Greenwood, Mississippi
Encyclopedia
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat
of Leflore County
, Mississippi
, United States
, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta
approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi
, and 130 miles south of Memphis
, Tennessee
. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area
. The Tallahatchie River
and the Yalobusha River
meet at Greenwood to form the Yazoo River
.
has long been an area rich in vegetation and wildlife, feeding off the Mississippi and its numerous tributaries. Long before European
s migrated to America
, the Choctaw
and Chickasaw
Indian nations settled in the Delta's bottomlands and throughout what is now central Mississippi. They were descended from indigenous peoples
who had lived in the area for thousands of years.
In the nineteenth century, the Five Civilized Tribes
suffered increasing encroachment on their territory by European-American settlers from southeastern states. Under pressure from the United States government, in 1830 the Choctaw Principal Chief Greenwood Leflore
and other Choctaw leaders signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
, ceding most of their remaining land to the US in exchange for land in what is now southeastern Oklahoma. The government opened the land to settlement by European Americans.
The first Euro-American settlement on the banks of the Yazoo River
was a trading post founded by John Williams in 1830 and known as Williams Landing. The settlement quickly blossomed, and in 1844 was incorporated as "Greenwood," named after Chief Greenwood Leflore
. Growing in the midst of a strong cotton
market, the city's success was based on its strategic location in the heart of the Delta; on the easternmost point of the alluvial plain
and astride the Tallahatchie
and the Yazoo
rivers. The city served as a shipping point for cotton to major markets in New Orleans, Louisiana
, Vicksburg, Mississippi
, Memphis, Tennessee
, and St. Louis, Missouri
. Greenwood continued to prosper, based on slave labor on the cotton plantations and in shipping, until the latter part of the American Civil War
.
The end of the Civil War in the mid-1860s and the following years of Reconstruction changed the labor market to one of free labor. The state was mostly undeveloped frontier, and many freedmen withdrew from working for others. In the nineteenth century, many blacks managed to clear and buy their own farms in the bottomlands. With the disruption of war and changes to labor, cotton production initially declined, reducing the city's previously thriving economy.
The construction of railroads
through the area in the 1880s allowed the city to revitalize, with two rail lines running to downtown Greenwood, close to the Yazoo River, and shortening transportation to markets. Greenwood again emerged as a prime shipping point for cotton. Downtown's Front Street bordering the Yazoo filled with cotton factors and related businesses, earning that section the name Cotton Row. The city continued to prosper in this way well into the 1940s, although cotton production suffered during the infestation of the boll weevil
in the early twentieth century.
The industry was largely mechanized in the twentieth century before World War II. Since the late twentieth century, some Mississippi farmers have begun to replace cotton with corn and soybeans as commodity crops, because of the shift of the textile industry overseas, and stronger prices for those crops.
Greenwood's Grand Boulevard was once named one of America's 10 most beautiful streets by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce and the Garden Clubs of America. Sally Humphreys Gwin, a charter member of the Greenwood Garden Club, planted the 1,000 oak trees lining Grand Boulevard. In 1950, Gwin received a citation from the National Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution
in recognition of her work in the conservation of trees.
In 1955, following the Supreme Court
's decision in Brown v. Board of Education
, the White Citizens' Council
was founded by Robert B. Patterson in Greenwood to fight against racial integration. Local chapters formed across the state, and the white-dominated legislature voted to give the Councils financial support. Having been disfranchised since 1890, when the state passed a new constitution and related electoral and Jim Crow laws, the black community had not been able to elect representatives since then to the state or federal legislature, and could not protest such actions. The Council paid staff to collect information on black professionals and activists who worked for the restoration of US constitutional civil rights.
From 1962 through 1964, Greenwood was a center of protests and voter registration struggles during the Civil Rights Movement
. The SNCC
, COFO
, and the MFDP
were all active in Greenwood. During this period, hundreds were arrested in nonviolent protests; civil rights activists were subjected to repeated violence, and whites used economic retaliation against African Americans who attempted to register to vote. The city police set their police dog, Tiger, on protesters while white counter-protesters yelled "Sic 'em" from the sidewalk. When Martin Luther King visited the city later in 1963, the Ku Klux Klan
distributed a flyer which read in part (capitalization in original):
In the mid-1960s, the US Congress passed the Civil Rights Act
and Voting Rights Act
to enforce constitutional rights of African Americans and other minorities. For some time, voter registration and elections were monitored by the US government because of historic discrimination against blacks in the state. Blacks in Mississippi have consistently voted at high rates since the passage of civil rights legislation.
On December 3rd, 2010, Frederick Jermaine Carter, an African-American man from Sunflower County
with a history of mental illness, was found dead, hanging from a tree in north Greenwood. The Leflore county coroner ruled the death a suicide
, but the NAACP and Mississippi state senator David Jordan
are concerned that foul play may have been involved. Jordan explicitly tied the black community's suspicions about the verdict to the state's history of racial violence against blacks. The reporter Larry Copeland for USA Today, noted that the young Emmett Till
had been lynched 12 miles away in 1955. Jordan said, "We're not drawing any conclusions. We're skeptical, and rightfully we should be, given our history. We can't take this lightly. We just have to wait and see."
, the city has a total area of 9.5 square miles (24.6 km²), of which 9.2 square miles (23.8 km²) is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) is water.
of 2000, there were 18,425 people, 6,916 households, and 4,523 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,997.8 people per square mile (771.6/km²). There are 7,565 housing units at an average
density of 820.3 per square mile (316.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 32.82% White, 65.36% Black, 0.11% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races
, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.
There were 6,916 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.4% are married
couples living together, 27.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.
The median
income for a household in the city is $21,867, and the median income for a family was $26,393. Males had a median income of $27,267 versus $18,578 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $14,461. 33.9% of the population and 28.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 47.0% of those under the age of 18 and 20.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
on Howard Street was the location of B.B. King's first live broadcast in 1940. On Sunday nights, King performed live gospel music
as part of a quartet. In dedication to this event, the Mississippi Blues Trail
has placed its third historic marker in this town at the site of the former radio station.
Another Mississippi Blues trail marker is placed near the grave of blues singer Robert Johnson.
There is also a Blues Trail marker at the Elks Lodge.
form of government composed of council members from seven wards and headed by a mayor
.
on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, is located in Greenwood.
The United States Postal Service
operates two post offices in Greenwood. They are the Greenwood Post Office and the Leflore Post Office.
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Greenwood, connecting New Orleans to Chicago from Greenwood station
.
to the east and is located midway between Jackson, Mississippi
and Memphis, Tennessee
and about halfway between Dallas, Texas
and Atlanta, Georgia
.
Leflore County School District
operates schools outside the Greenwood city area
Pillow Academy
, a private school, is located in unincorporated
Leflore County
, near Greenwood. Originally a segregation academy.
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Leflore County
Leflore County, Mississippi
-National protected area:*Mathews Brake National Wildlife Refuge*Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,947 people, 12,956 households, and 8,887 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, and 130 miles south of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area
Greenwood, Mississippi micropolitan area
The Greenwood Micropolitan Statistical Area is a micropolitan area in the northwestern Delta region of Mississippi that covers two counties - Leflore and Carroll...
. The Tallahatchie River
Tallahatchie River
The Tallahatchie River flows from Tippah County, Mississippi to Leflore County, Mississippi, where it joins the Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo River.-History:Tallahatchie is a Choctaw name meaning "rock of waters"....
and the Yalobusha River
Yalobusha River
The Yalobusha River is a river, long, in north-central Mississippi in the United States. It is a principal tributary of the Yazoo River, via which it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River....
meet at Greenwood to form the Yazoo River
Yazoo River
The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
.
History
The flood plain of the Mississippi RiverMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
has long been an area rich in vegetation and wildlife, feeding off the Mississippi and its numerous tributaries. Long before European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s migrated to America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, the Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
and Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
Indian nations settled in the Delta's bottomlands and throughout what is now central Mississippi. They were descended from indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
who had lived in the area for thousands of years.
In the nineteenth century, the Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
suffered increasing encroachment on their territory by European-American settlers from southeastern states. Under pressure from the United States government, in 1830 the Choctaw Principal Chief Greenwood Leflore
Greenwood LeFlore
Greenwood LeFlore or Greenwood Le Fleur was elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw in 1830 before removal. Before that, the nation was governed by three district chiefs and a council of chiefs...
and other Choctaw leaders signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty signed on September 27, 1830 between the Choctaw and the United States Government. This was the first removal treaty carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act...
, ceding most of their remaining land to the US in exchange for land in what is now southeastern Oklahoma. The government opened the land to settlement by European Americans.
The first Euro-American settlement on the banks of the Yazoo River
Yazoo River
The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
was a trading post founded by John Williams in 1830 and known as Williams Landing. The settlement quickly blossomed, and in 1844 was incorporated as "Greenwood," named after Chief Greenwood Leflore
Greenwood LeFlore
Greenwood LeFlore or Greenwood Le Fleur was elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw in 1830 before removal. Before that, the nation was governed by three district chiefs and a council of chiefs...
. Growing in the midst of a strong cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
market, the city's success was based on its strategic location in the heart of the Delta; on the easternmost point of the alluvial plain
Alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...
and astride the Tallahatchie
Tallahatchie River
The Tallahatchie River flows from Tippah County, Mississippi to Leflore County, Mississippi, where it joins the Yalobusha River to form the Yazoo River.-History:Tallahatchie is a Choctaw name meaning "rock of waters"....
and the Yazoo
Yazoo River
The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...
rivers. The city served as a shipping point for cotton to major markets in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, and St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Greenwood continued to prosper, based on slave labor on the cotton plantations and in shipping, until the latter part of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
The end of the Civil War in the mid-1860s and the following years of Reconstruction changed the labor market to one of free labor. The state was mostly undeveloped frontier, and many freedmen withdrew from working for others. In the nineteenth century, many blacks managed to clear and buy their own farms in the bottomlands. With the disruption of war and changes to labor, cotton production initially declined, reducing the city's previously thriving economy.
The construction of railroads
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
through the area in the 1880s allowed the city to revitalize, with two rail lines running to downtown Greenwood, close to the Yazoo River, and shortening transportation to markets. Greenwood again emerged as a prime shipping point for cotton. Downtown's Front Street bordering the Yazoo filled with cotton factors and related businesses, earning that section the name Cotton Row. The city continued to prosper in this way well into the 1940s, although cotton production suffered during the infestation of the boll weevil
Boll weevil
The boll weevil is a beetle measuring an average length of six millimeters, which feeds on cotton buds and flowers. Thought to be native to Central America, it migrated into the United States from Mexico in the late 19th century and had infested all U.S. cotton-growing areas by the 1920s,...
in the early twentieth century.
The industry was largely mechanized in the twentieth century before World War II. Since the late twentieth century, some Mississippi farmers have begun to replace cotton with corn and soybeans as commodity crops, because of the shift of the textile industry overseas, and stronger prices for those crops.
Greenwood's Grand Boulevard was once named one of America's 10 most beautiful streets by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce and the Garden Clubs of America. Sally Humphreys Gwin, a charter member of the Greenwood Garden Club, planted the 1,000 oak trees lining Grand Boulevard. In 1950, Gwin received a citation from the National Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
in recognition of her work in the conservation of trees.
In 1955, following the Supreme Court
Supreme court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, instance court, judgment court, high court, or apex court...
's decision in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
, the White Citizens' Council
White Citizens' Council
The White Citizens' Council was an American white supremacist organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America...
was founded by Robert B. Patterson in Greenwood to fight against racial integration. Local chapters formed across the state, and the white-dominated legislature voted to give the Councils financial support. Having been disfranchised since 1890, when the state passed a new constitution and related electoral and Jim Crow laws, the black community had not been able to elect representatives since then to the state or federal legislature, and could not protest such actions. The Council paid staff to collect information on black professionals and activists who worked for the restoration of US constitutional civil rights.
From 1962 through 1964, Greenwood was a center of protests and voter registration struggles during the Civil Rights Movement
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
. The SNCC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
, COFO
Council of Federated Organizations
The Council of Federated Organizations was formed in Mississippi in 1962.A coalition of the major Civil Rights Movement organizations operating in Mississippi, COFO was formed to coordinate and unite voter registration and other civil rights activities in the state and oversee the distribution of...
, and the MFDP
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in the state of Mississippi in 1964, during the civil rights movement...
were all active in Greenwood. During this period, hundreds were arrested in nonviolent protests; civil rights activists were subjected to repeated violence, and whites used economic retaliation against African Americans who attempted to register to vote. The city police set their police dog, Tiger, on protesters while white counter-protesters yelled "Sic 'em" from the sidewalk. When Martin Luther King visited the city later in 1963, the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
distributed a flyer which read in part (capitalization in original):
TO THOSE OF YOU NIGGERS WHO GAVE OR GIVE AID AND COMFORT TO THIS CIVIL RIGHTS SCUM, WE ADVISE YOU THAT YOUR IDENTITIES ARE IN THE PROPER HANDS AND YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED. WE KNOW THAT THE NIGGER OWNER OF COLLINS SHOE SHOP ON JOHNSON STREET "ENTERTAINED" MARTIN LUTHER KING WHEN THE "BIG NIGGER" CAME TO GREENWOOD. WE KNOW OF OTHERS AND WE SAY TO YOU — AFTER THE SHOWING AND THE PLATE-PASSING AND STUPID STREET DEMONSTRATIONS ARE OVER AND THE IMPORTED AGITATORS HAVE ALL GONE, ONE THING IS SURE AND CERTAIN — YOU ARE STILL GOING TO BE NIGGERS AND WE ARE STILL GOING TO BE WHITE MEN. YOU HAVE CHOSEN YOUR BEDS AND NOW YOU MUST LIE IN THEM.
In the mid-1960s, the US Congress passed the Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act may refer to several acts in the history of civil rights in the United States, including:-Federal legislation:* Civil Rights Act of 1866, extending the rights of emancipated slaves...
and Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
to enforce constitutional rights of African Americans and other minorities. For some time, voter registration and elections were monitored by the US government because of historic discrimination against blacks in the state. Blacks in Mississippi have consistently voted at high rates since the passage of civil rights legislation.
On December 3rd, 2010, Frederick Jermaine Carter, an African-American man from Sunflower County
Sunflower County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 34,369 people, 9,637 households, and 7,314 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile . There were 10,338 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
with a history of mental illness, was found dead, hanging from a tree in north Greenwood. The Leflore county coroner ruled the death a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, but the NAACP and Mississippi state senator David Jordan
David Lee Jordan
David Lee Jordan is a Democratic member of the Mississippi Senate, representing the 24th District since 1993.-External links:* official government website* profile*Follow the Money - David Lee Jordan** campaign contributions...
are concerned that foul play may have been involved. Jordan explicitly tied the black community's suspicions about the verdict to the state's history of racial violence against blacks. The reporter Larry Copeland for USA Today, noted that the young Emmett Till
Emmett Till
Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
had been lynched 12 miles away in 1955. Jordan said, "We're not drawing any conclusions. We're skeptical, and rightfully we should be, given our history. We can't take this lightly. We just have to wait and see."
Geography
Greenwood is located at 33°31′7"N 90°11′2"W (33.518719, -90.183883). According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 9.5 square miles (24.6 km²), of which 9.2 square miles (23.8 km²) is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 18,425 people, 6,916 households, and 4,523 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,997.8 people per square mile (771.6/km²). There are 7,565 housing units at an average
Average
In mathematics, an average, or central tendency of a data set is a measure of the "middle" value of the data set. Average is one form of central tendency. Not all central tendencies should be considered definitions of average....
density of 820.3 per square mile (316.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 32.82% White, 65.36% Black, 0.11% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.
There were 6,916 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.4% are married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
couples living together, 27.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the city the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.
The median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
income for a household in the city is $21,867, and the median income for a family was $26,393. Males had a median income of $27,267 versus $18,578 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,461. 33.9% of the population and 28.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 47.0% of those under the age of 18 and 20.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Mississippi Blues Trail markers
Radio station WGRMWGRM (AM)
WGRM is an American radio station licensed to serve Greenwood, Mississippi, USA. Established in 1938 by P.K. Ewing, the station was owned by the Ewing family for 60 years. WGRM is currently owned by Christian Broadcasting of Greenwood, Inc....
on Howard Street was the location of B.B. King's first live broadcast in 1940. On Sunday nights, King performed live gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
as part of a quartet. In dedication to this event, the Mississippi Blues Trail
Mississippi Blues Trail
The Mississippi Blues Trail, created by the Mississippi Blues Commission, is a project to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the growth of the blues throughout the state of Mississippi. The trail extends from the border of Louisiana in southern Mississippi...
has placed its third historic marker in this town at the site of the former radio station.
Another Mississippi Blues trail marker is placed near the grave of blues singer Robert Johnson.
There is also a Blues Trail marker at the Elks Lodge.
Local government
Greenwood is governed under the city councilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
form of government composed of council members from seven wards and headed by a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
.
State and federal representation
The Delta Correctional Facility, operated by the Corrections Corporation of AmericaCorrections Corporation of America
Corrections Corporation of America is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. The company is the largest private corrections company in the United States and manages more than 60 facilities with a designed capacity of 90,000...
on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, is located in Greenwood.
The United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
operates two post offices in Greenwood. They are the Greenwood Post Office and the Leflore Post Office.
Newspapers, Magazines and Journals
- The Greenwood Commonwealth (published daily except Saturday)
- Leflore Illustrated (twice a year)
AM/FM Radio
- WABGWABG (AM)WABG is an American radio station broadcasting a Talk/Personality format and licensed to serve the community of Greenwood, Mississippi, USA. The station is currently owned by SPB LLC.-History:...
, 960 AM (BluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
) - WGNGWGNGWGNG is a radio station licensed to Tchula, Mississippi, USA with a Rhythmic contemporary format. The station is owned by Team Communications and serves the Greenville and Greenwood area. On June 1, 2008 the station flipped to Rhythmic contemporary, its first in north central Mississippi.-...
, 106.3 FM (Hip-Hop/Urban ContemporaryUrban contemporaryUrban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
) - WGNL, 104.3 FM (Urban adult contemporaryUrban Adult ContemporaryUrban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
/BluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
) - WGRMWGRM (AM)WGRM is an American radio station licensed to serve Greenwood, Mississippi, USA. Established in 1938 by P.K. Ewing, the station was owned by the Ewing family for 60 years. WGRM is currently owned by Christian Broadcasting of Greenwood, Inc....
, 1240 AM (GospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
) - WGRM-FMWGRM-FMWGRM-FM is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Greenwood, Mississippi, USA. The station, established in 1989 by Clay Ewing, is owned and operated by Christian Broadcasters of Greenwood, Inc...
, 93.9 FM (GospelGospelA gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
) - WKXG, 1540 AM (Silent pending transfer)
- WMAO-FMWMAO-FMWMAO-FM is a radio station licensed to Greenwood, Mississippi. The station is owned by the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, and is an affiliate of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Radio network.-External links:*...
, 90.9 FM (NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
Broadcasting) - WYMXWYMXWYMX is a classic hits formatted radio station licensed to Greenwood, Mississippi, USA. The station is currently owned by Telesouth Communications.-Programming:The station has "Charlie in the Morning" during the day...
, 99.1 FM (OldiesOldiesOldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
)
Railroads
Greenwood is served by two major rail lines. AmtrakAmtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Greenwood, connecting New Orleans to Chicago from Greenwood station
Greenwood (Amtrak station)
The Greenwood Amtrak station is a train station in Greenwood, Mississippi, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system....
.
Air Transportation
Greenwood (GWO) is served by Greenwood-Leflore AirportGreenwood-Leflore Airport
Greenwood-Leflore Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles east of the central business district of Greenwood, the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States. The airport is owned by the City of Greenwood and Leflore County, but is actually located within located...
to the east and is located midway between Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
and Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and about halfway between Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
and Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
Highways
- U.S. Highway 82 runs through Greenwood on its way from the White SandsWhite Sands, New MexicoWhite Sands is a census-designated place in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,323 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area...
of New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
(east of Las Cruces, New Mexico) east to Georgia's Atlantic coastAtlantic CoastThe Atlantic Coast is any coast fronting the Atlantic Ocean. The term differentiates the coasts of countries or continents with coastlines on more than one body of water, such as North America, South America, Africa and Europe.-See also:*Indian Ocean...
(Brunswick, GeorgiaBrunswick, GeorgiaBrunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
). - U.S. Highway 49 passes through Greenwood as it stretches between Piggott, ArkansasPiggott, ArkansasPiggott, Arkansas is a city in Clay County, Arkansas, one of that county's two seats . It is also the northern terminus of the Arkansas segment of Crowley's Ridge Parkway. As of the 2000 census, Piggott's population was 3,894. The town was founded by William N...
south to Gulfport, MississippiGulfport, MississippiGulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...
. - Other Greenwood highways include Mississippi Highway 7.
Education
Greenwood Public School District operates public schools.Leflore County School District
Leflore County School District
The Leflore County School District is a public school district based headquartered in Greenwood, Mississippi .The district serves areas in Leflore County outside of the City of Greenwood, including the city of Itta Bena, the towns of Morgan City, Schlater and Sidon, as well as the community of...
operates schools outside the Greenwood city area
Pillow Academy
Pillow Academy
Pillow Academy is an independent, co-educational college preparatory school in unincorporated Leflore County, Mississippi, near Greenwood.-History:...
, a private school, is located in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Leflore County
Leflore County, Mississippi
-National protected area:*Mathews Brake National Wildlife Refuge*Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,947 people, 12,956 households, and 8,887 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile...
, near Greenwood. Originally a segregation academy.
Notable natives and residents
- "Wild" Bill Cody, Professional football player (Saints, Eagles, & Lions) Member of original 1967 Saints Team
- Valerie Brisco-HooksValerie Brisco-HooksValerie Ann Brisco-Hooks won three gold medals as an Olympic track and field athlete at the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles, California, making her the first Olympian to win gold medals in both the 200- and 400-meter races at a single Olympics. She also won a gold medal for the 4x400 m...
, Olympian - Fred Carl, Jr.Fred Carl, Jr.Fred E. Carl, Jr. is founder and current president and chief executive officer of Viking Range Corporation, a manufacturer of professional kitchen appliances for use in the home. Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Carl attended Greenwood High School, graduating in 1966. He then continued his...
, founder and CEO of Viking Range Corp.Viking RangeViking Range Corporation is a privately held company that manufactures ultra high-end professional kitchen appliances for home use. Viking originated the "professional" segment of kitchen appliances with its introduction of the first professional-grade range for home use in 1987... - William V. ChambersWilliam V. ChambersWilliam V. Chambers was a psychologist and statistical research consultant. He is a former psychology professor at Wright State University, Shorter College, and the University of South Florida. Chambers had served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Cultic Studies Journal.With Michael D....
, personality psychologist - Byron De La BeckwithByron De La BeckwithByron De La Beckwith, Jr. was an American white supremacist and Klansman from Greenwood, Mississippi who was convicted in the 1994 state trial of assassinating the civil rights leader Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963....
, white supremacist, assassinated Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers - Carlos EmmonsCarlos EmmonsCarlos Antoine Emmons is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League...
, professional football player - Betty EverettBetty EverettBetty Everett was an African-American soul singer and pianist, best known for her biggest hit single, the million-selling "The Shoop Shoop Song ".-Early career:...
, R&B vocalist and pianist - Alphonso FordAlphonso FordAlphonso Gene Ford was an American professional basketball player. A 1.93 m tall shooting guard, he was one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history. Ford played professionally in both the NBA and the Euroleague, where he confirmed his tremendous scoring ability and became a...
, professional basketball player - Webb FranklinWebb FranklinWilliam Webster Franklin was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi.Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Franklin graduated from Greenwood High School, Greenwood, Mississippi....
, United States Congressman - Morgan FreemanMorgan FreemanMorgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
, Oscar-winning actor - Jim Gallagher, Jr.Jim Gallagher, Jr.James Thomas Gallagher, Jr. is an American professional golfer and sportscaster.Gallagher was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His father, a career club pro, started him in golf at age 6. He attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Gallagher turned pro in 1983 and joined the PGA Tour in...
, professional golfer - Bobbie GentryBobbie GentryRoberta Lee Streeter , professionally known as Bobbie Gentry, is a former American singer-songwriter notable as one of the first female country artists to compose and produce her own material...
, singer/songwriter - Gerald GlassGerald GlassGerald Damon Glass is a retired American professional basketball player.Graduating from Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood at the age of sixteen, Glass flew under the radar as a player and ended up at Delta State University...
, professional basketball player - Guitar SlimGuitar SlimEddie Jones , better known as Guitar Slim, was a New Orleans blues guitarist, from the 1940s and 1950s, best known for the million-selling song, produced by Johnny Vincent at Specialty Records, "The Things That I Used to Do"...
, blues musician - Kent Hull, professional football player
- Jermaine JonesJermaine JonesJermaine Jones is a German-born American soccer player who plays for Schalke 04.- Personal life :Jones grew up in Frankfurt-Bonames. His father is an African-American soldier who was stationed in Germany. As a child, Jones lived in Chicago and Greenwood, Mississippi in the U.S...
, soccer player for Blackburn Rovers and United States national teamUnited States men's national soccer teamThe United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF... - Greenwood LeFloreGreenwood LeFloreGreenwood LeFlore or Greenwood Le Fleur was elected Principal Chief of the Choctaw in 1830 before removal. Before that, the nation was governed by three district chiefs and a council of chiefs...
, Principal Chief of the Choctaw - Cleo LemonCleo LemonCleo "Cleonardo" Lemon, Jr. is a Canadian football quarterback in the Canadian Football League who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
, Toronto Argonauts quarterback - Walter "Furry" LewisFurry LewisFurry Lewis was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis was one of the first of the old-time blues musicians of the 1920s to be brought out of retirement, and given a new lease of recording life, by the folk blues revival of the 1960s.-Life and...
, blues musician - Bernie MachenBernie MachenJames Bernard "Bernie" Machen is an American university professor and administrator. Machen is a native of Mississippi, and earned multiple academic degrees before becoming a university administrator and president...
, president of University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906... - Matt Miller, baseball pitcher
- Mulgrew MillerMulgrew MillerMulgrew Miller is an American jazz pianist who performs in a number of jazz idioms. He began his career as member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.-Biography:...
, jazz pianist - Carrie NyeCarrie Nye-Early life:Nye was born Caroline Nye McGeoy in Greenwood, Mississippi; her father was a vice president of a local bank. She attended Stephens College and then went on to the Yale School of Drama.-Career:...
, actress - Mary Ann PearceMickey SpillaneFrank Morrison Spillane , better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold internationally...
, first wife of novelist Mickey SpillaneMickey SpillaneFrank Morrison Spillane , better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. More than 225 million copies of his books have sold internationally...
(who lived in Greenwood in 1945) - Fenton RobinsonFenton RobinsonFenton Robinson was an American blues singer and exponent of the Chicago blues guitar.-Biography:Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, United States, Robinson left his home at the age of 18 to move to Memphis, Tennessee where he recorded his first single "Tennessee Woman" in 1957. He settled in Chicago...
, blues singer and guitarist - Richard RubinRichard Rubin-Background:Richard Rubin is an American writer. He has published essays and articles in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Smithsonian Magazine, New York Magazine, Reader's Digest, and AARP the Magazine, among others...
, writer and journalist - Lusia HarrisLusia HarrisLusia "Lucy" Harris-Stewart is a former American basketball player. Harris is considered to be one of the pioneers of women's basketball...
, basketball player - Hubert SumlinHubert SumlinHubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...
, blues guitarist - Donna TarttDonna TarttDonna Tartt is an American writer and author of the novels The Secret History and The Little Friend . She won the WH Smith Literary Award for The Little Friend in 2003.-Early life:...
, novelist - Mamie Thomas, community activist, minister
- Tonea StewartTonea StewartDr. Tonea Stewart is an American actress and University Professor best known for her role as Aunt Etta on the television series In the Heat of the Night....
, actress - June Johnson, civil rights activist
- Endesha Ida Mae Holland, noted scholar and dramatist
- Willye B. White, Olympian
- Paul MaholmPaul MaholmPaul Gurner Maholm is a left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.-Amateur career:Maholm is a graduate of Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee...
, baseball pitcher