Sunflower is a town in Sunflower 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 ...

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

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 964 people, 424 households, and 278 families residing in the town.

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 696 people, 229 households, and 166 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 242 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 27.87%

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 ...

, 71.26%

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 ...

, 0.43% Asian, 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 0.14% 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 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, 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 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 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 ...

, 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), 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 a ...

of the 1960s.

Notable people

Willie Best William Best (May 27, 1916 – 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 known ...

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

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

, soul singer, inductee in

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

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 ...

, longtime food critic for the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * Larry Herndon, Major League Baseball player for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Matt "Guitar" Murphy Matthew Tyler Murphy (December 29, 1929 – June 15, 2018), known as Matt "Guitar" Murphy, was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was associated with Memphis Slim, The Blues Brothers and Howlin' Wolf. In 2012, Murphy was electe ...

, blues guitarist * Big John Wrencher, 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 List of number-one R&B singles of 1965 (U.S.), number-one R&B single "We're Gonna Ma ...

, blues singer and guitarist, inductee in

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum operated by the Blues Foundation 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 b ...

* C.L. Franklin, Former Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church (1946-1979) and Father of American singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin.

References

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