Editing Tupelo, Mississippi (section)

===20th century to present===
[[Image:Child workers in Tupelo, Mississippi.jpg|thumb|left|Part of the [[Child labor|force]] at Tupelo Cotton Mills, 1911. Photo by [[Lewis Hine]].]]
By the early twentieth century the town had become a site of cotton [[textile mill]]s, which provided new jobs for residents of the rural area. Under the state's segregation practices, the mills employed only [[White people|white]] adults and children. Reformers documented the child workers and attempted to protect them through labor laws.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gumtreechronicles.com/tupelo.html |title=Tupelo, MS |publisher=GumTree Chronicles |access-date=2013-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004224132/http://www.gumtreechronicles.com/tupelo.html |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The last known bank robbery by [[Machine Gun Kelly (gangster)|Machine Gun Kelly]], a [[Prohibition]]-era gangster, took place on November 30, 1932, at the Citizen's State Bank in Tupelo; his gang netted $38,000 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|38000|1932|r=-3}}}} in current dollar terms). After the robbery, the bank's chief teller said of Kelly, "He was the kind of guy that, if you looked at him, you would never thought he was a bank robber."<ref>{{cite web |title=George "Machine Gun" Kelly: American Robber and Kidnapper |work=crimelibrary |date=2007-07-18 |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/kelly/5.html |access-date=2007-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204170324/http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/kelly/5.html |archive-date=February 4, 2008 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

During the [[Great Depression]], Tupelo was [[Electrification|electrified]] by the new [[Tennessee Valley Authority]], which had constructed dams and power plants throughout the region to generate hydroelectric power for the large, rural area. The distribution infrastructure was built with federal assistance as well, employing many local workers. In 1935, President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] visited this "First TVA City".

Tupelo had only 20 Jewish residents at the beginning of the Great Depression, out of 20,000 total residents.<ref name="auto7">Richelle Putnam (2017). [https://books.google.com/books?id=fK84DwAAQBAJ&dq=Temple+B%27Nai+Israel++Tupelo,+Mississippi&pg=PA80 ''Mississippi and the Great Depression,''] History Press.</ref> [[Temple B'nai Israel (Tupelo, Mississippi)|Temple B'nai Israel]] was established in Tupelo in 1939.<ref name="auto2">Vicki Reikes Fox, Marcie Cohen Ferris (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=MVW2wyy3nwoC&dq=Temple+B%27Nai+Israel++Tupelo,+Mississippi&pg=PA71 ''Shalom Y'All; Images of Jewish Life in the American South,''] Algonquin Books.</ref> The congregation first met in Tupelo City Hall.<ref name="auto7"/><ref name="auto4">Sid Salter (2015). [https://books.google.com/books?id=cxoaCgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Temple+B%27Nai+Israel%22++%22Tupelo%22&pg=PT102 ''Jack Cristil; Voice of the MSU Bulldogs''], University Press of Mississippi, Revised Edition.</ref><ref name="auto5">{{Cite web|url=https://www.djournal.com/opinion/leesha-faulkner-tupelos-jewish-community-thrived/article_6b64b31a-d304-5b7c-bbe0-d3d791adfe90.html|author=Leesha Faulkner|title=Tupelo's Jewish community thrived|website=Daily Journal|date=January 18, 2020}}</ref> It later rented space on South Spring Street above the Fooks' [[Chevrolet]] dealership.<ref name="auto7"/> In 1953, it moved to space over Biggs Furniture Store.<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto6">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.isjl.org/mississippi-tupelo-encyclopedia.html|date=2020|title= Tupelo, Mississippi|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities|publisher=Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life}}</ref> A synagogue building was dedicated in 1957, with then-Mayor James Ballard giving the remarks.<ref name="auto5"/>

[[File:Tupelo, Mississippi Railroad Depot (circa 1900).jpg|thumb|left|Tupelo Railroad Depot, {{circa|1900|lk=yes}}.]]
Into the late 1950s several long-distance trains served Tupelo. These included the [[Gulf, Mobile & Ohio]]'s ''[[Gulf Coast Rebel]]'' (St. Louis - Mobile) and the [[Frisco Railroad]]'s ''[[Kansas City-Florida Special]]'' (Kansas City - Memphis - Jacksonville), ''Memphian'' (Memphis - Birmingham) and its ''Sunnyland'' (Kansas City to the west; sections east to Birmingham and Pensacola).<ref>{{cite journal |title=Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, Table 3|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=87 |issue=7 |date=December 1954}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=St. Louis-San Francisco Railway - Frisco, Tables 23, 25|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=87 |issue=7 |date=December 1954}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track1/gulfcoastrebel195008.html|title=The Gulf Coast Rebel - August, 1950 - Streamliner Schedules|website=Streamlinerschedules.com|access-date=November 13, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track2/kcflaspecial196104.html|title=The Kansas City-Florida Special - April, 1961 - Streamliner Schedules|website=Streamlinerschedules.com|access-date=November 13, 2021}}</ref> The Frisco's ''Southland'' ceased running on December 9, 1967, marking the last passenger train in northeast Mississippi.<ref>{{cite journal |title=St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, Table 4|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=99 |issue=7 |date=December 1966}}</ref><ref>Cox, Jim. ''Rails Across Dixie,'' McFarland and Col., Inc., 2011, p. 166. {{ISBN|9781476666013}}.</ref>

In 2007, the nearby village of [[Blue Springs, Mississippi|Blue Springs]] was selected as the site for [[Toyota]]'s 11th automobile manufacturing plant in the United States.

In 2013 Gale Stauffer of the [[List of law enforcement agencies in Mississippi|Tupelo Police Department]] died in a set up ambush following a bank robbery, possibly the first officer killed in the line of duty in the department's history.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/29/justice/bank-robber-manhunt/index.html?hpt=hp_t2|title=Phoenix police fatally shoot man suspected in multi-state robberies, cop killing|publisher=CNN|first=Susanna|last= Capelouto|date=December 29, 2013}}</ref>

President Donald Trump visited the city of Tupelo twice, in 2018 and 2019. He held a campaign rally for Senator [[Cindy Hyde-Smith]] on November 26, 2018, at the [[Tupelo Regional Airport]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=PHOTOS: President Trump holds rally in Tupelo|url=https://www.djournal.com/news/photos-president-trump-holds-rally-in-tupelo/collection_ffb4e6ec-aaa8-5d1e-bc4c-4473e772dda1.html|access-date=2021-04-12|website=Daily Journal|date=November 26, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Nearly one year later, the president returned to Tupelo to hold another rally (this time for Governor [[Tate Reeves]]) on November 1, 2019, at the [[BancorpSouth Arena]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Follow the latest from President Trump's Tupelo visit|url=https://www.djournal.com/news/follow-the-latest-from-president-trumps-tupelo-visit/article_1d37ecb9-b228-5464-8404-d8e53e416054.html|access-date=2021-04-12|website=Daily Journal|date=November 2019 |language=en}}</ref> These campaign rallies were broadcast on national television and received attention from news networks, such as [[CNN]] and [[Fox News]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rambaran|first=Vandana|date=2019-11-01|title=Trump rallies supporters in Mississippi after House impeachment probe vote, ahead of tight governor's race|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-appears-at-rally-in-mississippi-ahead-of-tight-race-for-governor|access-date=2021-04-12|website=Fox News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Live: Trump holds rallies in Mississippi|url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-rally-mississippi-nov-18/index.html|access-date=2021-04-12|website=CNN|date=November 26, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>