| Tensas Parish, Louisiana |
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Information AboutTensas Parish, Louisiana |
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RACIAL POLITICS The parish is 55 percent black, according to the 2000 census. Prior to January 1964 , when fifteen blacks were permitted to register, there were no black voters at all on the Tensas Parish rolls. This was the last of Louisiana's 64 parishes to register any blacks as voters. In 1962, the parish, with only whites voting, gave the Republican Taylor W. O'Hearn a surprising 48.2 percent of the vote in a race for the U.S. Senate against Incumbent Democrat Russell B. Long . Tensas Parish also voted for Republican nominee Barry M. Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election, when few blacks were still registered. After the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 , large numbers of Tensas Parish Blacks finally were able to register to vote. These new black voters were staunchly Democratic . Thereafter, the parish has been a Democratic stronghold. However, white Democrats have continued to win some public offices in the parish, including sheriff and school board seats. The New York Times, January 7-8, 1964 TENSAS PARISH NOTABLES Near Newellton is the Winter Quarters Plantation restoration, where Union General Ulysses S. Grant and his men spent the winter of 1862-1863, prior to launching the assault in July 1863 against Vicksburg, Mississippi , to the north of Tensas Parish. Newellton is the birthplace of a prominent black American economist and business leader, Andrew Brimmer , the first black appointed to the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C. Charles Ed Thompson, another Tensas Parish native, was the parish school superintendent in the early 1970s and thereafter a high-ranking official in the Louisiana Department of Education in the middle 1970s. GEOGRAPHY The parish has a total area of 1,661 Km2 (641 Mi2 ). 1,560 km2 (602 mi2) of it is land and 100 km2 (39 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 6.04% water. Adjacent parishes
DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census 2 of 2000, there were 6,618 people, 2,416 households, and 1,635 families residing in the parish. The Population Density was 4/km2 (11/mi2). There were 3,359 housing units at an average density of 2/km2 (6/mi2). The racial makeup of the parish was 43.43% White , 55.38% Black or African American , 0.05% Native American , 0.12% Asian , 0.00% Pacific Islander , 0.29% from Other Races , and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,416 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.10% were Married Couples living together, 20.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 29.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.90% 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 3.14. In the parish the population was spread out with 26.50% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males. The median income for a household in the parish was $19,799, and the median income for a family was $25,739. Males had a median income of $26,636 versus $16,781 for females. The Per Capita Income for the parish was $12,622. 36.30% of the population and 30.00% of families were below the Poverty Line . 48.20% of those under the age of 18 and 29.60% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. CITIES AND TOWNS |
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