Noxubee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,545. Its county seat is Macon. The name is derived from the Choctaw word nakshobi meaning to stink.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 11,545 people living in the county. 71.6% were Black or African American, 27.1% White, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% of some other race and 0.5% of two or more races. 0.8% were Hispanic or Latino. As of the census of 2000, there were 12,548 people, 4,470 households, and 3,222 families living in the county. The population density was 18 people per square mile. There were 5,228 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 69.30% Black, 29.49% White, 0.15% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 1.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,470 households, out of which 35.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.00% were married couples living together, 24.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.36. In the county, the population was spread out with 30.70% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 19.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 90.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $22,330, and the median income for a family was $27,312. Males had a median income of $25,008 versus $17,636 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,018. About 29.20% of families and 32.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.60% of those under age 18 and 25.30% of those age 65 or over.
Public elementary and secondary education is administered by the Noxubee County School District. Noxubee County is within the service area of the East Mississippi Community College system. The system offers classes in the Macon Extension at Noxubee County High School in Macon. At one time, many more schools existed within the county. In the early twentieth century, nineteen of these were consolidated into two districts consisting of six schools, which were Salem, Lynn Creek, Center Point, Cliftonville, Cooksville-Paulette, Mashulaville, and Brooksville. The old Salem School was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The Noxubee County Agricultural School at Mashulaville opened in 1910 and included a forty acre farm and provided living arrangements for up to 40 boarding students. The public school population is 1% white, compared to 27% of the county population. Central Academy in Macon, which was founded in 1968 as a segregation academy, closed in 2017. In 1982, private deals that had been made between board members to use public funds to aid Central Academy became public. As a result, the NAACP called for the resignation of all Noxubee county school board members who had knowledge of the board’s aid to Central Academy, which at the time did not enroll any black students.
''United States v. Ike Brown''
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation and the following year filed suit under the Voting Rights Act alleging that the chairman of the Noxubee County Democratic Party, Ike Brown, had conspired to orchestrate "relentless racial discrimination" against white voters. The court ruled that Brown, in conjunction with the Noxubee Democratic Executive Committee, had "manipulated the political process in ways specifically intended and designed to impair and impede participation of white voters and to dilute their votes". This was the first time the voting rights act of 1965 had been used to allege discrimination against whites.
