Monroe, North Carolina

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monroe is a city in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 26,228 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union County^GR6. Monroe Regional Airport is 5 miles NW of Monroe.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 Additional Resources
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Monroe is located at 34°59′20″N, 80°32′59″W (34.988760, -80.549792)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.4 km² (24.9 mi²). 63.6 km² (24.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.13%) is water.

[edit] History

The Monroe chapter of the NAACP, led by Robert F. Williams, has a notable history in the Civil Rights Movement. The NAACP worked to integrate the community swimming pools and Williams would defend two young black boys jailed for kissing a white girl in what was known as the kissing case. Williams and the Black Armed Guard renewed black interest in self-defense as a tactic for survival and political struggle. Williams would later be accused of kidnapping a white couple who accidentally drove through the black part of Monroe. He left the United States and would live majority of his life in exile; among the nations he lived in was Fidel Castro's Cuba, whose government he praised. The State of North Carolina eventually dropped the legal charges against Williams.

Monroe is also the hometown of Jesse Helms, the retired U.S. Senator from North Carolina who served five terms (1973 - 2003) in the Senate. Helms was a prominent (and often controversial) national leader of the Religious Right wing of the Republican Party, and played a key role in helping Ronald Reagan become President of the United States. Helms's father was the Police Chief of Monroe for many years, an avid segregationist witnessed by a young Robert F. Williams beating a black woman and dragging her half-naked through the streets of Monroe.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 26,228 people, 9,029 households, and 6,392 families residing in the city. The population density was 412.2/km² (1,067.5/mi²). There were 9,621 housing units at an average density of 151.2/km² (391.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.12% White, 27.78% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 9.37% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.39% of the population.

There were 9,029 households out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.0% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,457, and the median income for a family was $44,953. Males had a median income of $30,265 versus $22,889 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,970. About 11.7% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.