Como, Mississippi Explained

Official Name:	Como, Mississippi
Settlement Type:	Town
Mapsize:	250px
Pushpin Map:	Mississippi#USA
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	United States
Subdivision Type1:	State
Subdivision Name1:	Mississippi
Subdivision Type2:	County
Subdivision Name2:	Panola
Unit Pref:	Imperial
Area Footnotes:	^[1]
Area Total Km2:	4.92
Area Land Km2:	4.89
Area Water Km2:	0.02
Area Total Sq Mi:	1.90
Area Land Sq Mi:	1.89
Area Water Sq Mi:	0.01
Population As Of:	2020
Population Total:	1118
Population Density Km2:	228.53
Population Density Sq Mi:	591.85
Timezone:	Central (CST)
Utc Offset:	-6
Timezone Dst:	CDT
Utc Offset Dst:	-5
Elevation M:	109
Elevation Ft:	358
Coordinates:	34.5133°N -89.9414°W
Postal Code Type:	ZIP code
Postal Code:	38619
Area Code:	662
Blank Name:	FIPS code
Blank Info:	28-15500
Blank1 Name:	GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:	0668729

Como is a town in Panola County, Mississippi, United States, which borders the Mississippi Delta and is in the northern part of the state, known as hill country. The population was 1,279 as of the 2010 census.

History

In a 2007 article about the area, Wayne Drash, a CNN.com senior producer, described Como as "a hard-hit rural community."^[2]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.9sqmi, of which 1.9sqmi is land and 0.53% is water.

It is 45miles south of Memphis, Tennessee.^[2]

Demographics

2020 census

Como Racial Composition^[3] !Race!Num.!Perc.

White	306	27.37%
Black or African American	777	69.5%
Native American	2	0.18%
Asian	3	0.27%
Other/Mixed	21	1.88%
Hispanic or Latino	9	0.81%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 1,118 people, 590 households, and 284 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 1,310 people, 461 households, and 352 families residing in the town. The population density was 692.1sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 506 housing units at an average density of 267.3sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 71.83% African American, 26.79% White, 0.08% Native American, 0.61% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.15% of the population.

There were 461 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 31.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,344, and the median income for a family was $25,000. Males had a median income of $28,333 versus $18,977 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,278. About 31.3% of families and 37.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 57.2% of those under age 18 and 29.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Como is served by the North Panola School District. Como Elementary School in Como,^[5] North Panola Junior High School in Como,^[6] and North Panola High School in Sardis serve the community.^[7]

Infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the Como Post Office.^[8]

Notable people

• R.L. Boyce (1955–2023), blues musician, was born lived and died in Como.^[9] His album, Roll and Tumble, was nominated a 2018 Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Blues Album category.^[10]
• Floyd Chance, double bass player and session musician^[11]
• Jessie Mae Hemphill (1923–2006), Hill Country blues musician
• Joe Henderson (1937–1964), R&B and gospel singer who had a 1962 hit with "Snap Your Fingers" was born in Como.
• Rosa Lee Hill, blues musician^[12]
• Albert R. Howe, member of the United States House of Representatives from 1873 to 1875^[13]
• Alvin Ray Jackson, professional football player^[14]
• Tony Johnson, former National Football League tight end^[15]
• Tommy Joe Martins (b. 1986), racecar driver, was born in Como.
• Jimbo Mathus (b. 1967), musician, has lived in Como since 2007, where he also runs the Delta Recording Studio, which records artists from around the world.
• Mississippi Fred McDowell (1904–1972), Hill country blues musician
• L. H. Musgrove (1832–1868) was born in Como and moved to the American West. An outlaw, he was sprung from jail in Denver, Colorado, in the fall of 1868 and lynched by a vigilante mob.^[16]
• Miriam Greene Paslay (1869–1932), professor of Latin and Greek at Mississippi Industrial Institute & College (1891–1920)
• Luther Perkins (1928–1968), guitarist who played for singer Johnny Cash, spent most of his childhood in Como.
• Michael Shaheen (1940–2007), mayor of Como from 1970 to 1973 and longtime head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Professional Responsibility, grew up in Como from age 5.^[17]
• Napoleon Strickland (1919–2001), Hill country blues musician
• Othar Turner (1907–2003), Hill country blues musician
• Stark Young (1881–1963) was born and grew up in Como. He became a novelist, best known for So Red the Rose (1934), adapted as a 1935 film by the same name. A member of the Southern Agrarians, he had taught in academia for several years before moving to New York City, where he also wrote several plays and worked as theatre critic for The New Republic and The New York Times.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. July 24, 2022.
2. Drash, Wayne. "Granddaughter of slave: I was 'afraid' for Obama", CNN. January 16, 2009. Quote: "Como is a town of 1,400 people 45 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, along Interstate 55. It is a hard-hit rural community, home to a school with the dubious distinction of being among the worst-performing schools in the nation."
3. Web site: Explore Census Data. December 7, 2021. data.census.gov.
4. Web site: U.S. Census website . . January 31, 2008 .
5. "Como Elementary." North Panola School District. Retrieved on October 21, 2010.
6. http://northpanolaschools.org/npjh/ North Panola Junior High School website
7. http://northpanolaschools.org/nphs/North_Panola_High_School/Home.html North Panola High School website
8. "Post Office Location - COMO ." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on October 21, 2010.
9. News: Juwon . James . November 9, 2023 . R.L. Boyce Passed Away: Mississippi, Como-born blues singer and songwriter died at 68 . SNBC13 . November 10, 2023.
10. Web site: Artist: R.L. Boyce. Grammy.com . Recording Academy . June 23, 2023.
11. Web site: Lightnin' Chance Discography . discogs.com . April 30, 2024.
12. Web site: Rosa Lee Hill Biography . allmusic.com . April 30, 2024.
13. Book: Forty-third Congress Congressional Directory . 1874 . Government Printing Office . Washington, D.C. . 34 .
14. Web site: Alvin Ray Jackson Biography . espn.com . April 30, 2024.
15. Web site: Tony Johnson Stats . pro-football-reference.com . April 30, 2024.
16. Web site: Hands Up; or, Thirty-five years of detective life in the mountains and on the plains. David J. Cook. 1897 . W. F. Robinson Printing Co. October 26, 2020.
17. News: Hevesi . Dennis . December 11, 2007 . Michael Shaheen Jr., Top Justice Official, Dies at 67 . January 18, 2024 . The New York Times.