Indianola, Mississippi

Indianola is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sunflower County.

History
In July 1954, two months after the Supreme Court of the United States announced its unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, local plantation manager Robert B. Patterson met with a group of like-minded individuals in a private home in Indianola to form the White Citizens' Council.

Geography
Indianola is located at 33.44806°N, -90.6475°W (33.447999, -90.647414) at the junction of U.S. Routes 82 and 49W.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.7 sqmi, of which 8.6 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (1.03%) is water, including Indian Bayou, which runs the length of the city and beyond.

The topography of Indianola is flat, with the only significant elevation changes along waterways such as Indian Bayou and one Indian mound located on Main Street east of U.S. 49.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,066 people, 3,899 households, and 2,982 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,400.3 people per square mile (540.5/km²). There were 4,118 housing units at an average density of 477.9 per square mile (184.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 25.73% White, 73.38% African American, 0.01% Native American, 0.46% Asian American, 0.16% from other races, and 0.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.71% of the population.

There were 3,899 households out of which 39.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 31.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.5. In the city the population was spread out with 32.9% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 83.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,308, and the median income for a family was $31,186. Males had a median income of $27,310 versus $17,622 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,082. About 22.5% of families and 27.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.8% of those under age 18 and 21.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
In August 2011 Delta Pride, a catfish processing company, closed its plant in Indianola.

The blues
It is the birthplace of the blues musician Albert King. The blues harp player, Little Arthur Duncan, was born in Indianola in 1934. Henry Sloan lived in Indianola, and Charley Patton died near the city.

B.B. King grew up in Indianola as a child and comes to the blues festival named for him every year. King referenced the city with the title of his 1970 album Indianola Mississippi Seeds. The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, a $14 million facility dedicated to King and the blues, opened in September 2008. Many street names are named after King and his music, including B.B. King Road, Lucille St. (named after his guitar), and Delta Blues St.

Education
The Indianola School District, headquartered in Indianola, operates public schools serving Indianola. Residents are zoned to Lockard Elementary School (K-2), Carver Elementary School (3-6), Robert L. Merritt Junior High School (7-9), and Gentry High School (10-12). The district operates two other 10-12 schools, Indianola Career and Technical Center and Indianola Academic Achievement Academy.

Indianola Academy, a private school and former segregation academy, is in Indianola.

The Sunflower County School District has its headquarters in the Sunflower County Courthouse in Indianola. The district's educational services building is along U.S. Route 49 West in Indianola.

As of 1996 9 of 10 students in the Indianola School District are African-American. Most of the White students who attend Indianola public schools transfer to private schools by junior high school.

Government and infrastructure
The Mississippi Department of Corrections operates a probation and parole office in the Courthouse Annex in Indianola.

The United States Postal Service operates the Indianola Post Office.

Transportation
Indianola Municipal Airport is located in unincorporated Sunflower County, near Indianola. is operated by the city.

Notable residents

 * Mary Alice, actress.
 * Albert King, blues musician.
 * B.B. King, blues musician.
 * Michael Spurlock, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver.
 * Ellis Wyms
 * Steve Yarbrough, writer.

The local radio station, WNLA-AM was at one time owned and operated by Edward O. Fritts, who would later serve for many years as the President of the National Association of Broadcasters.

In the media

 * Indianola serves as the basis for the fictional "Loring, Mississippi" in works by Steve Yarbrough, including The End of California.


 * Parts of the film The Chamber, starring Gene Hackman, were filmed in downtown Indianola. The film was adapted from the John Grisham novel of the same name.


 * From 1932 until 1934, Hortense Powdermaker conducted an anthropological study of the African-American community in Indianola, which served as the basis for her book, After Freedom: A Cultural Study In the Deep South and mentioned in her book "Stranger and Friend. The Way of an Anthropologist".


 * John Dollard spent five months in Indianola conducting research for his 1937 book, Caste and Class in a Southern Town, which examined how those factors affected race relations in the rural South. While Indianola was not named in the book, the eponymous "Southern Town" was based on the data he collected there.