Before Floyd’s murder, she was known as the first Black, openly transgender woman elected to public office in America. Elected in 2018, she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a year earlier. But that did not stop Jenkins from tending to her neighborhood on foot, shopping at Cup Foods, frequenting local businesses and greeting her constituents on the street.
After Floyd was killed, she found herself in the center of a political and social maelstrom that led to a decline in her health, she said. Because the president of the city council was out of town on May 25, 2020, and unreachable, Jenkins, the vice president, was thrust onto the response leadership team.
During the protests, she took calls every two hours nightly — 1 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m. — with members of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department, Minnesota State Patrol, the FBI and other agencies. Because of construction, siren-blaring ambulances headed to the local hospital were rerouted through her neighborhood, adding to the noise.
“It was so chaotic,” Jenkins recalled. “Not only the calls and the traffic, but there were helicopters whirling above. There was gunfire. And this happened virtually all night.”
Five years later, Jenkins said she routinely stays up until 4 a.m.
“My sleep habits have been deeply challenged. It’s part of my PTSD,” she said. “Even though it got quiet after a while, I still haven’t been able to get back to my old sleeping pattern.”
Before Floyd’s death, she did not move about the community on a motorized scooter as she does now. “I do have multiple sclerosis, but it’s exacerbated by the stress,” Jenkins said. “It’s all added up.”
