Hoxie, Arkansas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hoxie is a city in Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,817 at the 2000 census. Hoxie lies immediately south of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. The two towns form a contiguous urban area with approximately 8,000 residents.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 The first Arkansas school to integrate
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Hoxie is located at 36°2′55″N, 90°58′38″W (36.048616, -90.977296)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.3 km² (4.0 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,817 people, 1,108 households, and 797 families residing in the city. The population density was 273.3/km² (707.5/mi²). There were 1,241 housing units at an average density of 120.4/km² (311.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.15% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more races. 1.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,108 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.6% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,726, and the median income for a family was $30,085. Males had a median income of $26,583 versus $18,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,190. About 20.7% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 28.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] The first Arkansas school to integrate

On June 25, 1954, largely the result of the recent Brown v. Board of Education ruling, Hoxie's superintendent, Kunkel Edward Vance, spearheaded plans to integrate the high school that he had jurisdiction over, and he received unanimous support of Hoxie's school board. On July 11, 1954, Hoxie's high school recommenced and allowed African-American students to attend there. Vance insisted that all facilities would be integrated, such as restrooms and cafeterias.

White supremacist activists from outside the area converged on Hoxie, attempting to reverse the decision, but failed. This was the first successful school district integration in any of the 17 states which had mandatory segregation prior to Brown. [1]