There is very little that is known about Mary Jane Kelly with a degree of full certainty. That being said, the nickname “Black Mary” that may have been attributed to her is not at all likely to have had anything to do with her skin color; the source from which that nickname arises seems to attribute the nickname either to her hair color or a general dark attitude about her; whether the youth who recalled encountering her was remembering the Mary Jane Kelly who was murdered by Jack the Ripper is also in question, as it was a not uncommon name in 1880s London. As for your comment that “she seems to have some color added to her as well,” I’m not entirely certain how you can ascertain that from the only two photos in existance of her, both in black-and-white, and which portray a person with almost all of her flesh removed. There are no known, confirmed pictures of Mary Jane Kelly while she was alive, and certainly none that were in color that might support your statement that “she seems to have some color added to her.” Sorry, but I suspect that’s a bit of speculation based on a nickname.

was Mary Jane Kelly known as “Black Mary” was she also known to have some African-American in her as well. I understand that the read mentions that she is Irish, but she seems to have some color added to her as well.

My intended audience is not limited to “serious researchers” only with this piece, and there are a wealth of misconceptions about MJK out there among folks who don’t spend their lives drowning in Ripper research. This articles was intended for an audience less expert than the Paul Beggs of the world; I tend to believe that the idea that there is a readership outside of “other researchers into the Ripper” is something that tends to get overlooked a bit too often these days. Thanks for your comment!