Journey to Justice

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Racial Stereotypes: how far have we come?

The Jenkins Orphanage, Charleston by Emily Needle

The end of the nineteenth century in Charleston; a rise in crime. Assaults, robberies, prostitution, illegal trafficking and gambling, with fights and stabbings frequent. Bootlegging was the only option for many poor African-Americans who could not afford to pay for expensive goods. Wealthy African-Americans often requested the protection of police because they were afraid to leave their homes in case they were broken into by members of their own race.

‘Fear of black crime helped a black Baptist minister, Daniel J. Jenkins, persuade the City Council to support the orphanage he had recently founded. …

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