Amite County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the state of

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 ...

on its southern border with Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,720. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

. The county is named after the Amite River, which runs through the county. Amite County is part of the McComb, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Amite County was established in February 1809 from the eastern portion of Wilkinson County. It was named after the Amite River. French explorers had named the latter for the friendly (''amitié'' in French) indigenous Houma people they encountered in the region. The legislation that established the county authorized the appointment of five commissioners to find a site for the county seat, near the county's center and near a good spring; its name was to be Liberty. At this time, the total population of the county numbered about 4000 people, about 80% of whom were middle-class families of seventeenth-century Virginia stock who had gradually migrated through other frontier states. Primary religious groups were all Protestant, including

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and Methodists. Completed in 1840, the courthouse in Liberty is the oldest courthouse in Mississippi in continuous use. Liberty eventually became the county's justice and business center. The county economy was based on timber from longleaf pine and the cultivation of commodity crops of cotton,

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

, and tobacco, usually on plantations worked by enslaved African Americans. Given the reliance of planters on labor-intensive crops such as tobacco and cotton, the county soon had a majority population of enslaved African Americans. Even in the antebellum period, the county seat attracted entertainers and lecturers on tour. In the 1850s, Liberty hosted opera singer

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and a ...

, known as the "Swedish Nightingale," at the Walsh building. In 1861, the state legislature called a convention to vote on

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

from the United States. David Hurst, the delegate from Amite County, voted against secession, but the majority of the state's delegates voted for it. Led by South Carolina, the largest slave-owning states were the first in the South to secede. Mississippi voted to join the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. During the Civil War, Captain George H. Tichenor married Margaret Anne Drane at the Liberty Baptist Church; Tichenor developed an antiseptic to treat wounds suffered by soldiers in the war. By the end of the war, 279 men from Amite County had died for the Confederate cause. Amite County was not in a theater of war. A raiding party of Union

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

, under the command of

Colonel Benjamin Grierson Benjamin Henry Grierson (July 8, 1826 – August 31, 1911) was a music teacher, then a career officer in the United States Army. He was a cavalry general in the volunteer Union Army during the Civil War and later led troops in the American O ...

, is known to have camped in the county nine miles east of

on the evening of April 28, 1863, while conducting a deep penetration raid as part of the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi Riv ...

. As part of that raid, Union forces pillages many homes and plantations. Most of the buildings of the Amite Female Seminary, with 13 pianos, were burnt; one building was spared, the small Mary Van Norman Ratcliff Building, commonly known as the "Little Red Schoolhouse." At the end of the Civil War, Amite County's population was 60% African American. During Reconstruction,

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), abolitionism, emancipation (gra ...

elected several African Americans to local office as county sheriff. After Reconstruction, white Democrats regained power in the state legislature through a combination of violent

voter repression Voter suppression is a strategy used to influence the outcome of an election by discouraging or preventing specific groups of people from voting. It is distinguished from political campaigning in that campaigning attempts to change likely voting ...

and fraud. They

disenfranchised Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...

most African Americans and many poor whites in the state by the new 1890 state constitution, which imposed a

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

, literacy tests, and other requirements as barriers to voter registration. These were administered by whites in a discriminatory way. Most black voters and many poor whites were dropped from the voter rolls.

20th century to present

Racial violence, including

lynchings Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

, escalated during the

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

years."Amite County"
Mississippi Civil Rights Project. Retrieved March 16, 2014 The county had 14 documented lynchings in the period from 1877 to 1950; most took place around the turn of the century when disenfranchisement and imposition of Jim Crow was underway.''Lynching in America'', 2nd edition
, Supplement by County, p. 4 Blacks were excluded from the political process in the county and state until the late 1960s. African Americans were a majority in the state until the 1930s but excluded from voting, they were also excluded from juries and the entire political system. The county continued to be based on agriculture, with cotton the basis of the economy into the 1930s. A boll weevil invasion damaged many cotton crops. Planters shifted to logging and dairy farming in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. As agriculture was mechanized, reducing the need for farm labor, many blacks left Amite County during the first half of the 20th century in two waves of the Great Migration. In the first wave, before World War II, many moved north to Chicago and other industrial cities of the Midwest. In the second wave, they moved to the West Coast, where the burgeoning defense industry created jobs before, during, and after the war. From 1940 to 1960, the county population declined by 29%, as can be seen on the census tables below. Some rural whites also left the county for industrialized cities. In the 1950s, local farmer E.W. Steptoe founded a chapter of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

(

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

) in the county. Herbert Lee, a married farmer with nine children, was among its charter members. They were working to regain constitutional civil rights, including the ability to vote. In the summer of 1961,

Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner. Robert Moses may also refer to: * Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist * Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic * Bob M ...

from the

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...

worked in the county to organize African Americans for voter registration. He was beaten by Bill Caston, a cousin to the sheriff, near the county courthouse, and arrested. He was told to leave the county for his own safety."Murder of Herbert Lee and Louis Allen"
Amite County, Mississippi Civil Rights Project. Retrieved March 16, 2014. In the 1960s, only one African American of the total of 5,500 in Amite County was a registered voter. Even after the

Voting Rights Act The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...

was passed in 1965, extensive grassroots efforts were required to register eligible voters. Racial violence against blacks in the county escalated during the years of the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. On September 25, 1961, at the Westbrook Cotton Gin, about a dozen witnesses, both white and black, saw

E.H. Hurst Eugene Hunter Hurst Jr. (October 21, 1908 – April 20, 1990) was an American, dairy farmer, and politician from Amite County, Mississippi. Elected as a Democrat to the Mississippi House of Representatives for a single term in 1959, Hurst suppor ...

, a white state legislator, murder Herbert Lee in broad daylight. At the inquest that day, Hurst claimed self-defense and witnesses, intimidated by the armed white men in the courtroom, supported him. Learning that the federal government might hold a grand jury in the case,

Louis Allen Louis Allen (April 25, 1919 – January 31, 1964) was an African-American businessman in Liberty, Mississippi, who was shot and killed on his land during the civil rights era. He had previously tried to register to vote and had allegedly talked ...

, an African-American veteran of World War II and witness to Lee's murder, talked to the FBI to try to gain protection if he were to testify truthfully to what he saw. They said they could not help him. Whites suspected he had talked with the FBI and began to harass him. Allen's business was boycotted by whites, and the veteran was beaten and arrested more than once by the county sheriff. He stayed in the area to help his aging parents, but planned to leave. On January 31, 1964, he was shot and killed on his land. No one was ever prosecuted for Allen's death. Investigations since 1994 suggest that Allen was killed by Daniel (Danny) Jones, the county sheriff and son of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

's leader in the county.Cold case: "The murder of Louis Allen"
''60 Minutes'' (CBS), April 10, 2011 Danny Jones was featured as a likely perpetrator in the Allen case, in a 2011 episode of ''60 Minutes'' focusing on civil rights cold cases, but he denied an interview. He died in 2012 or 2013. Following the repression of the civil rights era and a continuing poor economy, younger African Americans continued to leave the county, seeking jobs in bigger cities. The population declined more than 11 percent from 1960 to 1970, and further declines occurred to 1980 (see census tables below.) Because of the murders of Lee and Allen, voter registration efforts had stopped in the early 1960s. African Americans did not register until after passage of the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

, which provided federal protection and oversight. Today the county is majority white in population. Noted historic sites listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

include the Amite County Courthouse and the Westbrook Cotton Gin, the only one surviving of seven in the county. In addition, 19th-century plantation houses and the

and Bethany Presbyterian churches are listed on the Register.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola and Apalachicola, F ...

Mississippi Highway 24 Mississippi Highway 24 (MS 24) is a state highway in Mississippi, United States. The highway runs from Fort Adams east to an interchange with Interstate 55 (I-55) and U.S. Highway 98 (US 98) in McComb. The roadway passes through Wilkinson, ...

Mississippi Highway 33 Mississippi Highway 33 (MS 33) is a state highway in southwestern Mississippi. It runs from north to south for and serves the counties of Jefferson, Franklin, Amite, and Wilkinson. Route description MS 33 begins in Wilkinson County at the ...

Mississippi Highway 48 Mississippi Highway 48 (MS 48) is a state highway in southern Mississippi. It runs from east to west for , serving a total of four counties: Marion, Walthall, Pike, and Amite. Route description MS 48 begins in Amite County in the town of Cent ...

Mississippi Highway 569 Mississippi Highway 569 (MS 569) is a state highway in southwestern Mississippi. The route starts at the Mississippi–Louisiana state line, and it travels northeastward from that point. It intersects MS 48 southwest of Liberty, and MS 569 beco ...

Mississippi Highway 570 Mississippi Highway 570 (MS 570) is a two-segment state highway in the U.S. state of Mississippi that travels in the vicinity of McComb, Mississippi, McComb. The western segment runs from U.S. Route 98 in Mississippi, U.S. Route 98 ...

Mississippi Highway 567 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. Mississ ...

Mississippi Highway 568 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. Mississ ...

Mississippi Highway 571 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. Mississ ...

Mississippi Highway 584 Mississippi Highway 584 (MS 584) is a state highway in Amite and Pike counties of southern Mississippi, United States. It connects the towns of Liberty and Osyka via Gillsburg. Route description MS 584 begins in Amite County in downtown Libe ...

Adjacent counties

* Franklin County (north) * Lincoln County (northeast) * Pike County (east) *

Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Tangipahoa Parish (; French: ''Paroisse de Tangipahoa'') is a parish located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 121,097. The parish seat is Amite City, while the largest city is ...

(southeast) *

St. Helena Parish, Louisiana St. Helena Parish (french: Paroisse de Sainte-Hélène) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 United States census, the population was 11,203, and 10,920 at the 2020 census. Its seat is Greensburg. The parish was created in 1 ...

(south) *

East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana East Feliciana Parish (french: Paroisse de Feliciana Est, es, Parroquia de East Feliciana) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 20,267, and 19,531 in 2020. The parish seat is Clinton. Est ...

(southwest) * Wilkinson County (west)

National protected area

* Homochitto National Forest (part)

State protected area

* Ethel Stratton Vance Natural Area

Flora and fauna

The

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

of Amite County includes about 1000 species of

vascular plants Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

. File:Illicium floridanum illiciaceae.jpg, '' Illicium floridanum'', Florida anise or stinkbush, a plant species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the southeastern U.S. File:Bottomland hardwood forest amite river.jpg, Bottomland mixed hardwood-spruce pine forest along the West Fork Amite River File:Stewartia malacodendron 1130.jpg, '' Stewartia malacodendron'', or silky camellia, an uncommon species of the southeastern U.S.

Demographics

As mechanization of agriculture decreased the need for farm labor, the population has dropped since its peak in 1910 as people left in search of work in other areas. Continuing urbanization and suburbanization in other areas has also drawn people to cities of more opportunity. From a peak of population in 1910, the county had declined through 1990. In the early part of the 20th century, particularly from 1910 to 1930, and from 1940 to 1970, it was affected by the Great Migration of blacks out of the segregated society for jobs and opportunities in Midwest and later, West Coast cities. From 1910 to 1920, the population declined more than 17%, as may be seen from the Census table at right. Particularly in the early 20th century, Blacks left to escape the oppression and violence associated with

, and their disenfranchisement after 1890. From 1940 to 1960, the population declined by more than 29%. Rural whites also left in those years, but a much greater number of African Americans migrated to other areas. After 1930 they became a minority in the county. In 2000, they constituted nearly 43% of the population.

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 12,720 people, 5,218 households, and 3,401 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, there were 13,131 people living in the county. 57.7% were

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 on ...

, 41.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.2% of some other race and 0.6% of two or more races. 0.8% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and ''Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States C ...

(of any race).

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,599 people, 5,271 households, and 3,879 families living in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 6,446 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 56.42%

, 42.65%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.08%

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. 0.83% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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. There were 5,271 households, out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.10% were married couples living together, 16.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.06. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.00% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,033, and the median income for a family was $31,256. Males had a median income of $28,306 versus $16,173 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,048. About 19.30% of families and 22.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.70% of those under age 18 and 22.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

* Centreville (mostly in Wilkinson County) * Crosby (partly in Wilkinson County) * Gloster *

(county seat)

Unincorporated communities

Bewelcome Social networking services where hosts do not receive payments are called hospitality exchange services (HospEx). The relationships on hospitality exchange services are shaped by altruism and are related to the cyber-utopianism on the Web in its ...

* Coles * Gillsburg * Homochitto *

Hustler Hustler or hustlers may also refer to: Professions * Hustler, an American slang word, e.g., for a: ** Con man, a practitioner of confidence tricks ** Drug dealer, seller of illegal drugs ** Male prostitute ** Pimp ** Business man, more general ...

Smithdale Smithdale may refer to: *Smithdale, Mississippi Smithdale is an unincorporated community located in Amite County, Mississippi, United States. Smithdale is approximately south-southwest of Auburn on Mississippi Highway 570 and a part of the M ...

Ghost town

* Elysian Fields

Politics

Political affiliation and voting patterns in federal elections generally follow those of other traditional southern states, where strong affiliation of conservative whites to the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

dominated during the period up to and just beyond the

Civil Rights era The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United S ...

of the 1960s and 1970s. With the rise of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, the white population gradually began to support Republican national candidates, and ultimately shifted into the party. Given the support of the national Democratic Party leaders through the civil rights years, African-American voters affiliated with that party. In several elections between World War II and the Civil Rights period, in a period of increasing social change, the white people of Amite County (who were the only ones able to vote in that period) voted for third-party candidates, including

Dixiecrat The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition t ...

candidate

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...

in 1948 (after Democratic President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

had taken action that year to integrate the military), Harry F. Byrd in 1960, and segregationist

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

in 1968.

Notable people

, African-American property owner and logger, murdered for civil rights activities * L. C. Bates, African-American civil rights activist and the husband of Daisy Bates *

Robert P. Briscoe Robert Pearce Briscoe (February 19, 1897 – October 14, 1968) was an Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Navy. He commanded two ships, a destroyer squadron, and an amphibious group during World War II. He later served as Co ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Navy Cross recipient and US Navy four-star

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

* Will D. Campbell, white Baptist minister, author, and civil rights activist *

Jerry Clower Howard Gerald "Jerry" Clower (September 28, 1926 – August 24, 1998) was an American stand-up comedian. Born and raised in the state of Mississippi, Clower was best known for his stories of the rural South and was given the nickname "The Mouth o ...

, country comedian * J. C. Gilbert, member of

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

and

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

* David Green, Mississippi state legislator and businessman * Carl Augustus Hansberry, businessman and plaintiff in ''

Hansberry v. Lee __NOTOC__ ''Hansberry v. Lee'', 311 U.S. 32 (1940), is a famous and commonly-used case in civil procedure classes for teaching that ''res judicata'' does not apply to an individual whose interests were not adequately represented in a prior class ac ...

'' U.S. Supreme Court case; father of playwright Lorraine Hansberry *

William Leo Hansberry William Leo Hansberry (February 25, 1894 – November 3, 1965) was an American scholar, lecturer and pioneering Afrocentrist. He was the older brother of real estate broker Carl Augustus Hansberry, uncle of award-winning playwright Lorrain ...

, scholar. Uncle of playwright Lorraine Hansberry *

, white Mississippi state legislator who murdered activist Herbert Lee in cold blood and was not prosecuted *

Gabe Jackson Gabriel C. Jackson (born July 12, 1991) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mississippi State. Early years A nati ...

, American football player for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) * Herbert Lee, married African-American farmer and father of nine, murdered in cold blood in front of witnesses in 1961 by E.L. Hurst in a civil rights case * William F. Love, U.S. Representative from Mississippi *

T. T. Martin Thomas Theodore Martin (born 1862 in Smith County, Mississippi, died May 23, 1939), was a Christian evangelist who became one of the most important figures of the anti-evolution movement in the 1920s. When the Anti-Evolution League of Minnesota f ...

, evangelist and prominent figure in the anti-evolution movement in the 1920s; buried in Gloster *

Frank A. McLain Frank Alexander McLain (January 29, 1852 – October 11, 1920) was a U.S. Representative from Mississippi. Born near Gloster in Amite County, Mississippi, McLain attended the public schools, and was graduated from the University of Mississip ...

, U.S. Representative from Mississippi *

Anne Moody Anne Moody (September 15, 1940 – February 5, 2015) was an American author who wrote about her experiences growing up poor and black in rural Mississippi, and her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement through the NAACP, CORE and SNCC. Moody ...

, civil rights activist and author of ''

Coming of Age in Mississippi ''Coming of Age in Mississippi'' is a 1968 memoir by Anne Moody about growing up in rural Mississippi in the mid-20th century as an African-American woman. The book covers Moody's life from childhood through her mid twenties, including her invol ...

'' * Glenn Moore, softball coach *

Leon Perry Leon Perry, Jr. (born August 14, 1957) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). He played in the NFL for the New York Giants and in the USFL for the Birmingham Sta ...

, American football player *

Barney Poole George Barney Poole (October 29, 1923 – April 12, 2005) was an American football end in the National Football League for the New York Yanks, the Dallas Texans, the Baltimore Colts, and the New York Giants. Poole also played football in the All- ...

, American football player * Clyde V. Ratcliff, member of the Louisiana Senate from 1944 to 1948Obituary of Clyde V. Ratcliff Sr., ''Tensas Gazette'', October 8, 1952 *

Andy Rodgers Andrew Rodgers (born 18 October 1983 in Falkirk) is a Scottish footballer and coach who plays as a forward for Syngenta. Career Rodgers began his career at Falkirk, scoring nine minutes into his debut after coming on as a substitute in a 2– ...

, Delta blues harmonicist, guitarist, singer and songwriter * George H. Tichenor, inventor of an antiseptic, briefly lived and married in Liberty *

E. M. Toler E is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. E or e may also refer to: Commerce and transportation * €, the symbol for the euro, the European Union's standard currency unit * ℮, the estimated sign, an EU symbol indicating that the weight ...

, physician and coroner who served in the

from East and West Feliciana parishes * Linda T. Walker, federal magistrate; judge for the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions. Appeals from cases ...

James W. Washington Jr. James W. Washington Jr. (November 10, 1908 – June 7, 2000) was an American painter and sculptor who grew into prominence in the Seattle art community.Susan Noyes Platt, "James W. Washington Jr." in program for ''Making a Life , Creating a World ...

, African-American painter and sculptor * Franklin Delano Williams,

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

singer *

Damien Wilson Damien Wilson (born May 28, 1993) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Minnesota, and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He has also played for the Ka ...

, NFL player for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

References

External links

Amite County Official Website

from Chapter: "Racist Power & Terror in Southwest Mississippi" (1960), in ''A Prophetic Minority'' (1966) {{authority control Mississippi counties McComb micropolitan area 1809 establishments in Mississippi Territory Populated places established in 1809