Philadelphia, Mississippi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Philadelphia is a city in Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Neshoba County^GR6. It is the site of the Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders about which the movie Mississippi Burning was written. Philadelphia is also the hometown of Olivia Williams Manning, the mother of current NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning.

In 1980 Ronald Reagan, as a candidate for president, delivered a speech at the annual county fair in which he announced "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." This was regarded as quite controversial given Philadelphia's history of segregation and its being the site of the murder of civil rights workers. Some thought Reagan's speech marked the continuation of the successful Republican "Southern strategy".

[edit] Geography

Philadelphia is located at 32°46′27″N, 89°6′46″W (32.774070, -89.112891)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 27.5 km² (10.6 mi²). 27.5 km² (10.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.19%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 7,303 people, 2,950 households, and 1,899 families residing in the city. The population density was 265.8/km² (688.1/mi²). There were 3,302 housing units at an average density of 120.2/km² (311.1/mi²). 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 of any race 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.