Miss Carmelia and Hawk traveled all over Louisiana and to parts of Mississippi with the minstrel show, Miss Carmelia earning her fare playing Three-Card Monte, becoming exceptional at conning her marks out of their hard-earned cash. When Hawk spent a stint at Parchman Farm, a year after they married, Miss Carmelia was devastated. She had no home, living in low-grade motels as the minstrel show traveled throughout the state. At Hawk’s request, one of the minstrel show members allowed her to live with his family in Wayne County, Mississippi, until Hawk got out of prison two years later. During that time the minstrel show disbanded, leaving Miss Carmelia unemployed once again. She found employment as a barmaid at a colored barrelhouse, called the Hankering, and made some pretty good wages, saving up every penny. When Hawk got out of prison, he started working at the barrelhouse as a bouncer, and a year later with his savings and hers, they bought the barrelhouse. As the Hankering began to make money, in fact a lot of money, it drew the unwanted attention of Sheriff Theodore Hostler and his deputies. They began to shake down Hawk until he got fed up with their blackmail and settled the issue in a fight right in the middle of the Hankering. Hawk killed one of the deputies before being shot himself. Sheriff Hostler dragged Miss Carmelia and every colored resident at the joint down to the sheriff’s office to answer a ton of questions about the deputy’s death. Everyone told the same story, “I ain’t seen nothing, sir. My face was in the wall.”
What do You think about Miss Carmelia Faye Lafayette?
