Drew, Mississippi

Drew is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,927 at the 2010 census. Drew is in the vicinity of several plantations and the Mississippi State Penitentiary, a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men. It is noted for being the site of several racist murders, including the lynching of Joe Pullen in 1923 and of Emmett Till in 1955.

History

When the Yellow Dog Railroad was extended through what is now Drew, the post office was moved from the Promised Land Plantation to the Drew location. The settlement and the post office were named for Miss Drew Daniel, daughter of Andrew Jackson Daniel.<ref>Promised Land or Sandy Bayou, A compendium of early history of the town of Drew and its immediate vicinity, Written & Edited by Elizabeth A Wilson. Printed by Buford Brothers Printing, Inc. Copyright 1976. pg. 12</ref>

A school called the Little Red Schoolhouse was built by matching funds from the Rosenwald Fund in 1928. In the 21st century it received a grant for renovation of the large school.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the 1920s, a man named Joe Pullen was lynched near Drew after killing at least three members and wounding other members of a posse seeking him after he shot and killed another man.<ref>Contemporaneous Pennsylvania news report on Joe Pullen, Google.com, Accessed June 23, 2023.</ref>

One historian wrote that the white residents of Drew had "traditionally been regarded as the most recalcitrant in the county on racial matters."<ref name="Moye28">Moye, p. 28.</ref> The author wrote that whites in Drew were "considered the most recalcitrant of Sunflower County, and perhaps the state."<ref name=Moye128>Moye, p. 128.</ref> He also claimed that Drew's proximity to the Mississippi State Penitentiary made Drew "a dangerous place to be black", and claimed that during the 1930s and 1940s many police officers arbitrarily shot blacks, saying that they appeared to look like escaped prisoners.<ref name=Moye128/> That historian also claimed that during the Civil Rights Movement, when attempts were made to move Fannie Lou Hamer's movement for poor people from Ruleville to Drew, the organizers "faced stiff resistance". Mae Bertha Carter, an activist during the Civil Rights Movement, was from Drew.<ref name="Moye28"/>

In 1955, 14-year-old African-American teenager Emmett Louis Till was abducted, tortured, and shot to death in a barn near Drew. The killing attracted national attention. Some locals have raised money to purchase the barn for a memorial.<ref name="Thompson 2021" />

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all land. Because of its small size, Billy Turner of The Times-Picayune said "[y]ou can travel all over town in a few minutes."<ref name="Turner">Turner, Billy. "The hometown Archie once knew is no more." The Times-Picayune. Saturday January 26, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2012.</ref> Drew is in the vicinity of several plantations and the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman), a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Drew, in northern Sunflower County,<ref name="BolPen">Wright, Chance. "Students protest merger." The Bolivar Commercial. April 8, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2012.</ref> is located on U.S. Route 49W, on the route between Jackson and Clarksdale.<ref>McGill, Ralph. "The Valid Voice." The Toledo Blade. Saturday June 15, 1963. Page 6. Retrieved from Google News (4 of 16) on March 4, 2011.</ref> Drew is Template:Convert south of the Mississippi State Penitentiary,<ref name="Downonfarm">Buntin, John. "Down on Parchman Farm." Governing Magazine. July 27, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.</ref> and it is north of Ruleville.<ref name="Moye28"/> Cleveland, Mississippi is Template:Convert from Drew. Drew is north of Yazoo City.<ref name="Turner"/>

Many houses in Drew are government-owned. Some houses sold for $6,000 to $8,000 in the year until 2008. Some Drew residents stated in 2008 that, if put on the market, some houses would sell for over $120,000.<ref name="Turner"/>

Demographics

File:Train Depot, Drew, Mississippi (1976).jpg

Train depot in Drew, 1976

File:DrewTownSquare.jpg

The Drew Town Square

File:Manningboulevardsign.jpg

Manning Boulevard, named after Archie Manning

File:Drew, Mississippi 1.jpg

Water tower in Drew

2020 census

Drew Racial Composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	198	10.69%
Black or African American	1,573	84.94%
Native American	5	0.27%
Asian	3	0.16%
Other/Mixed	44	2.38%
Hispanic or Latino	29	1.57%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,852 people, 729 households, and 503 families residing in the city.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 1,927 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 82.7% Black, 16.0% White, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian and 0.2% from two or more races. 0.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 2,434 people, 811 households, and 606 families living in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 922 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 25.27% White, 73.58% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population.

There were 811 households, out of which 42.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 35.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.51.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 36.6% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $19,167, and the median income for a family was $20,469. Males had a median income of $22,351 versus $18,693 for females. The per capita income for the city was $8,569. About 36.1% of families and 40.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 54.6% of those under age 18 and 23.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

At one time, Drew was the locality in the United States that had the most cotton gins. In 2008, it only had one cotton gin. Billy Turner of The Times-Picayune said "[t]here's some corn, some beans, but mostly, there's no business."<ref name="Turner"/> By 2012 the SuperValu grocery store had closed. Melanie Townsend, a woman quoted in a 2012 Bolivar Commercial article, said that since the grocery store closed, few employment opportunities were available in Drew and that the Drew School District was the largest employer in the area.<ref name="BolPen"/>

Education

Drew was first served by the predominantly African-American Drew School District.<ref name="SDProfile">"Drew School District Audited Financial Statements For the Year Ended June 30, 2005 Template:Webarchive." Office of the State Auditor, State of Mississippi. 12 (18/82). Retrieved on July 20, 2010.</ref><ref>"Schools in Drew School District." Greatschools.net. Retrieved on July 20, 2010.</ref> The City of Drew is currently served by the Sunflower County Consolidated School District. Elementary and middle school students attend schools in Drew: A. W. James Elementary School (K-5) and Drew Hunter Middle School (6-8).<ref name=SCSDHandbook1213>"Handbook 2012-2013." (Archive) Sunflower County School District. Retrieved October 9, 2013.</ref> High school students attend Ruleville Central High School in Ruleville.<ref name="AmyJeff">Amy, Jeff. "Mississippi to return Okolona schools to local control; district merger ends Drew High SchoolTemplate:Dead link." Associated Press at The Republic. May 17, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.</ref>

The North Sunflower Academy is in an unincorporated area of Sunflower County,<ref>"Home." North Sunflower Academy. Retrieved on August 10, 2010.</ref> about Template:Convert south of Drew.<ref>"Driving directions Template:Webarchive." North Sunflower Academy. Retrieved on August 10, 2010.</ref> The school originated as a segregation academy,<ref>Moye, J. Todd. Let the People Decide: Black Freedom and White Resistance Movements in Sunflower County, Mississippi, 1945-1986. UNC Press Books, 2004. 243. Retrieved from Google Books on March 2, 2011. "Sunflower County's two other segregation academies— North Sunflower Academy, between Drew and Ruleville, and Central Delta Academy in Inverness— both sprouted in a similar fashion." Template:ISBN, Template:ISBN.</ref> Mississippi Delta Community College has the Drew Center in Drew.<ref>"Off Campus Centers." Mississippi Delta Community College. Retrieved July 20, 2010.</ref>

The Sunflower County Library operates the Drew Public Library.<ref>"Sunflower County Library Directory Template:Webarchive." Sunflower County Library. Retrieved July 21, 2010.</ref>

Transportation

Ruleville-Drew Airport is in unincorporated Sunflower County, between Drew and Ruleville.<ref name=M37FAA>Template:FAA-airport - Retrieved on September 23, 2010.</ref> The airport is jointly operated by the cities of Drew and Ruleville.<ref name="AirportGrantsMS">"Poplarville, Hattiesburg among airports receiving grants Template:Webarchive." WDAM. March 12, 2010. Retrieved on September 23, 2010.</ref>

Notable people

• Mae Bertha Carter, civil rights activist<ref name="Obit">Ravo, Nick. "Mae Bertha Carter, 76, Mother Who Defied Segregation Law." The New York Times. May 6, 1999. Retrieved on March 30, 2012.</ref>
• Boo Boo Davis, blues singer who released an album entitled Drew, Mississippi<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Al Dixon, former NFL tight end
• Harold Dorman, rock and roll singer and songwriter
• William Eggleston, photographer who grew up in Drew
• Willie Louis, born Willie Reed, witness to the murder of Emmett Till<ref name="Thompson 2021">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• Archie Manning, former NFL quarterback, patriarch of the Manning family<ref>Didinger, Ray. "NFL Notebook: Archie Manning earns Bagnell award." Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. Sunday August 14, 2011. Retrieved on September 2, 2011. "He thought it was good fortune to be drafted by a team so close to home (Drew, Miss.)[...]"</ref>
• Billy Stacy, former NFL safety
• Pops Staples and Cleotha Staples, members of the Staple Singers<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

References

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Drew Chamber of Commerce (Archive)