Philadelphia, Mississippi
Encyclopedia
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat
of Neshoba County
, Mississippi
, United States
. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.
territory from the 17th century until removal of most of the people in the 1830s. European-American settlers began to arrive in numbers in the early decades of the nineteenth century, after French, British and Spanish traders developed business relationships with the Choctaw.
Philadelphia is incorporated as a municipality
; it was given its current name in 1903, two years before the railroad brought new opportunities and prosperity to the town. The history of the town and its influences- social, political and economic- can be seen in the many points of interest within and beyond the city limits. These range from the large ceremonial Indian mound and cave
at Nanih Waiya
, built about 1700 years ago and sacred to the Choctaw
; to the still thriving Williams Brothers Store, a true old-fashioned general store
founded in 1907 and featured in National Geographic in 1939 as a source of anything from “needles to horse collars”, and still offering everything from bridle
s, butter and boots to flour, feed and fashion.
. The Native American
Choctaw are believed to have been descended from the Mississippian culture
and other societies in the Mississippi river valley
encountered by Spanish explorers in the early sixteenth century. The Choctaw arose as a distinct people in the early 17th century, and had trade relations with the French, British and Spanish during the colonial period.
After the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War
, the Choctaw in present-day Alabama and Mississippi began to be encroached on by European-American settlers. Trying to create a boundary, they ceded land in several treaties with the United States, but settlers kept arriving in their territory. By 1830, after passage of the Indian Removal Act
, the Choctaw were forced to choose between removal to west of the Mississippi River, or becoming U.S. citizens and submitting to federal and state laws in Mississippi. Choctaw chiefs realized that removal was inevitable and had decided that military resistance was futile. Greenwood LeFlore
, elected the Principal Chief of all three divisions that year, negotiated and signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
in an effort to get the best arrangements for the Choctaw that he could. They were granted the largest amount of land in Indian Territory
, in the fertile southeast, in exchange for ceding the remainder of their traditional homeland in Mississippi and Alabama
. They also were granted the option of remaining on reserved land in Mississippi as United States citizens, but the government did not give them all the land they deserved. The treaty represented one of the largest transfers of land that was signed between the U.S. Government and Native Americans without being instigated by warfare.
In the mid-twentieth century, Mississippi was a site for activities of the civil rights movement
as, like other states of the South, it ad long disfranchised African Americans and subjected them to racial segregation
and Jim Crow laws. Philadelphia in June 1964 was the site of the murders of activists James Chaney
, a 21-year-old black
man from Meridian
, Mississippi
; Andrew Goodman
, a 20-year-old Jewish anthropology
student from New York
; and Michael Schwerner
, a 24-year-old Jewish CORE
organizer and former social worker, also from New York. Their deaths symbolized the risks that activists took to secure the constitutional rights of African Americans, but many more blacks than whites had been killed in the struggle.
Ku Klux Klan
members took the three young men to an isolated spot and killed them. They buried them in an earthen dam. It was some time after they disappeared before the bodies were discovered, as a result of an FBI investigation and national media attention. The national outrage over their deaths helped procure support for Congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act
of 1965.
gave his first post-convention
speech at the Neshoba County Fair
after being officially chosen as the Republican
nominee for President of the United States
. He said, "I believe in states' rights ... I believe we have distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended to be given in the Constitution to that federal establishment." He went on to promise to "restore to states and local governments the power that properly belongs to them". Analysts believed that his use of the phrase was seen by many as a tacit appeal to Southern white voters and a continuation of Richard Nixon
's Southern Strategy
, while some argued it reflected Reagan's libertarian
economic beliefs. The speech drew attention for his use of the phrase "states' rights
" at a place just a few miles from a town associated with the 1964 murders of civil rights workers.
played high school football for the Philadelphia High School Tornadoes from 1978 to 1981. He was an outstanding athlete who was widely recognized for his achievements. Dupree scored 87 touchdowns total during his playing time in high school, breaking the record set by Herschel Walker
by one. In 1981, Marcus's final High School football game was played at Warriors Stadium of the tribal high school
at the Choctaw Indian Reservation. The author Willie Morris
described the audience at Dupree's final high school game as "the most distinctive crowd I had ever seen ... four thousand or so people seemed almost an equal of mix of whites, blacks, and Indians ... "
sheriff, Malcolm MacMillan, called for re-opening of the case against Edgar Ray Killen
, a suspect in the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964. Killen was arrested for three counts of murder on January 6, 2005. He was freed on bond.
The trial began on June 13, 2005, with Killen attending in a wheelchair
. He was found guilty of manslaughter on June 21, 2005, 41 years to the day after the crime. The jury of nine whites and three blacks rejected the charges of murder, but found him guilty of recruiting the mob that carried out the killings. He was sentenced on June 23, 2005 by Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon to the maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, 20 years for each count of manslaughter, to be served consecutively. He will be eligible for parole
after serving at least 20 years, although it is unlikely he will live this long given his age and health. At the sentencing, Judge Gordon stated that each life lost was valuable; he strongly asserted that the law made no distinction of age for the crime and that the maximum sentence should be imposed. Killen entered the Mississippi Department of Corrections system on June 27, 2005.
, a 53-year-old Pentecostal preacher and a former county supervisor. He defeated Rayburn Waddell, a white, three-term incumbent, by 46 votes in the Democratic
primary (there was no Republican
challenger). Jim Prince, publisher of the local The Neshoba Democrat newspaper said, "Philadelphia will always be connected to what happened here in 1964, but the fact that Philadelphia, Mississippi, with its notorious past, could elect a black man as mayor, it might be time to quit picking on Philadelphia, Mississippi." Young's campaign staff credited Barack Obama's presidential campaign
for increasing registration of black and young voters in Philadelphia, many of whom voted for Young. Young's term began July 3, 2009.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 10.6 square miles (27.5 km²), of which 10.6 square miles (27.5 km²) are land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (0.19%) is water.
of 2000, there were 7,303 people, 2,950 households, and 1,899 families residing in the city. The population density
was 688.1 people per square mile (265.8/km²). There were 3,302 housing units at an average density of 311.1 per square mile (120.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.54% White, 40.12% African American, 2.01% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from other races
, and 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 1.51% of the population.
There were 2,950 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples
living together, 20.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,438, and the median income for a family was $30,756. Males had a median income of $30,731 versus $20,735 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $15,787. About 25.1% of families and 28.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.
.
services for the city of Philadelphia are contracted to MetroCast Communications. Electrical utilities, as well as water and sewer service, are provided by the City of Philadelphia as Philadelphia Utilities. The natural gas utility is CentrePoint Energy. AT&T
is the local telephone service provider.
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 Neshoba County
Neshoba County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 28,684 people, 10,694 households, and 7,742 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile . There were 11,980 housing units at an average density of 21 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...
. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.
History
This was the heart of ChoctawChoctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
territory from the 17th century until removal of most of the people in the 1830s. European-American settlers began to arrive in numbers in the early decades of the nineteenth century, after French, British and Spanish traders developed business relationships with the Choctaw.
Philadelphia is incorporated as a municipality
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
; it was given its current name in 1903, two years before the railroad brought new opportunities and prosperity to the town. The history of the town and its influences- social, political and economic- can be seen in the many points of interest within and beyond the city limits. These range from the large ceremonial Indian mound and cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
at Nanih Waiya
Nanih Waiya
Nanih Waiya is an ancient earthwork mound in Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 0-300 CE. Since the 17th century, the historic Choctaw have venerated Nanih Waiya as their sacred origin location in traditional beliefs.Today the...
, built about 1700 years ago and sacred to the Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
; to the still thriving Williams Brothers Store, a true old-fashioned general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
founded in 1907 and featured in National Geographic in 1939 as a source of anything from “needles to horse collars”, and still offering everything from bridle
Bridle
A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit....
s, butter and boots to flour, feed and fashion.
Native American
Many thousands of years ago, groups known as Paleo-Indians lived in what today is referred to as the American SouthSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. The Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
Choctaw are believed to have been descended from the Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
and other societies in the Mississippi river valley
Mississippi embayment
The Mississippi Embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the fluvial sediments of the Mississippi River Delta to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois. The embayment...
encountered by Spanish explorers in the early sixteenth century. The Choctaw arose as a distinct people in the early 17th century, and had trade relations with the French, British and Spanish during the colonial period.
After the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, the Choctaw in present-day Alabama and Mississippi began to be encroached on by European-American settlers. Trying to create a boundary, they ceded land in several treaties with the United States, but settlers kept arriving in their territory. By 1830, after passage of the Indian Removal Act
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830.The Removal Act was strongly supported in the South, where states were eager to gain access to lands inhabited by the Five Civilized Tribes. In particular, Georgia, the largest state at that time, was involved in...
, the Choctaw were forced to choose between removal to west of the Mississippi River, or becoming U.S. citizens and submitting to federal and state laws in Mississippi. Choctaw chiefs realized that removal was inevitable and had decided that military resistance was futile. 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...
, elected the Principal Chief of all three divisions that year, negotiated and 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...
in an effort to get the best arrangements for the Choctaw that he could. They were granted the largest amount of land in Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, in the fertile southeast, in exchange for ceding the remainder of their traditional homeland in Mississippi and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. They also were granted the option of remaining on reserved land in Mississippi as United States citizens, but the government did not give them all the land they deserved. The treaty represented one of the largest transfers of land that was signed between the U.S. Government and Native Americans without being instigated by warfare.
Murders of three civil rights workers
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
as, like other states of the South, it ad long disfranchised African Americans and subjected them to racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
and Jim Crow laws. Philadelphia in June 1964 was the site of the murders of activists James Chaney
James Chaney
James Earl "J.E." Chaney , from Meridian, Mississippi, was one of three American civil rights workers who were murdered during Freedom Summer by members of the Ku Klux Klan near Philadelphia...
, a 21-year-old black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
man from Meridian
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
, 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...
; Andrew Goodman
Andrew Goodman
Andrew Goodman was one of three American civil rights activists murdered near Philadelphia, Mississippi, during Freedom Summer in 1964 by members of the Ku Klux Klan.-Early life and education:...
, a 20-year-old Jewish anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
student from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; and Michael Schwerner
Michael Schwerner
Michael Henry Schwerner , was one of three Congress of Racial Equality field workers killed in Philadelphia, Mississippi, by the Ku Klux Klan in response to their civil rights work, which included promoting voting registration among Mississippi African Americans...
, a 24-year-old Jewish CORE
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
organizer and former social worker, also from New York. Their deaths symbolized the risks that activists took to secure the constitutional rights of African Americans, but many more blacks than whites had been killed in the struggle.
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...
members took the three young men to an isolated spot and killed them. They buried them in an earthen dam. It was some time after they disappeared before the bodies were discovered, as a result of an FBI investigation and national media attention. The national outrage over their deaths helped procure support for Congressional passage of 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...
of 1964 and the 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....
of 1965.
Reagan's visit
On August 3, 1980, Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
gave his first post-convention
Political convention
In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates.In the United States, a political convention usually refers to a presidential nominating convention, but it can also refer to state, county, or congressional district nominating conventions...
speech at the Neshoba County Fair
Neshoba County Fair
The Neshoba County Fair, also known as Mississippi's Giant House Party, is an annual event of agricultural, political, and social entertainment held a few miles from Philadelphia, Mississippi. The fair was first established in 1889 and is the nation's largest campground fair...
after being officially chosen as the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. He said, "I believe in states' rights ... I believe we have distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended to be given in the Constitution to that federal establishment." He went on to promise to "restore to states and local governments the power that properly belongs to them". Analysts believed that his use of the phrase was seen by many as a tacit appeal to Southern white voters and a continuation of Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's Southern Strategy
Southern strategy
In American politics, the Southern strategy refers to the Republican Party strategy of winning elections in Southern states by exploiting anti-African American racism and fears of lawlessness among Southern white voters and appealing to fears of growing federal power in social and economic matters...
, while some argued it reflected Reagan's libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
economic beliefs. The speech drew attention for his use of the phrase "states' rights
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
" at a place just a few miles from a town associated with the 1964 murders of civil rights workers.
Dupree's record breaker
Marcus DupreeMarcus Dupree
Marcus L. Dupree is a former American football player. He was one of the most highly recruited high school football players ever. He graduated with the first class in Philadelphia that was desegregated for the entire 12 years he went to school...
played high school football for the Philadelphia High School Tornadoes from 1978 to 1981. He was an outstanding athlete who was widely recognized for his achievements. Dupree scored 87 touchdowns total during his playing time in high school, breaking the record set by Herschel Walker
Herschel Walker
Herschel Junior Walker is an American mixed martial artist and a former American football player. He played college football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs and earned the 1982 Heisman Trophy. He began his professional career with the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League...
by one. In 1981, Marcus's final High School football game was played at Warriors Stadium of the tribal high school
Choctaw Tribal School System
The Choctaw Tribal School System is a school district based in the community of Choctaw, Mississippi . A non-public entity operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, the district consists of eight schools in three counties – Neshoba, Leake, and Newton – and has a total enrollment of 1,700...
at the Choctaw Indian Reservation. The author Willie Morris
Willie Morris
William Weaks "Willie" Morris , was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi, though his family later moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, which he immortalized in his works of prose. Morris' trademark was his lyrical prose style and reflections on the American South, particularly...
described the audience at Dupree's final high school game as "the most distinctive crowd I had ever seen ... four thousand or so people seemed almost an equal of mix of whites, blacks, and Indians ... "
Trial of Edgar Ray Killen
In 2004, the Hinds CountyHinds County, Mississippi
As of the census of 2000, there were 250,800 people, 91,030 households, and 62,355 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile . There were 100,287 housing units at an average density of 115 per square mile...
sheriff, Malcolm MacMillan, called for re-opening of the case against Edgar Ray Killen
Edgar Ray Killen
Edgar Ray "Preacher" Killen is a former Ku Klux Klan organizer who conspired in the murders of three civil rights activists—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner—in 1964....
, a suspect in the murder of three civil rights workers in 1964. Killen was arrested for three counts of murder on January 6, 2005. He was freed on bond.
The trial began on June 13, 2005, with Killen attending in a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
. He was found guilty of manslaughter on June 21, 2005, 41 years to the day after the crime. The jury of nine whites and three blacks rejected the charges of murder, but found him guilty of recruiting the mob that carried out the killings. He was sentenced on June 23, 2005 by Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon to the maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, 20 years for each count of manslaughter, to be served consecutively. He will be eligible for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
after serving at least 20 years, although it is unlikely he will live this long given his age and health. At the sentencing, Judge Gordon stated that each life lost was valuable; he strongly asserted that the law made no distinction of age for the crime and that the maximum sentence should be imposed. Killen entered the Mississippi Department of Corrections system on June 27, 2005.
First black mayor
In May 2009, Philadelphia elected its first black mayor, James A. YoungJames Young (mayor)
James A. Young is an American politician, who was elected mayor of Philadelphia, Mississippi in May 2009. His election was especially noted as he is the first African American mayor of the city, which was previously best known for the murder of three civil rights workers by members of the Ku Klux...
, a 53-year-old Pentecostal preacher and a former county supervisor. He defeated Rayburn Waddell, a white, three-term incumbent, by 46 votes in the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary (there was no Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
challenger). Jim Prince, publisher of the local The Neshoba Democrat newspaper said, "Philadelphia will always be connected to what happened here in 1964, but the fact that Philadelphia, Mississippi, with its notorious past, could elect a black man as mayor, it might be time to quit picking on Philadelphia, Mississippi." Young's campaign staff credited Barack Obama's presidential campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
for increasing registration of black and young voters in Philadelphia, many of whom voted for Young. Young's term began July 3, 2009.
Geography
Philadelphia is located at 32°46′27"N 89°6′46"W (32.774070, -89.112891).According to the United States Census Bureau
United 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 10.6 square miles (27.5 km²), of which 10.6 square miles (27.5 km²) are land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) (0.19%) 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 7,303 people, 2,950 households, and 1,899 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 688.1 people per square mile (265.8/km²). There were 3,302 housing units at an average density of 311.1 per square mile (120.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.54% White, 40.12% African American, 2.01% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.55% 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 1.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 1.51% of the population.
There were 2,950 households out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples
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...
living together, 20.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,438, and the median income for a family was $30,756. Males had a median income of $30,731 versus $20,735 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 $15,787. About 25.1% of families and 28.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The City of Philadelphia is served by the Philadelphia Public School DistrictPhiladelphia Public School District
This article concerns the school district in Mississippi. For the public schools of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, see School District of Philadelphia....
.
Notable natives & area residents
- Billy CannonBilly CannonWilliam Abb "Billy" Cannon is an All-American, 1959 Heisman Trophy winner and 2008 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and one of the American Football League's most celebrated players.He was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and moved...
, 1959 Heisman TrophyHeisman TrophyThe Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner - Bob FergusonBob Ferguson (music)Robert Bruce "Bob" Ferguson Sr was an American songwriter, record producer who was instrumental in establishing Nashville, Tennessee as a center of country music; movie producer, and Choctaw Indian historian. Ferguson wrote the bestselling songs "On the Wings of a Dove" and "The Carroll County...
, RCA Record Producer and Songwriter, known famously for his song "On the Wings of a Dove" that was recorded first by Ferlin HuskyFerlin HuskyFerlin Eugene Husky was an early American country music singer who was equally adept at the genres of traditional honky honk, ballads, spoken recitations, and rockabilly pop tunes...
in the early 1960s. - Stan FrazierStan FrazierStanley C. Fraizer was a professional wrestler from Pascagoula, Mississippi, better known as Uncle Elmer and Plowboy Frazier ....
, professional wrestler better known as Uncle Elmer - Marcus DupreeMarcus DupreeMarcus L. Dupree is a former American football player. He was one of the most highly recruited high school football players ever. He graduated with the first class in Philadelphia that was desegregated for the entire 12 years he went to school...
, football player for the NFL and USFL, also known for building the Mount Nebo Baptist Church in Philadelphia. He is the focus of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary The Best That Never Was by filmmaker Jonathan Hock. - Phillip MartinPhillip MartinPhillip Martin was the democratically elected Tribal Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a federally recognized American Indian tribe of 8,300 enrolled members living on or near 30,000 acres of reservation land in east central Mississippi...
, Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians - Fred McAfeeFred McAfeeFred Lee McAfee is a former American football running back in the NFL who played for the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.-Early years:...
, former member of the New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
and now their Director of Player Development - Otis RushOtis RushOtis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
, blues artist - Pearl RiverPearl River (band)-Track listing:#"I Wanna Be in the Picture" - 2:46#"Hole Where the Heart Oughta Be" - 3:00#"Does She Need Me" - 3:09...
, members of the country music band - Marty StuartMarty StuartJohn Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
, country music entertainer and Grand Ole OpryGrand Ole OpryThe Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
star
Public utilities
Cable televisionCable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
services for the city of Philadelphia are contracted to MetroCast Communications. Electrical utilities, as well as water and sewer service, are provided by the City of Philadelphia as Philadelphia Utilities. The natural gas utility is CentrePoint Energy. AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
is the local telephone service provider.