she could step inside to make a phone call to the police. After a few hours, the police reported that they could not find the men Jenkins claimed were stalking her.
The homeowners offered to let Jenkins sleep over for the night because white residents there still harassed Blacks who dared to be seen after dark. Jenkins didn’t want to burden them. She thanked them for their hospitality and left. Less than an hour later, Jenkins was stabbed to death by two white men wielding screwdrivers.
She was only 20 years old when these men brutally took her life, leaving her bleeding in the middle of the street. Jenkins was a victim of sundown laws, which forbade Black people from being seen after dark.
For decades, there was not a single investigation or conviction in Jenkins case. However, Jenkins killer would eventually be brought to justice 34 years later, marking the end of the mystery of her death and a new beginning for her family.
Evil may exist in this world, but it never truly prevails.