137-701: Leflore County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi . As of the 2020 census , the population was 28,339. The county seat is Greenwood . The county is named for Choctaw leader Greenwood LeFlore , who signed a treaty to cede his people's land to the United States in exchange for land in Indian Territory . LeFlore stayed in Mississippi, settling on land reserved for him in Tallahatchie County . Leflore County
274-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be
411-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has
548-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of
685-488: A cultural boom in cities such as Chicago and New York. In Chicago for instance, the neighborhood of Bronzeville became known as the "Black Metropolis". From 1924 to 1929, the "Black Metropolis" was at the peak of its golden years. Many of the community's entrepreneurs were Black during this period. "The foundation of the first African American YMCA took place in Bronzeville, and worked to help incoming migrants find jobs in
822-465: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it
959-412: A household in the county was $ 21,518, and the median income for a family was $ 26,059. Males had a median income of $ 25,959 versus $ 18,497 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 12,553. About 29.10% of families and 34.80% of the population were below the poverty line , including 48.00% of those under age 18 and 24.50% of those age 65 or over. The Delta Correctional Facility , operated by
1096-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,
1233-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,
1370-635: A larger role, with migrants following the path set by those before them. African Americans from the South also migrated to industrialized Southern cities, in addition to northward and westward to war-boom cities. There was an increase in Louisville's defense industries, making it a vital part of America's effort into World War II and Louisville's economy. Industries ranged from producing synthetic rubber, smokeless powders, artillery shells, and vehicle parts. Many industries also converted to creating products for
1507-888: A matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between the states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses
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#17327869954301644-613: A new one. Some historians differentiate between a first Great Migration (1910–40), which saw about 1.6 million people move from mostly rural areas in the South to northern industrial cities, and a Second Great Migration (1940–70), which began after the Great Depression and brought at least five million people—including many townspeople with urban skills—to the North and West. Since the Civil Rights Movement ,
1781-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,
1918-455: A portion of the migrants, as African Americans searched for social reprieve. The historic change brought by the migration was amplified because the migrants, for the most part, moved to the then-largest cities in the United States ( New York City , Chicago , Detroit , Los Angeles , San Francisco , Philadelphia , Cleveland , and Washington, D.C. ) at a time when those cities had a central cultural, social, political, and economic influence over
2055-640: A result of these advancements, the percentage of Black families living below the poverty line declined from 87% in 1940 to 47% by 1960 and to 30% by 1970. Populations increased so rapidly among both African-American migrants and new European immigrants that there were housing shortages in most major cities. With fewer resources, the newer groups were forced to compete for the oldest, most run-down housing. Ethnic groups created territories which they defended against change. Discrimination often restricted African Americans to crowded neighborhoods. The more established populations of cities tended to move to newer housing as it
2192-508: A small rural town 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Memphis . The race riots peaked in Chicago, with the most violence and death occurring there during the riots. The authors of The Negro in Chicago; a study of race relations and a race riot , an official report from 1922 on race relations in Chicago, came to the conclusion that there were many factors that led to the violent outbursts in Chicago. Principally, many Black workers had assumed
2329-542: A state and US citizen, a planter who owned African-American slaves, and at times served as a politician. Following the American Civil War, during Reconstruction the majority-black population of freedmen in the county gained emancipation and suffrage, participating for the first time in formal politics. They supported the Republican Party , as President Abraham Lincoln had gained their freedom. In
2466-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during
2603-572: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with
2740-401: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Great Migration (African American) The Great Migration , sometimes known as
2877-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In
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#17327869954303014-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population
3151-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in
3288-719: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by
3425-666: Is part of the Greenwood, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area . It is located in the Mississippi Delta region, with its southern border formed by the Yazoo River . Its riverfront lands were developed before the Civil War as cotton plantations. More inland areas were developed in the later 19th century. Leflore County, which is still largely rural, is noted for having the highest level of child poverty of any county in
3562-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of
3699-562: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same
3836-506: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among
3973-652: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in
4110-458: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to
4247-485: The Colored Farmers' Alliance sparked false rumors of an impending Black "uprising." Mississippi Governor Robert Lowry ordered the state militia to Leflore County. Militia troops killed an estimated 25 Black people. In the period from 1877 to 1950, Leflore County had 48 documented lynchings of African Americans , by far the highest number in the state and third highest in the United States. Most occurred around
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4384-939: The Corrections Corporation of America on behalf of the Mississippi Department of Corrections , is located in Greenwood in Leflore County. Mississippi Valley State University is located 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Itta Bena in an unincorporated area . Additionally the county is in the district for Mississippi Delta Community College . The main campus is in Moorhead in Sunflower County . 33°33′N 90°18′W / 33.55°N 90.30°W / 33.55; -90.30 County (United States) In
4521-761: The Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, less than 8% of the African-American population lived in the Northeastern or Midwestern United States. This began to change over the next decade to such an extent that a U.S. Senate committee ordered an investigation into the causes of the mass migration from the South during the preceding decade, especially to Kansas, where many sought refuge. In 1900, about 90% of Black Americans still lived in Southern states. Between 1910 and 1930,
4658-427: The Great Depression , more advances took place after workers in the steel and meatpacking industries organized into labor unions in the 1930s and 1940s, under the interracial Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The unions ended the segregation of many jobs, and African Americans began to advance into more skilled jobs and supervisory positions previously informally reserved for whites. Between 1940 and 1960,
4795-597: The Great Northward Migration or the Black Migration , was the movement of six million African Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast , Midwest , and West between 1910 and 1970. It was substantially caused by poor economic and social conditions due to prevalent racial segregation and discrimination in the Southern states where Jim Crow laws were upheld. In particular, continued lynchings motivated
4932-643: The Harlem Renaissance , which was also fueled by immigrants from the Caribbean, and the Chicago Black Renaissance . In her book The Warmth of Other Suns , Pulitzer Prize –winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson discusses the migration of "six million Black Southerners [moving] out of the terror of Jim Crow to an uncertain existence in the North and Midwest." The struggle of African-American migrants to adapt to Northern cities
5069-603: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains
5206-526: The Mississippi Delta to Chicago to escape racial discrimination. Muddy Waters , Chester Burnett , and Buddy Guy are among the most well-known blues artists who migrated to Chicago. Great Delta-born pianist Eddie Boyd told Living Blues magazine, "I thought of coming to Chicago where I could get away from some of that racism and where I would have an opportunity to, well, do something with my talent.... It wasn't peaches and cream [in Chicago], man, but it
5343-566: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have
5480-576: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left
5617-610: The U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 606 square miles (1,570 km), of which 593 square miles (1,540 km) is land and 14 square miles (36 km) (2.3%) is water. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 28,339 people, 9,962 households, and 6,050 families residing in the county. As of the 2010 United States Census , there were 32,317 people living in the county. 72.2% were Black or African American , 24.9% White , 0.6% Asian , 0.2% Native American , 1.5% of some other race and 0.6% of two or more races . 2.3% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). As of
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5754-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with
5891-582: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite
6028-552: The United States , a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of the United States which consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county " is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as
6165-689: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government
6302-485: The census of 2000, there were 37,947 people, 12,956 households, and 8,887 families living in the county. The population density was 64 inhabitants per square mile (25/km). There were 14,097 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile (9.3/km). The racial makeup of the county was 67.73% Black or African American , 30.00% White , 0.11% Native American , 0.65% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.98% from other races , and 0.50% from two or more races. 1.90% of
6439-471: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does
6576-478: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia
6713-582: The 14 states of the South, especially Alabama , Mississippi , Louisiana , Texas , and Georgia . The Great Depression of the 1930s resulted in reduced migration because of decreased opportunities. With the defense buildup for World War II and with the post-war economic prosperity, migration was revived, with larger numbers of Black Americans leaving the South through the 1960s. This wave of migration often resulted in overcrowding of urban areas due to exclusionary housing policies meant to keep African-American families out of developing suburbs. For example, in
6850-698: The 1920s, New York's Harlem became a center of Black cultural life, influenced by the American migrants as well as new immigrants from the Caribbean area. Second-tier industrial cities that were destinations for numerous Black migrants were Buffalo , Rochester , Boston , Milwaukee , Minneapolis , Kansas City , Columbus , Cincinnati , Grand Rapids and Indianapolis , and smaller industrial cities such as Chester , Gary , Dayton , Erie , Toledo , Youngstown , Peoria , Muskegon , Newark , Flint , Saginaw , New Haven , and Albany . People tended to take
6987-413: The 1930s and 1940s, increasing mechanization of agriculture virtually brought the institution of sharecropping that had existed since the Civil War to an end in the United States causing many landless Black farmers to be forced off of the land. As a result, approximately 1.4 million Black southerners moved north or west in the 1940s, followed by 1.1 million in the 1950s, and another 2.4 million people in
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#17327869954307124-529: The 1960s and early 1970s. By the late 1970s, as deindustrialization and the Rust Belt crisis took hold, the Great Migration came to an end. But, in a reflection of changing economics, as well as the end of Jim Crow laws in the 1960s and improving race relations in the South, in the 1980s and early 1990s, more Black Americans were heading South than leaving that region. African Americans moved from
7261-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant
7398-461: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in
7535-523: The African-American labor activism continued. In the late summer and autumn of 1919, racial tensions became violent and came to be known as the Red Summer . This period of time was defined by violence and prolonged rioting between Black and White Americans in major United States cities. The reasons for this violence vary. Cities that were affected by the violence included Washington D.C. , Chicago, Omaha , Knoxville, Tennessee , and Elaine, Arkansas ,
7672-463: The African-American population increased by about 40% in Northern states as a result of the migration, mostly in the major cities. The cities of Philadelphia , Detroit , Chicago , Cleveland , Baltimore , and New York City had some of the biggest increases in the early part of the twentieth century. Tens of thousands of Black workers were recruited for industrial jobs, such as positions related to
7809-573: The Albany Inter-Racial Council and churches, helped them, but de facto segregation and discrimination remained well into the late 20th century. Migrants going to Pittsburgh and surrounding mill towns in western Pennsylvania between 1890 and 1930 faced racial discrimination and limited economic opportunities. The Black population in Pittsburgh jumped from 6,000 in 1880 to 27,000 in 1910. Many took highly paid, skilled jobs in
7946-997: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,
8083-410: The Great Migration, eventually gaining a measure of class mobility , but the migrants encountered significant forms of discrimination. Because so many people migrated in a short period of time, the African-American migrants were often resented by the urban European-American working class (many of whom were recent immigrants themselves); fearing their ability to negotiate rates of pay or secure employment,
8220-511: The New York and northern New Jersey suburbs 67,000 mortgages were insured by the G.I. Bill , but fewer than 100 were taken out by non-whites. Big cities were the principal destinations of southerners throughout the two phases of the Great Migration. In the first phase, eight major cities attracted two-thirds of the migrants: New York and Chicago , followed in order by Philadelphia , St. Louis , Detroit , Kansas City , Pittsburgh , and Indianapolis . The Second great Black migration increased
8357-420: The North where other Black Americans had previously migrated. Per a 2021 study, "when one randomly chosen African American moved from a Southern birth town to a destination county, then 1.9 additional Black migrants made the same move on average." After moving from the environment of the south to the northern states, African Americans were inspired to be creative in different ways. The Great Migration resulted in
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#17327869954308494-467: The South in 1916 through 1918 to take advantage of a labor shortage in industrial cities during the First World War. In 1910, the African-American population of Detroit was 6,000. The Great Migration, along with immigrants from southern and eastern Europe as well as their descendants, rapidly turned the city into the country's fourth-largest. By the start of the Great Depression in 1929,
8631-504: The South, while a little less than half lived in the North and West. Moreover, the African-American population had become highly urbanized. In 1900, only one-fifth of African Americans in the South were living in urban areas. By 1960, half of the African Americans in the South lived in urban areas, and by 1970, more than 80% of African Americans nationwide lived in cities. In 1991, Nicholas Lemann wrote: The Great Migration
8768-562: The Southern states. The defense industry in Louisville reached a peak of roughly over 80,000 employment. At first, job availability was not open for African Americans, but the growing need for jobs in the defense industry and the Fair Employment Practices Committee sign by Franklin D. Roosevelt , the Southern industries began to accept African Americans into the workplace. Migration patterns reflected network ties. Black Americans tended to go to locations in
8905-1035: The Tallahatchie County Courthouse, in Sumner, Mississippi . During a 2007 interview, not made public until 2017, Carolyn Bryant had disclosed that she had fabricated her testimony about Till's actions. In 1963, the county had more than 13,000 blacks of legal voting age, but fewer than 270 were registered because of discrimination and suppression by whites. Blacks had been essentially disfranchised since implementation of Mississippi's new constitution in 1890, establishing poll taxes , literacy tests and other voter registration barriers. Meanwhile, 95% of eligible white voters were registered. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee had moved its headquarters to Greenwood in early 1963, and by late March of that year, eight SNCC members were arrested while trying to register voters. The United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division filed suit against
9042-655: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by
9179-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number
9316-479: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while
9453-690: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in
9590-489: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county
9727-558: The United States. L.C. Green was one of several notable blues guitarists who came from Leflore County, Mississippi. Other notable natives and one-time residents of the county were (in alphabetical order) David "Honeyboy" Edwards , Guitar Slim , Richard "Hacksaw" Harney , Luther Johnson (Guitar Junior) , Robert Johnson , Rubin Lacey , Furry Lewis , Tommy McClennan , Dion Payton , Robert Petway , Brewer Phillips , Fenton Robinson , Hubert Sumlin , and Hound Dog Taylor . According to
9864-465: The United States. Mechanization of agriculture reduced jobs available for many workers in the 20th century, and there are few opportunities. The population has declined dramatically since its peak in 1930 as people continue to leave for opportunities elsewhere. Leflore County was formed in 1871 during the Reconstruction era from portions of Carroll , Sunflower and Tallahatchie counties. It
10001-428: The United States; there, African Americans established culturally influential communities of their own. According to Isabel Wilkerson , despite the loss of leaving their homes in the South, and the barriers faced by the migrants in their new homes, the migration was an act of individual and collective agency , which changed the course of American history, a "declaration of independence" written by their actions. From
10138-586: The West Coast for defense industry jobs. As with other parts of the majority-black Delta, Leflore County was a major site of activism and white violence during the Civil Rights Movement . In 1955, the events leading up to the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till unfolded in the unincorporated community of Money, Mississippi . Till, a teenage African-American , was visiting from Chicago and staying with relatives in Money, where Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market
10275-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called
10412-561: The cheapest rail ticket possible and go to areas where they had relatives and friends. For example, many people from Mississippi moved directly north by train to Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis, from Alabama to Cleveland and Detroit, from Georgia and South Carolina to New York City , Baltimore , Washington D.C. and Philadelphia , and in the second migration, from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to Oakland , Los Angeles , Portland , Phoenix , Denver , and Seattle . Educated African Americans were better able to obtain jobs after
10549-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,
10686-403: The city of Chicago." The "Black Belt" geographical and racial isolation of this community, bordered to the north and east by whites, and to the south and west by industrial sites and ethnic immigrant neighborhoods, made it a site for the study of the development of an urban Black community. For urbanized people, eating proper foods in a sanitary, civilized setting such as the home or a restaurant
10823-407: The city of Greenwood and Leflore County to obtain their release. The petition was denied by a local court, but the city of Greenwood entered into a voluntary agreement to release the students. In June 1963, 45 residents of Itta Bena were arrested in Leflore County while protesting an attack on churches where voter registration drives were being held. The Civil Rights Division of DOJ filed suit against
10960-412: The city's African-American population had increased to 120,000. In 1900–01, Chicago had a total population of 1,754,473. By 1920, the city had added more than 1 million residents. During the second wave of the Great Migration (1940–60), the African-American population in the city grew from 278,000 to 813,000. The flow of African Americans to Ohio, particularly to Cleveland , changed the demographics of
11097-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration
11234-463: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in
11371-500: The county to obtain their release as well, but to no avail. Passage of national civil rights legislation by Congress in 1964 and 1965 began to change the ground rules, especially as it authorized federal oversight and enforcement in counties with a history of an under-representation of minority voters. Organizers and marchers returned to the county in 1966 as part of the March Against Fear , initiated by James Meredith . He
11508-548: The earliest U.S. population statistics in 1780 until 1910 , more than 90% of the African-American population lived in the American South , making up the majority of the population in three Southern states, namely Louisiana (until about 1890 ), South Carolina (until the 1920s ), and Mississippi (until the 1930s ). But by the end of the Great Migration, just over half of the African-American population lived in
11645-471: The ethnic whites felt threatened by the influx of new labor competition. Sometimes those who were most fearful or resentful were the last immigrants of the 19th and new immigrants of the 20th century. African Americans made substantial gains in industrial employment, particularly in the steel, automobile, shipbuilding, and meatpacking industries. Between 1910 and 1920, the number of Black workers employed in industry nearly doubled from 500,000 to 901,000. After
11782-508: The expansion of the Pennsylvania Railroad . Because changes were concentrated in cities, which had also attracted millions of new or recent European immigrants, tensions rose as the people competed for jobs and scarce housing. Tensions were often most severe between ethnic Irish, defending their recently gained positions and territory, and recent immigrants and Black people. With the migration of African Americans northward and
11919-491: The first Great Migration, for example, ended up in Chicago , while those from Virginia tended to move to Philadelphia . For the most part, these patterns were related to geography (i.e. longitude), with the closest cities attracting the most migrants (such as Los Angeles and San Francisco receiving a disproportionate number of migrants from Texas and Louisiana). When multiple destinations were equidistant, chain migration played
12056-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both
12193-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which
12330-626: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;
12467-502: The jobs of white men who went to go fight in World War I. As the war ended in 1918, many men returned home to find out their jobs had been taken by Black men who were willing to work for far less. By the time the rioting and violence had subsided in Chicago, 38 people had lost their lives, with 500 more injured. Additionally, $ 250,000 worth of property was destroyed, and over a thousand persons were left homeless. In other cities across
12604-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as
12741-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City
12878-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by
13015-459: The main cash crop — but had been devastated by the arrival of the boll weevil . In 1910, African Americans constituted the majority of the population of South Carolina and Mississippi, and more than 40% in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas; by 1970, only in Mississippi did the African-American population constitute more than 30% of the state's total. "The disappearance of the 'black belt'
13152-686: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to
13289-529: The mid-1870s, the Red Shirts , a white paramilitary organization working on behalf of the Democratic Party, developed chapters in Mississippi. They worked to disrupt Republican meetings, suppress the black vote, and turn Republicans out of office so that white Democrats could regain control of the state legislature. One particular act of mass violence stands out: In September 1889, organizing by
13426-502: The migrants concentrated in the big cities of the north and west, their influence was magnified in those places. Cities that had been virtually all white at the start of the century became centers of Black culture and politics by mid-century. Residential segregation and redlining led to concentrations of Black people in certain areas. The northern "Black metropolises" developed an important infrastructure of newspapers, businesses, jazz clubs, churches, and political organizations that provided
13563-485: The mixing of White and Black workers in factories, the tension was building, largely driven by White workers. The AFL, the American Federation of Labor , advocated the separation between European Americans and African Americans in the workplace. There were non-violent protests such as walk-outs in protest of having Blacks and Whites working together. As tension was building due to advocating for segregation in
13700-439: The move to Western Pennsylvania. They formed migration clubs, pooled their money, bought tickets at reduced rates, and often moved ingroups. Before they made the decision to move, they gathered information and debated the pros and cons of the process.... In barbershops, poolrooms, and grocery stores, in churches, lodge halls, and clubhouses, and in private homes, Black people who lived in the South discussed, debated, and decided what
13837-769: The nation many more had been affected by the violence of the Red Summer . The Red Summer enlightened many to the growing racial tension in America. The violence in these major cities prefaced the soon to follow Harlem Renaissance , an African-American cultural revolution, in the 1920s. Racial violence appeared again in Chicago in the 1940s and in Detroit as well as other cities in the Northeast as racial tensions over housing and employment discrimination grew. James Gregory calculates decade-by-decade migration volumes in his book The Southern Diaspora. Black migration picked up from
13974-521: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name
14111-417: The next year. The enlistment of workers into the military had also affected the labor supply. This created a wartime opportunity in the North for African Americans, as the Northern industry sought a new labor supply from the South. There were many advantages for Northern jobs compared to Southern jobs including wages that could be double or more. The southern sharecropping system, an agricultural depression,
14248-524: The north was strengthened by the efforts of labor agents sent by northern businessmen to recruit southern workers. Northern companies offered special incentives to encourage Black workers to relocate, including free transportation and low-cost housing. During World War I , there was a decline in European immigrants, which slowed the supply of workers for Northern factories. Around 1.2 million European immigrants arrived during 1914 while only 300,000 arrived
14385-513: The number of Black people in managerial and administrative occupations doubled, along with the number of Black people in white-collar occupations, while the number of Black agricultural workers in 1960 fell to one-fourth of what it was in 1940. Also, between 1936 and 1959, Black income relative to white income more than doubled in various skilled trades. Despite employment discrimination , Black people had higher labor force participation rates than whites in every U.S. Census from 1890 to 1950. As
14522-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control
14659-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of
14796-530: The political system and racially segregated into the 1960s. In the first half of the 20th century, many blacks left rural counties such as Leflore, in the Great Migration to northern and midwestern industrial cities to escape racial violence, and in search of jobs and education: many people went north by train to Chicago , taking their music with them and changing the big city forever. Many more people left Mississippi from 1940 to 1970, often migrating to
14933-413: The population in 1910 to about 30% by 1970. The growing Black presence outside the South changed the dynamics and demographics of numerous cities in the Northeast, Midwest, and West. In 1900, only 740,000 African Americans lived outside the South, just 8% of the nation's total Black population. By 1970, more than 10.6 million African Americans lived outside the South, 47% of the nation's total. Because
15070-530: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. According to the census of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Leflore County were African 67.73%, English 19%, and Scots-Irish 9.4% There were 12,956 households, out of which 35.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.00% were married couples living together, 27.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who
15207-523: The populations of these cities while adding others as destinations, including the Western states . Western cities such as Los Angeles , San Francisco , Oakland , Phoenix , Denver , Seattle , and Portland also attracted African Americans in large numbers. There were clear migratory patterns that linked particular states and cities in the South to corresponding destinations in the North and West. Almost half of those who migrated from Mississippi during
15344-582: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there
15481-429: The spread of racist ideology, widespread lynching (nearly 3,500 African Americans were lynched between 1882 and 1968 ), and lack of social and economic opportunities in the South. Some factors pulled migrants to the north, such as labor shortages in northern factories brought about by World War I, resulting in thousands of jobs in steel mills, railroads, meatpacking plants, and the automobile industry. The pull of jobs in
15618-421: The staging ground for new forms of racial politics and new forms of Black culture. As a result of the Great Migration, the first large urban Black communities developed in northern cities beyond New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia, which had Black communities even before the Civil War, and attracted migrants after the war. It is conservatively estimated that 400,000 African Americans left
15755-404: The start of the new century, with 204,000 leaving in the first decade. The pace accelerated with the outbreak of World War I and continued through the 1920s. By 1930, there were 1.3 million former southerners living in other regions. The Great Depression wiped out job opportunities in the northern industrial belt, especially for African Americans, and caused a sharp reduction in migration. In
15892-582: The state and its primary industrial city. Before the Great Migration, an estimated 1.1% to 1.6% of Cleveland's population was African American. By 1920, 4.3% of Cleveland's population was African American. The number of African Americans in Cleveland continued to rise over the next 20 years of the Great Migration. Other northeastern and midwestern industrial cities, such as Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Omaha, also had dramatic increases in their African-American populations. By
16029-556: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by
16166-712: The steel mills. Pittsburgh's Black population increased to 37,700 in 1920 (6.4% of the total) while the Black element in Homestead, Rankin, Braddock, and others nearly doubled. They succeeded in building effective community responses that enabled the survival of new communities. Historian Joe Trotter explains the decision process: Although African-Americans often expressed their views of the Great Migration in biblical terms and received encouragement from northern Black newspapers, railroad companies, and industrial labor agents, they also drew upon family and friendship networks to help in
16303-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than
16440-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,
16577-659: The trend has reversed, with more African Americans moving to the South, albeit far more slowly. Dubbed the New Great Migration , these moves were generally spurred by the economic difficulties of cities in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, growth of jobs in the " New South " and its lower cost of living , family and kinship ties, and lessening discrimination. The primary factors for migration among southern African Americans were segregation, indentured servitude , convict leasing , an increase in
16714-475: The turn of the 20th century, as part of white imposition of Jim Crow conditions and suppression of black voting. Mississippi had more lynchings than any other state and used violence as a means to terrorize and retain control the African-American population. In 1890 the state legislature passed a new constitution that had a variety of devices to disenfranchise blacks ; they developed ways around court cases that tried to dismantle these, and kept blacks excluded from
16851-470: The war effort, such as Ford Motor Company converting its plant to produce military jeeps. The company Hillerich & Bradsby initially made baseball bats and then converted their production into making gunstocks. During the war, there was a shortage of workers in the defense industry. African Americans took the opportunity to fill in the industries' missing jobs during the war, around 4.3 million intrastate migration and 2.1 million interstate migration in
16988-470: The white county board had cut off federal commodity subsidies to the black community, threatening the survival of numerous poor families. SNCC helped organize a national gathering of food for county residents to overcome the boycott. In 1966, Stokley Carmichael , a new leader of SNCC, spoke in Greenwood for "Black Power", saying that blacks had to build their own bases of political and economic power, as had communities of Irish, Italian and Jewish immigrants to
17125-465: The widespread infestation of the cotton boll weevil , and flooding also provided motivation for African Americans to move into the Northern Cities. The South's pervasive exclusion of African Americans from political power, their lack of representation, and a dearth of social opportunities - in a culture regulated by Jim Crow laws - also motivated African Americans to migrate Northward. When
17262-769: The workplace, violence soon erupted. In 1917, the East St. Louis riot , known for one of the bloodiest workplace riots, had between 40 and 200 killed and over 6000 African Americans displaced from their homes. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , responded to the violence with a march known as the Silent March . More than 10,000 African-American men and women demonstrated in Harlem, New York. Conflicts continued post World War I, as African Americans continued to face conflicts and tension while
17399-459: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.33. In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.70% under the age of 18, 13.10% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 18.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.50 males. The median income for
17536-476: Was a hell of a lot better than down there where I was born." The Great Migration drained off much of the rural Black population of the South, and for a time, froze or reduced African-American population growth in parts of the region. The migration changed the demographics in a number of states; there were decades of Black population decline, especially across the Deep South " black belt " where cotton had been
17673-641: Was developing in the outskirts. Mortgage discrimination and redlining in inner city areas limited the newer African-American migrants' ability to determine their own housing, or obtain a fair price. In the long term, the National Housing Act of 1934 contributed to limiting the availability of loans to urban areas, particularly those areas inhabited by African Americans. Migrants going to Albany, New York found poor living conditions and employment opportunities, but also higher wages and better schools and social services. Local organizations such as
17810-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,
17947-432: Was good and what was bad about moving to the urban North. In cities such as Newark, New York and Chicago, African Americans became increasingly integrated into society. As they lived and worked more closely with European Americans, the divide became increasingly indefinite. This period marked the transition for many African Americans from lifestyles as rural farmers to urban industrial workers. This migration gave birth to
18084-521: Was located. Here Till encountered Carolyn Bryant, who later said that he had behaved flirtatiously toward her. Bryant's husband, Roy Bryant , and another white man, J.W. Milam , abducted Till later that evening. They beat and tortured him at several locations in Leflore and neighboring counties before shooting him and dumping his body in the river in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi . Bryant and Milam were acquitted by an all-white jury of Till's murder at
18221-698: Was named for Greenwood LeFlore , a Choctaw chief. During the period of Indian Removal in the 1830s, he was one of the chiefs who signed the Treaty of Dancing Creek of 1830, by the terms of which the Choctaw sold to the US their remaining lands east of the Mississippi River . Most Choctaw migrated to the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), but Leflore and some others remained in Mississippi. He became
18358-414: Was one of the largest and most rapid mass internal movements in history—perhaps the greatest not caused by the immediate threat of execution or starvation. In sheer numbers, it outranks the migration of any other ethnic group— Italians or Irish or Jews or Poles —to the United States. For Black people, the migration meant leaving what had always been their economic and social base in America and finding
18495-488: Was one of the striking effects" of the Great Migration, James Gregory wrote. In Mississippi, the Black American population decreased from about 56% of the population in 1910 to about 37% by 1970, remaining the majority only in some Delta counties. In Georgia, Black Americans decreased from about 45% of the population in 1910 to about 26% by 1970. In South Carolina, the Black population decreased from about 55% of
18632-469: Was shot and wounded by a white man two days into the march. Major civil rights leaders and marchers from a variety of organizations vowed to continue his march of more than 220 miles from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi . By the time they reached Greenwood, several hundred persons were in the group. They worked to organize and register voters, as most blacks in the county still lived in fear and had not registered. After previous registration drives,
18769-471: Was the subject of Jacob Lawrence 's Migration Series of paintings, created when he was a young man in New York. Exhibited in 1941 at the Museum of Modern Art, Lawrence's Series attracted wide attention; he was quickly perceived as one of the most important African-American artists of the time. The Great Migration had effects on music as well as other cultural subjects. Many blues singers migrated from
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