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24-661: In 1967 civil rights activist Mae Bertha Carter and Marian Wright Edelman, a lawyer who worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., sued the Drew School District to challenge the Mississippi "freedom of choice" law. In 1969 the plaintiffs won the suit. Carter's children were the first black students to attend White schools in Drew. In 1969 a court order ended the segregation system in

48-831: A household in the city was $ 21,351, and the median income for a family was $ 23,036. Males had a median income of $ 25,104 versus $ 21,063 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 11,664. About 29.5% of families and 36.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 47.7% of those under age 18 and 27.4% of those age 65 or over. The City of Ruleville is served by the Sunflower County Consolidated School District . Schools serving Ruleville and in Ruleville include Ruleville Central Elementary School, Ruleville Middle School, and Thomas E. Edwards, Sr. High School (formerly Ruleville Central High School). North Sunflower Academy

72-539: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ruleville, Mississippi Ruleville is a city in Sunflower County , Mississippi , United States, in the Mississippi Delta region. The population was 3,007 at the 2010 census. It is the second-largest community in the rural county. Ruleville was described as "surrounded by a fine fertile country and timber lands". Development of

96-533: Is in an unincorporated area of Sunflower County, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Ruleville. The school originated as a segregation academy , founded to evade orders to integrate the public schools. Delta State University is located ten miles away in Cleveland . During the Civil Rights Movement, 1964 was Freedom Summer , organizing for voter registration and education, and adding to

120-483: Is land and 0.39% is water. Ruleville is along U.S. Route 49W . Ruleville is about 15 miles (24 km) from the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman). As of the 2020 United States Census , there were 2,642 people, 986 households, and 521 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States Census , there were 3,007 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city

144-428: Is now named Drew Hunter Middle School with grades 6-8. In 2008, 90% of the students at Drew High School were black. The Drew School district was in northern Sunflower County , in the central Mississippi Delta region and along U.S. Highway 49 West. The district consisted of 172.5 square miles (447 km) of farmland, and as of 2005 about 7,500 people lived within the boundaries of the district. The school district

168-847: The Mississippi Board of Education voted to take over the Drew School District. In February 2012 the Mississippi Senate voted 43-4 to pass Senate Bill 2330, to consolidate the Drew School District, the Indianola School District , and the Sunflower County School District into one school district. The bill went to the Mississippi House of Representatives . Later that month, the State Board of Education approved

192-562: The Drew School District. The first African-American school board member was Doretha Williams. After Drew School District was desegregated, White residents of Drew enrolled their children in North Sunflower Academy . In 1986 a petition to merge the district with the Sunflower County School District circulated. John Q. West, a board member of the Drew School District, said during that year that "I'm afraid we're going to end up having neighbor against neighbor." In June 2011

216-626: The Horace Stansel Memorial Library in Ruleville. Ruleville-Drew Airport is in unincorporated Sunflower County, between Ruleville and Drew . The airport is jointly operated by the cities of Ruleville and Drew. The North Sunflower Medical Center is a rural critical access hospital located in Ruleville, with 95 beds and approximately 500 employees. The medical center includes a surgical center, sleep center and outpatient rehabilitation unit. The center partners with other facilities to provide specialty care, including

240-533: The city was 80.77% black , 18.65% white , 0.43% Asian , 0.06% Native American , 0.03% from other races , and 0.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population. There were 1,020 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.5% were married couples living together, 34.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who

264-644: The consolidation of the Drew School District and the Sunflower County School District, and if Senate Bill 2330 is approved, Indianola School District will be added. In May 2012 Governor of Mississippi Phil Bryant signed the bill into law, requiring all three districts to consolidate. SB2330 stipulates that if a county has three school districts all under conservatorship by the Mississippi Department of Education will have them consolidated into one school district serving

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288-437: The curriculum in the local segregated schools for blacks. The "Ruleville Freedom School" was established to try to provide an alternative to the second-class education that had been provided to black students. It tried to prepare students to be part of change and a democratic society, to prepare for the civil freedom that the movement supported and would press the political system to provide. The Sunflower County Library operates

312-727: The entire county. In July 2014, the three school districts merged into the Sunflower County Consolidated School District. The district headquarters became the North Office of the county school district. At the time of closure, the district's schools were Drew Hunter High School and A.W. James Elementary School. Prior to the 2010-2011 school year the school district had three school buildings, including A.W. James Elementary School, Hunter Middle School, and Drew High School . James served K-4, Hunter served 5-8, and Drew High served 9-12. In 2010

336-470: The fall of 1965. She continued to keep her children in the schools even though a person fired bullets into her house, and even though her landlord evicted her and her family. Carter and Marian Wright Edelman , a lawyer who worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., sued the Drew School District to challenge the Mississippi "freedom of choice" law. In 1969 the plaintiffs won

360-569: The school district voted to close the Drew High School building and move the 5th and 6th grades to A.W. James. John Thigpen, the president of the school board, stated that the district operated as if it had 1,200 students when in fact it had 650. Effective August 1, 2011, all students will be required to wear school uniforms. The high school division of Drew Hunter closed after the merger took its course. High school students were rezoned to Ruleville Central High School . The secondary school

384-622: The school district, the Mississippi Department of Corrections (operator of MSP), and farming operations which produced beans, catfish, cotton, and rice. Some residents worked in factories and other businesses located in Clarksdale, Cleveland, Indianola, and Ruleville . As of the same year within the district boundaries were two banks, about 20 churches, a National Guard armory, a library, and three parks. Three higher education institutions were within 30 miles (48 km) of

408-510: The school district. Mae Bertha Carter Mae Bertha Carter (January 13, 1923 – April 28, 1999) was an activist during the Civil Rights Movement from Drew, Mississippi . Carter was born on January 13, 1923, in Sunflower County, Mississippi . In 1943 Mae Bertha married Mathew Carter, with whom she had thirteen children. In Sunflower County she enrolled 7 of her 13 children in schools previously reserved for Whites in

432-473: The settlement followed construction of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad , which established a stop here. The village was laid out in 1898 by J. W. Rule, for whom it was named. In September 1899 the official petition to Governor Anselm J. McLaurin to incorporate contained 98 names of the 'citizens and electors of Sunflower County...[who] reside in the village' noting that 150 people currently lived inside

456-613: The suit. In 1969 a court order ended the segregation system in the Drew School District. All seven of her children graduated from the previously all-White Drew High School . Mae Bertha Carter credits a woman named Hattie Leggett with being the person who most influenced her life. She died in her home in Drew on April 28, 1999. Mrs. Carter is the central figure in Constance Curry's book Silver Rights (1995, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill). This Mississippi -related article

480-484: The village. The rural area was being developed for cotton plantations after the American Civil War. Ruleville was established as an important cotton shipping point on the railroad. By the early 1900s, Ruleville had telephone and telegraph facilities, about 20 businesses, two white churches and one black church, a water works system, an electric light plant, three public gins, and excellent public schools for

504-483: The white population. The population in 1900 was 336. The Bank of Ruleville was established in 1903. During the Civil Rights Movement that expanded beginning in the 1950s, Fannie Lou Hamer , a farm worker, started a movement for poor people. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km ), of which 2.5 square miles (6.5 km )

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528-450: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.55. In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.3% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.5 males. The median income for

552-486: Was 85.3% black, 12.8% white, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 0.1% from some other race and 0.5% from two or more races. 0.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,234 people, 1,020 households, and 774 families living in the city. The population density was 1,278.3 inhabitants per square mile (493.6/km ). There were 1,096 housing units at an average density of 433.2 per square mile (167.3/km ). The racial makeup of

576-460: Was in the center of an area surrounded by four larger towns, Clarksdale , Cleveland , Greenwood , and Indianola , which function as shopping centers. The school district's attendance boundary included Drew, Rome , and the employee residences of the Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP, Parchman), located in an unincorporated area . As of 2005 most adult residents of the district had high school diplomas or less education. Major employers included

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