- Sunflower
Mississippi Civil Rights Project
History of the 82 counties
PVCountyTitle
Background/History
The population of Sunflower County is 34,369 people, with 69.9% black, 28.5% white, and 1.3% Hispanic.
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People
People
Inverness is the birthplace of the blues artist, Milton Campbell, Jr., also known as "Little Milton." Born in Inverness in 1934, he grew up in Greenville.
Senator Eastland, born in Doddsville and known as "Slippery Jim,"served in the Senate in 1941 and from 1943 to 1972. His legacy is one of opposition to equal rights for all Mississippians.
Annie Mae King helped African-Americans register to vote, and during Freedom Summer she housed white volunteers.
In the 1960s, Charles McLaurin came to Ruleville as part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), in order to register black voters.
Places
Byron Street
Fannie Lou Hamer is buried here, and thetombstone contains her oft-quoted phrase, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."Besides registering African Americans to vote as part of Freedom Summer in 1964, SNCC also created Freedom Schools in the Delta, which focused on black history, politics, and artistic achievement.
915 Byron Street
In 1969, Fannie Lou Hamer bought 40 acres of land to use as a cooperative "Freedom Farm." The co-op allowed area families to receive vegetables from the farm for a modest one-dollar membership fee.