Sunflower, Mississippi

Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Sunflower is a town in Sunflower County, Mississippi. The population was 1,159 at the 2010 census.<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref>

Demographics

2020 census

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

Race	Num.	Perc.
White	103	10.68%
Black or African American	846	87.76%
Native American	2	0.21%
Other/Mixed	8	0.83%
Hispanic or Latino	5	0.52%

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<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 696 people, 229 households, and 166 families residing in the town. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 242 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the town was 27.87% White, 71.26% African American, 0.43% Asian, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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 for the town was $12,176. About 30.7% of families and 39.5% of the population were below the poverty line, 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<ref name=Davistwoclose>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Template:As of it was zoned to Ruleville Central High School (now Thomas E. Edwards, Sr. High School), at the time the sole school of the district.<ref>"Schools." Sunflower County School District. September 14, 2012. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.</ref>

Students were formerly zoned to East Sunflower Elementary School, until it closed in 2022. Students were reassigned to Ruleville Central Elementary.<ref name=Davistwoclose/>

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 of the 1960s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

• Willie Best, African-American actor from the 1930s and 1940s
• Jerry Butler, soul singer, inductee in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Craig Claiborne, longtime food critic for the New York Times
• Larry Herndon, Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers
• Matt "Guitar" Murphy, blues guitarist
• Big John Wrencher, blues harmonica player and singer
• Little Milton, blues singer and guitarist, inductee in Blues Hall of Fame
• C.L. Franklin, Former Pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church (1946-1979) and Father of American singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin.