Mound Bayou is a city in Bolivar County,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2010 census, down from 2,102 in 2000. It was founded as an independent black community in 1887 by former slaves led by Isaiah Montgomery. Mound Bayou Historic District is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Mound Bayou has a 96.8% African-American majority population in 2020, one of the largest of any community in the United States.

History

Mound Bayou traces its origin to freed African Americans from the community of Davis Bend, Mississippi. Davis Bend was started in the 1820s by planter Joseph E. Davis (elder brother of former Confederate president

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

), who intended to create a model

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

community on his plantation. Davis was influenced by the utopian ideas of

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist, political philosopher and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, co-operative movement. He strove to ...

. He encouraged self-leadership in the slave community, provided a higher standard of nutrition and health and dental care, and allowed slaves to become merchants. In the aftermath of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Davis Bend became an autonomous free community when Davis sold his property to former slave Benjamin Montgomery, who had run a store and been a prominent leader at Davis Bend. The prolonged agricultural depression, falling cotton prices, flooding by the Mississippi River, and white hostility in the region contributed to the economic failure of Davis Bend. Isaiah T. Montgomery, Benjamin's son, led the founding of Mound Bayou in 1887 in northwest Mississippi. The bottomlands of the

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

were a relatively undeveloped frontier, and freedmen had a chance to make money by clearing land and using the profits to buy lands in such frontier areas. In 1892, the Mound Bayou Normal Institute, a black school was founded by the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

. African Americans throughout the United States celebrated the Mound Bayou example. In 1908, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

ordered his train to make a special stop in the town. From the platform, he proclaimed that he was witnessing “an object lesson full of hope for the colored people and therefore full of hope for the white people, too.” Four years later,

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

, in a speech to a crowd of thousands, hailed Mound Bayou as a “place where a Negro may get inspiration by seeing what other members of his race have accomplished... ndwhere he has an opportunity to learn some of the fundamental duties and responsibilities of social and civic life.” By 1900 two-thirds of the owners of land in the bottomlands were black farmers. With the loss of political power due to state

disenfranchisement Disfranchisement, also disenfranchisement (which has become more common since 1982) 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 someo ...

, high debt and continuing agricultural problems, most of them lost their land and by 1920 were landless sharecroppers. As cotton prices fell, the town suffered a severe economic decline in the 1920s and 1930s. Shortly after a fire destroyed much of the business district, Mound Bayou began to revive in 1942 after the opening of the Taborian Hospital by the

International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor The International Order of Twelve Knights and Daughters of Tabor (IOT) is an international co-ed African American fraternal organization best known as the sponsor of the Taborian Hospital. History The International Order of Twelve Knights and ...

, a

fraternal organization A fraternity (; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western conce ...

. For more than two decades, under its Chief Grand Mentor Perry M. Smith, the hospital provided low-cost health care to thousands of black people in the Mississippi Delta. The chief surgeon was T.R.M. Howard, who eventually became one of the wealthiest black men in the state. Howard owned a plantation of more than , a home-construction firm, and a small zoo, and he built the first swimming pool for black people in Mississippi. In 1952,

Medgar Evers Medgar Wiley Evers (; July 2, 1925June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and soldier who was the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi. Evers, a United States Army veteran who served in World War II, was engaged in efforts ...

moved to Mound Bayou to sell insurance for Howard's Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company. Howard introduced Evers to civil rights activism through the Regional Council of Negro Leadership which organized a

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

against

service stations Service station may refer to: * Filling station, a gasoline or petrol station * Automobile repair shop, a place where automobiles are repaired * Service centre or rest area, a public facility on motorways or controlled-access highways for resti ...

that refused to provide restrooms for black people. The RCNL's annual rallies in Mound Bayou between 1952 and 1955 drew crowds of ten thousand or more. During the trial of

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African American youth, who was 14 years old when he was abducted and Lynching in the United States, lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being accused of offending a white woman, ...

's killers, black reporters and witnesses stayed in Howard's Mound Bayou home, and Howard gave them an armed escort to the courthouse in

Sumner Sumner may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Sumner, a mountain in the Rare Range, Antarctica * Sumner Glacier, southern Graham Land, Antarctica Australia * Sumner, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane New Zealand * Sumner, New Zealand, a seasi ...

. Author Michael Premo wrote:

Mound Bayou was an oasis in turbulent times. While the rest of Mississippi was violently segregated, inside the city there were no racial codes ... At a time when blacks faced repercussions as severe as death for registering to vote, Mound Bayou residents were casting ballots in every election. The city has a proud history of
credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...
s, insurance companies, a hospital, five newspapers, and a variety of businesses owned, operated, and patronized by black residents. Mound Bayou is a crowning achievement in the struggle for self-determination and economic empowerment.

Geography

U.S. Routes 61 and 278 bypass Mound Bayou to the west and lead south to

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, the largest city in Bolivar County, and north to Clarksdale. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city of Mound Bayou has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,534 people, 641 households, and 376 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,533 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 98.0% Black, 0.9% White, 0.1% Asian and 0.1% from two or more races. 0.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,102 people, 687 households, and 504 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 723 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.43%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.05% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.81%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.05% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population. There were 687 households, out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 43.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.66. In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.7% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 67.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $17,972, and the median income for a family was $19,770. Males had a median income of $21,700 versus $18,988 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $8,227. About 41.9% of families and 45.6% 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 ...

, including 58.5% of those under age 18 and 34.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

The city of Mound Bayou is served by the North Bolivar Consolidated School District, which operates I.T. Montgomery Elementary School in Mound Bayou and Northside High School in Shelby. The elementary school is named after Mound Bayou cofounder Isaiah T. Montgomery. From its earliest years, Mound Bayou has struggled with inadequate educational infrastructure. According to a 1915 report in the Cincinnati '' Labor Advocate'', Mound Bayou's school was attended by more than 300 students who were forced to make use of equipment held to be "inadequate for 50 pupils"."Hustling Town of Negroes Only Built in Mississippi,"
''Labor Advocate'' incinnati, OH July 17, 1915, pg. 2. Teachers at the school were "poorly paid" and the school year limited to only five months. St. Gabriel Mission School in Mound Bayou was of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson (formerly Roman Catholic Diocese of Natchez and Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson-Natchez). It opened as a K-8 school on September 7, 1954. The high school opened in 1958. In 1961 the high school closed. Its non-preschool grades ended in 1994 when it was converted into a preschool. The preschool closed in 2001. On July 1, 2014, the North Bolivar School District consolidated with the Mound Bayou Public School District to form the North Bolivar Consolidated School District. John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Mound Bayou, formerly the secondary school of the Mound Bayou district, closed in 2018.

Colleges and universities

Bolivar County residents have residency for two community colleges: Coahoma Community College and Mississippi Delta Community College. Their main campuses respectively are in unincorporated Coahoma County and Moorhead in Sunflower County.

Health care

The last hospital in town closed in 1983. A branch of Delta Health Center is located in Mound Bayou. Founded in Mound Bayou in 1967, Delta Health Center was the first rural community health center in the United States.

Notable people

* Eugene P. Booze (1879–1939) African-American businessman * Mary Montgomery Booze (1878–1955), first African-American woman to sit on the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

; born in Mound Bayou * General Crook, musician; born in Mound Bayou *

(1925–1963), civil rights leader and soldier * Myrlie Evers-Williams (born 1933), widow of Medgar Evers; civil rights leader, journalist, NAACP Chair * Minnie L. Fisher, local community activist * Lorenzo Gray (born 1958), baseball player; born in Mound Bayou * Katie Hall (1938–2012), politician, U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1982 to 1985; born in Mound Bayou *

Fannie Lou Hamer Fannie Lou Hamer (; Townsend; October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting and women's rights activist, community organizer, and leader of the civil rights movement. She was the vice-chair of the Freedom Democratic Party, ...

(1917–1977), civil rights leader *

Kevin Henry Kevin Lerell Henry (; born October 23, 1968) is an American former professional American football, football defensive lineman who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...

(born 1968), football player; born in Mound Bayou * Russell Holmes, Massachusetts state representative (6th Suffolk); born in Mound Bayou * T. R. M. Howard (1908–1976), physician, surgeon, leader of civil rights and fraternal organizations, and entrepreneur * Isaiah Montgomery (1847–1924), politician, town founder, mayor *

Harold Robert Perry Harold Robert Perry, S.V.D. (October 9, 1916 – July 17, 1991) was an American Catholic prelate who served as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1966 to 1991. He was the first openly African-American Catholic bish ...

(1916–1991), first African-American to serve as a Catholic bishop in the 20th century * Melvin "Mel" Reynolds, politician; born in Mound Bayou * Kelly Miller Smith Sr., preacher, author, and civil rights leader; born in Mound Bayou * Lewis Ossie Swingler, journalist, editor, and newspaper publisher * Ed Townsend, singer, songwriter, producer, and attorney

Cultural references

Mound Bayou was featured in the 2022 film, ''

Till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

''. The supporters of

's mother, Mamie, were residents of the town and hosted her when she testified in the trial of her son's killers. Mound Bayou was also mentioned in the 2025 film '' Sinners'' and is referenced in a piece on the soundtrack album entitled "Mound Bayou / Proper Black Folks". Ed Townsend wrote the

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

hit song " Let's Get It On" in Mound Bayou.

References

External links

City of Mound Bayou
{{Authority control * Cities in Mississippi Cities in Bolivar County, Mississippi Populated places established in 1887 1887 establishments in Mississippi Populated places in Mississippi established by African Americans