Table 3.B Summary Case Study Sites - Economic and Social Characteristics
Economic Characteristics
Social Characteristics
Hinds Co
MS
In Hinds County, 16.7 percent of households live below
the poverty level; almost 23 percent of Jackson households are below
the poverty level. Median household income in Hinds County is $41,636
for white families and $18,316 for African American families.
Jackson is reported to have some of the worst inner-city
housing with up to 10 percent of the housing being abandoned or substandard.
Jackson has had an epidemic of crack cocaine usage since the mid-1980s.
Conservative "Bible Belt" standards appear to hinder discussion
of sexual health.
Humphreys Co
MS
The economy of Humphreys County is based almost solely
on cotton and catfish production. The 1988 county unemployment rate
of 15.5 percent is distributed as 2.8 percent for whites and 25.7
percent for non-whites. The median household income in the County
was $12,696 in 1990, with 38.3 percent of families living below the
poverty level. Of those below the poverty level, 91 percent are African
American.
Educational achievement in Humphreys County is well
below state and national averages. 33 percent of all households headed
by unmarried females. Crime, gangs, and drug use are reported throughout
the county. Drugs, specifically crack cocaine, are known to move
between the towns along the Highway 82 and Highway 49 corridor.
Richland Co
SC
Median household income in Richland County was $28,848
in 1990, with 10.1 percent of households falling below the poverty
level. When broken down by race, only 7 percent of white residents
live in households below the poverty level, compared to 30 percent
of African-American households. Median household income in Columbia
was $23,216, with 15.7 percent of households below the poverty level.
The crack cocaine epidemic struck Columbia less strongly
than larger metropolitan areas.
Columbia is less of a commercial and industrial center than
are Charleston and Greenville/Spartanburg.
The State Legislature enacted comprehensive health education
in 1994, however, the implementation authority was left up to
each individual school district.
Conservative "Bible Belt" standards appear to limit
the discussion of sexual health in schools and churches.
Orangeburg Co
SC
Despite its rural character, employment in Orangeburg
County is dominated by manufacturing, government, and education.
Median household income in 1990 was $20,216. About 10 percent of
the County's white residents belong to households with incomes below
the poverty level, while more than 36 percent of African-American
households were below the poverty level.
The city of Orangeburg is predominantly white, while
the rest of Orangeburg County is predominantly African American.
Within Orangeburg City is South Carolina State University (SCSU),
a historically black college, and Claflin College, Southern Methodist
College, and the two-year Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College.
Drug use has been considered a serious problem in Orangeburg,
especially in an area near SCSU called "the hill." Other
than a community center in the city of Orangeburg, there is very
little recreation available for youth in the rural areas.
Shelby Co
TN
Median household income in Memphis was
$22,674 in 1990, with 35 percent of African-American households falling
below the poverty level compared with only 7 percent of the white
households.
Reduced crime, increased public and private
investment, and redevelopment efforts in downtown Memphis over past
10-15 years. Still problems in other areas of city with gangs, violence,
and prostitution. Throughout Memphis, lower-, middle-, and upper-income
neighborhoods are interspersed, and public housing projects are distributed
throughout the city. Of 107,000 students enrolled in the Memphis
schools, 88% are African American. The majority of white children
attend county schools or private (often church-based) schools.
Tunica Co
MS
In 1990, the median household income in
Tunica County was $10,965, and 50.5 percent of all families were
below the poverty line. Tunica County's economic base was almost
solely agricultural until 1992, when casinos began to be developed
at the north end of the county. The casinos have provided almost
10,000 jobs (many of which have gone to Memphis residents), have
generated substantial tax revenues, and County AFDC and food stamp
recipients have been reduced by nearly one-third since their opening.
Educational institutions in Tunica are
almost completely divided by race with African-American students
attending the public schools while white students attend the private
Tunica Institute of Learning. Until recently, the public school system
in Tunica was in Level 1 (at risk) status in terms of standardized
test scores. However, since a law was passed mandating that 12 percent
of tax revenues from the casinos go to the public schools, the situation
has improved to Level 2 (probationary).
Montgomery Co
AL
The median household income in Montgomery
County was $26,551 in 1990, with 14 percent of families living below
the poverty level. The median household income in the city of Montgomery
was $26,311.
Gang and illegal drug activity were mentioned
as problems in Montgomery and it was said that major drug dealing
points are public housing projects and an area north of downtown
known as New Town. The relatively few organized recreational activities
available for area teens are primarily for males and do not run on
a daily basis. The State of Alabama has no authority to insist on
the incorporation of sexual health into the school curricula which
authority instead rests with local school boards.
Lowndes Co
AL
Most people in Lowndes County work outside
the county, in Montgomery, Selma, or Greenville. The median household
income for the county was $15,584 in 1990, with 31.7 percent of all
households falling below the poverty level.
The small rural towns in Lowndes County
have little to offer in the way of community services.
The county has no public libraries, YMCA, or swimming pools.
Public transportation is limited and does not run on the weekend.
It is reported that the primary source of recreation for teens
in the county is sex. Approximately 20 percent of all births
are to mothers under the age of 20. Drugs are prevalent in the
county, the main street drug being crack cocaine with marijuana
being the second largest cash crop in the county. The public
school system is predominately African American with most white
students attending private school in Montgomery or Lowndesboro.