Sunflower is a town in

Sunflower County Sunflower County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,450. Its largest city and county seat is Indianola. Sunflower County comprises the Indianola, MS Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. The population was 1,159 at the 2010 census.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 964 people, 424 households, and 278 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 696 people, 229 households, and 166 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,719.3 people per square mile (671.8/km). There were 242 housing units at an average density of 597.8 per square mile (233.6/km). The racial makeup of the town was 27.87%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 71.26%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.43% Asian, and 0.43% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.14% of the population. There were 229 households, out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.9% were married couples living together, 25.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 24.9% 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 3.04 and the average family size was 3.69. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.7% under the age of 18, 14.5% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 15.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,842, and the median income for a family was $23,750. Males had a median income of $22,143 versus $21,458 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $12,176. About 30.7% of families and 39.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 52.6% of those under age 18 and 35.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Sunflower is served by the Sunflower County Consolidated School District (formerly Sunflower County School District). *Elementary students are zoned to Ruleville Central Elementary School * it was zoned to Ruleville Central High School (now

Thomas E. Edwards, Sr. High School Thomas E. Edwards, Sr. High School, formerly Ruleville Central High School (RCHS), is a public high school located in Ruleville, Mississippi, United States. It is a part of the Sunflower County Consolidated School District and had 381 students e ...

), at the time the sole school of the district. Students were formerly zoned to East Sunflower Elementary School, until it closed in 2022. Students were reassigned to Ruleville Central Elementary. Sunflower is also home to the Sunflower County Freedom Project, an independent, non-profit after-school program for middle- and high-school students, based on the

Freedom Schools Freedom Schools were temporary, alternative, and free schools for African Americans mostly in the South. They were originally part of a nationwide effort during the Civil Rights Movement to organize African Americans to achieve social, political and ...

of the 1960s.

Notable people

Willie Best William Best (May 27, 1913 – February 27, 1962), known professionally as Willie Best or Sleep n' Eat, was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African American film actors and comedians to become well kn ...

, African-American actor from the 1930s and 1940s *

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

, soul singer, inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame *

Craig Claiborne Craig Claiborne (September 4, 1920 January 22, 2000) was an American restaurant critic, food journalist and book author. A long-time food editor and restaurant critic for ''The New York Times'', he was also the author of numerous cookbooks and ...

, longtime food critic for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' *

Larry Herndon Larry Darnell Herndon (born November 3, 1953), sometimes referred to by the nickname "Hondo", is an American former baseball outfielder and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball in 1974 and from 1976 to 1988. Born in Mississippi and ...

, Major League Baseball player, outfielder for

1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...

champion Detroit Tigers *

Matt "Guitar" Murphy Matthew Tyler Murphy (December 29, 1929 – June 15, 2018), known as Matt "Guitar" Murphy, was an American blues guitarist. He was associated with Memphis Slim, The Blues Brothers and Howlin' Wolf. Early life Murphy was born in Sunflower, Missi ...

, blues guitarist *

Big John Wrencher Big John Wrencher (February 12, 1923 – July 15, 1977), also known as One Arm John, was an American blues harmonica player and singer, well known for playing at the Maxwell Street Market in Chicago in the 1960s. He toured Europe in the 1970s. ...

, blues harmonica player and singer *

Little Milton James Milton Campbell Jr. (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005), better known as Little Milton, was an American blues singer and guitarist, best known for his number-one R&B single " We're Gonna Make It". His other hits include " Baby, I Love ...

, blues singer and guitarist, inductee in

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...

References

{{authority control Towns in Sunflower County, Mississippi Towns in Mississippi