Editing Mound Bayou, Mississippi

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Mound Bayou, Mississippi
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nickname                 = Jewel of the Delta
|image_skyline            = Mound_Bayou_Sign_2.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = 
|image_map                = Bolivar County Mississippi Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Mound Bayou Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Mound Bayou in Mississippi
|pushpin_map              = USA
|pushpin_map_caption      = Location in the United States
<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Mississippi|County]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_name1        = [[Mississippi]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Bolivar County, Mississippi|Bolivar]]
<!-- Government -->
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = 
|established_title        = Founded
|established_title2       = [[Municipal incorporation|Incorporated]] <br> -City status
|established_date         = July 12, 1887
|established_date2        = February 23, 1898 <br> May 12, 1972
<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_28.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 24, 2022}}</ref>
|area_total_sq_mi         = 0.88
|area_total_km2           = 2.27
|area_land_sq_mi          = 0.88
|area_land_km2            = 2.27
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_note          = 
|population_total         = 1534
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_density_sq_mi = 1749.14
|population_density_km2   = 675.62
<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|CST]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = [[North American Central Time Zone|CDT]]
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|coordinates              = {{coord|33|52|50|N|90|43|41|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_m              = 44
|elevation_ft             = 144
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.cityofmoundbayou.com/}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 38762
|area_code                = [[Area code 662|662]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 28-49320
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2404316<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2404316}}</ref>
|footnotes                = 
}}

'''Mound Bayou''' is a city in [[Bolivar County, Mississippi|Bolivar County]], [[Mississippi]], United States. The population was 1,533 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]],<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US2849320| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212185503/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US2849320| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Mound Bayou city, Mississippi| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=January 21, 2014}}</ref> down from 2,102 in 2000. It was founded as an independent black community in 1887 by former slaves led by [[Isaiah Montgomery]].<ref name=JCSRF2002>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_mont.html |first=Richard |last=Wormser |title=Isiah Washington |date=October 18, 2002 |access-date=October 18, 2002 |work=Jim Crow Stories: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow |publisher=[[WNET|Educational Broadcasting Corporation]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021018024802/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_mont.html |archive-date=October 18, 2002 }}</ref><ref name=JCEBC2002>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_williams.html |date=December 28, 2002 |title=Williams v. Mississippi (1898) |work=Jim Crow Stories: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow |author=Educational Broadcasting Corporation |author-link=WNET |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]] |access-date=April 5, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021228174638/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_williams.html |archive-date=December 28, 2002 }}</ref> Mound Bayou Historic District is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>https://www.apps.mdah.ms.gov/nom/dist/235.pdf {{bare URL PDF|date=April 2023}}</ref>

Mound Bayou has a 96.8% [[List of U.S. communities with African-American majority populations in 2020|African-American majority population]] in 2020, one of the largest of any community in the United States.

==History==
[[File:Isaiah Thornton Montgomery House, West Main Street, Mound Bayou (Bolivar County, Mississippi).jpg|thumb|left|[[I. T. Montgomery House]] is one of three sites in Mound Bayou listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Bolivar County, Mississippi|National Register of Historic Places]].]]
[[File:Mound Bayou Normal Institute.png|thumb|Mound Bayou Normal Institute, 1910]]
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 Emory Davis|Joseph E. Davis]] (elder brother of former Confederate president [[Jefferson Davis]]), who intended to create a model [[slavery in the United States|slave]] community on his plantation. Davis was influenced by the utopian ideas of [[Robert Owen]]. 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 [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Davis Bend became an autonomous free community when Davis sold his property to former slave [[Ben Montgomery|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 Montgomery|Isaiah T. Montgomery]], Benjamin's son, led the founding of Mound Bayou in 1887 in northwest Mississippi. The bottomlands of the [[Mississippi Delta|Delta]] 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]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uT4LPyzvEWUC |title=An Era of Progress and Promise: 1863–1910 |publisher=Priscilla Pub. Co. |year=1910 |editor-last=Hartshorn |editor-first=W. N. |location=Boston, MA |pages=156 |language=en |oclc=5343815 |editor-last2=Penniman |editor-first2=George W.}}</ref>

African Americans throughout the United States celebrated the Mound Bayou example. In 1908, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] 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]], 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...[and] where he has an opportunity to learn some of the fundamental duties and responsibilities of social and civic life.” <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beito |first=David |title=How Little Mound Bayou Became a Powerful Engine for African American Civil Rights and Economic Advancement |url=https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=14693 |journal=[[Independent Institute]] |date=October 10, 2023}}</ref>

By 1900 two-thirds of the owners of land in the bottomlands were black farmers. With the loss of political power due to state [[disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchisement]], 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]], a [[fraternal organization]]. 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 {{convert|1000|acre|sqkm}}, a home-construction firm, and a small zoo, and he built the first swimming pool for [[African Americans in Mississippi|black people in Mississippi]].

In 1952, [[Medgar Evers]] 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]] against [[filling station|service stations]] 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]]'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, Mississippi|Sumner]].

Author [[Michael Premo]] wrote:
<blockquote>Mound Bayou was an oasis in turbulent times. While the rest of Mississippi was [[Jim Crow laws|violently segregated]], inside the city there were no racial codes ... At a time when blacks faced [[lynching in the United States|repercussions as severe as death]] [[voter suppression in the United States|for registering to vote]], Mound Bayou residents were casting ballots in every election. The city has a proud history of [[credit union]]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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Premo |first=Michael |title=Mound Bayou, Mississippi – The Jewel of the Delta |publisher=[[StoryCorps]] |date=November 10, 2007 |url=http://storycorps.org/blog-posts/mound-bayou-mississippi-the-jewel-of-the-delta/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415222613/http://storycorps.org/blog-posts/mound-bayou-mississippi-the-jewel-of-the-delta/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 15, 2013 }}</ref></blockquote>

==Geography==
U.S. Routes [[U.S. Route 61 in Mississippi|61]] and [[U.S. Route 278|278]] bypass Mound Bayou to the west and lead south {{convert|9|mi|0}} to [[Cleveland, Mississippi|Cleveland]], the largest city in Bolivar County, and north {{convert|27|mi}} to [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city of Mound Bayou has a total area of {{convert|0.9|sqmi|km2}}, all land.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1900= 287
|1910= 537
|1920= 803
|1930= 834
|1940= 806
|1950= 1328
|1960= 1354
|1970= 2134
|1980= 2917
|1990= 2222
|2000= 2102
|2010= 1533
|2020= 1534
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Mound Bayou, Mississippi – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Mound Bayou city, Mississippi|url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALSF12000.P004?g=160XX00US2849320|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Mound Bayou city, Mississippi|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US2849320&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Mound Bayou city, Mississippi|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US2849320&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|17
|14
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|0.81%
|0.91%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|2,061
|1,503
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,485
|98.05%
|98.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |96.81%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|1
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.05%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|5
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.24%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Some Other Race]] alone (NH)
|1
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.05%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.33%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed Race/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|9
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |26
|0.43%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.69%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|8
|14
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11
|0.38%
|0.91%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.72%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''2,102'''
|'''1,533'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''1,534'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

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]],<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2016-10-14|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> 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]]<ref name="GR">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 2,102 people, 687 households, and 504 families living in the city. The population density was {{convert|2,395.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 723 housing units at an average density of {{convert|823.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 98.43% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.05% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.24% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.81% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.05% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.43% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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 [[Marriage|married couples]] 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]] for the city was $8,227. About 41.9% of families and 45.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], 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]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28011_bolivar/DC20SD_C28011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512221234/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st28_ms/schooldistrict_maps/c28011_bolivar/DC20SD_C28011.pdf |archive-date=2021-05-12 |url-status=live|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Bolivar County, MS|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2021-05-12}}</ref> which operates I.T. Montgomery Elementary School in Mound Bayou and [[Northside High School (Mississippi)|Northside High School]] in [[Shelby, Mississippi|Shelby]]. The elementary school is named after Mound Bayou cofounder Isaiah T. Montgomery.<ref>{{cite web|last=Davis Betz|first=Kelsey|url=https://mississippitoday.org/2018/05/19/mound-bayous-history-a-magical-kingdom-residents-fight-to-preserve/|title=Mound Bayou's history a 'magical kingdom' residents fight to preserve |work=[[Mississippi Today]]|date=2018-05-19|accessdate=2021-05-12}}</ref>

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".<ref name=CLA>[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88077379/1915-07-17/ed-1/seq-2/ "Hustling Town of Negroes Only Built in Mississippi,"] ''Labor Advocate'' [Cincinnati, OH], July 17, 1915, pg. 2.</ref> Teachers at the school were "poorly paid" and the school year limited to only five months.<ref name=CLA />

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.<ref name=MoundBayou>{{cite web|url=http://ntweb.deltastate.edu/abarton/DeltaGlobalContext/Slides/Lynch.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613085101/http://ntweb.deltastate.edu/abarton/DeltaGlobalContext/Slides/Lynch.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-13 |url-status=live|title=Lynch.pdf|publisher=St. Gabriel Mercy Center|accessdate=2021-05-14}}</ref>

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.<ref>"[https://mpe.org/mpe/documents/Consolidation.Final.pdf School District Consolidation in Mississippi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702083623/https://mpe.org/mpe/documents/Consolidation.Final.pdf |date=2017-07-02 }}." Mississippi Professional Educators. December 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2017. Page 2 (PDF p. 3/6).</ref> [[John F. Kennedy Memorial High School (Mississippi)|John F. Kennedy Memorial High School]] in Mound Bayou, formerly the secondary school of the Mound Bayou district, closed in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2018/08/23/mississippi-delta-families-protest-consolidated-high-school-delta/1075314002/|title=Students staying home to protest high school consolidation|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[The Clarion Ledger]]|date=2018-08-23|accessdate=2021-05-12}}</ref>

===Colleges and universities===
Bolivar County residents have residency for two community colleges: [[Coahoma Community College]] and [[Mississippi Delta Community College]].<ref>"[http://www.coahomacc.edu/admissions-financial-aid/admissions/general-admissions/student-residency/index Student Residency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804063903/http://www.coahomacc.edu/admissions-financial-aid/admissions/general-admissions/student-residency/index |date=2017-08-04 }}." [[Coahoma Community College]]. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.</ref><ref>"[http://www.msdelta.edu/president Message from the President] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704205527/http://www.msdelta.edu/president |date=July 4, 2017 }}." [[Mississippi Delta Community College]]. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.</ref> Their main campuses respectively are in [[unincorporated area|unincorporated]] [[Coahoma County]] and [[Moorhead, Mississippi|Moorhead]] in [[Sunflower County]].

==Health care==
The last hospital in town closed in 1983.<ref>{{cite web|last=Davis Betz|first=Kelsey|url=https://mississippitoday.org/2018/05/19/mound-bayous-history-a-magical-kingdom-residents-fight-to-preserve/|title=Mound Bayou's history a 'magical kingdom' residents fight to preserve|work=[[Mississippi Today]]|date=2018-05-19|accessdate=2021-05-12}}</ref>

A branch of Delta Health Center is located in Mound Bayou.<ref>{{cite web | title = Our Locations | date = 26 May 2018 | publisher = Delta Health Center | url = https://deltahealthcenter.org/locations/ | accessdate = May 24, 2022}}</ref>  Founded in Mound Bayou in 1967, Delta Health Center was the first rural community health center in the United States.<ref>{{cite news | last = Chatlani | first = Shalina | date = June 3, 2021 | title = With Roots In Civil Rights, Community Health Centers Push For Equity In The Pandemic | url = https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/06/03/998566213/with-roots-in-civil-rights-community-health-centers-push-for-equity-in-the-pande | work =  NPR}}</ref>

==Notable people==
*[[Eugene P. Booze]] (1879–1939)  African-American businessman<ref name="McComb Daily Journal-1939">{{Cite news |date=November 8, 1939 |title=Eugene Booze Dies of Wounds |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39559758/eugene-booze-son-in-law-of-i-t/ |newspaper=McComb Daily Journal |pages=1 |type=Obituary |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> 
*[[Mary Montgomery Booze]] (1878–1955), first African-American woman to sit on the [[Republican National Committee]]; born in Mound Bayou<ref>{{cite news |date=August 11, 1927 |title=Eugene Booze And Wife Arrested Charged With Murdering Isaiah T. Montgomery |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-black-dispatch-eugene-booze-and-wife/143608083/ |access-date=September 26, 2023 |website=[[The Black Dispatch]] |publisher= |pages=6 |publication-place=[[Oklahoma City]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
*[[General Crook (musician)|General Crook]], musician; born in Mound Bayou
*[[Medgar Evers]] (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 (American politician)|Katie Hall]] (1938–2012), politician, U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1982 to 1985; born in Mound Bayou
*[[Fannie Lou Hamer]] (1917–1977), civil rights leader
*[[Kevin Henry]] (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]] (1916–1991), first African-American to serve as a Catholic bishop in the 20th century
*[[Mel Reynolds|Melvin "Mel" Reynolds]], politician; born in Mound Bayou
*[[Kelly Miller Smith|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 (film)|Till]]''. The supporters of [[Emmett Till]]'s mother, [[Mamie Till|Mamie]], were residents of the town and hosted her when she testified in the trial of her son's killers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-crime-movies-race-and-ethnicity-d10f2f96d101098cef4ecd6fad306d8e |title=Emmett till movie shown in Black town pivotal to the story |website=[[Associated Press News]] |date=October 28, 2022 }}</ref> Mound Bayou was also mentioned in the 2025 film ''[[Sinners (2025 film)|Sinners]]'' and is referenced in a piece on [[Sinners (soundtrack)|the soundtrack album]] entitled "Mound Bayou / Proper Black Folks".<ref>{{AllMusic |id=mw0004507266 |title=''Sinners'' (Original Motion Picture Score) |access-date=May 6, 2025 }}</ref>

[[Ed Townsend]] wrote the [[Marvin Gaye]] hit song "[[Let's Get It On (song)|Let's Get It On]]" in Mound Bayou.<ref name="oxford american">{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/944-natural-resources |title=Natural Resources |work=Oxford American |issue=93, Summer 2016 |author=J. M. Martin |date=August 15, 2016 |access-date=August 18, 2016}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Mound Bayou Historic District]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Bolivar County, Mississippi]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last=Hermann | first=Janet | title=The Pursuit of a Dream | location=New York | publisher=OUP | year=1981 }}
*  David and Linda Royster Beito, ''T.R.M. Howard: Doctor, Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Pioneer'' (Oakland: Independent Institute), 2018. {{ISBN|978-1598133127}}.

==External links==
* [http://www.cityofmoundbayou.com/ City of Mound Bayou]
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{{Bolivar County, Mississippi}}

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[[Category:Mound Bayou, Mississippi|*]]
[[Category:Cities in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Cities in Bolivar County, Mississippi]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1887]]
[[Category:1887 establishments in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Populated places in Mississippi established by African Americans]]