| Official Name: | McComb, Mississippi |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in the United States |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Mississippi |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Pike |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Quordiniah Lockley |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 30.66 |
| Area Land Km2: | 30.51 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.15 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 11.84 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 11.78 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.06 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 12413 |
| Population Density Km2: | 406.85 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1053.74 |
| Timezone: | Central (CST) |
| Utc Offset: | −6 |
| Timezone Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −5 |
| Elevation M: | 129 |
| Elevation Ft: | 423 |
| Coordinates: | 31.2445°N -90.4716°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Codes |
| Postal Code: | 39648-39649 |
| Area Code: | 601/769 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 28-43280 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0673307 |
McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The city is approximately 80miles south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 12,790.[2] It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area.
McComb was founded in 1872 after Henry Simpson McComb of the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad, a predecessor of the Illinois Central Railroad (now part of the Canadian National Railway), decided to move the railroad's maintenance shops away from New Orleans, Louisiana, to avoid the attractions of that city's bars.
The railroad purchased land in Pike County. Three nearby communities, Elizabethtown, Burglund, and Harveytown, agreed to consolidate to form this town. Main Street developed with the downtown's shops, attractions, and business.
The rail center in McComb was one of flashpoints in the violent Illinois Central shopmen's strike of 1911. Riots took place here that resulted in many injuries, at least three black strikebreakers killed, and authorities bringing in state militia to suppress the emergency soon after the strike started on September 30.[3]
During the 1960s, McComb and nearby areas were the sites of extreme violence by KKK and other white supremacist opponents to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, SNCC conducted its first voter registration project in Mississippi in this city. White officials and local KKK members countered it with violence and intimidation to suppress black voters.
In 1961, Brenda Travis, Robert Talbert, and Ike Lewis were arrested for staging a sit in at a Greyhound station. They were charged with trespassing and kept in jail for 28 days. Following their release, Travis was expelled from school. In response to the expulsion and the murder of Herbert Lee, 115 students staged a walk out on October 4, 1961, known as the Burglund High School Walk Out. At the walk out, many students were beaten by the police and arrested. Students continued protesting by refusing to return to school until Travis was allowed to reenroll. As a result, they too were expelled. The 16 seniors who participated were unable to graduate. Travis' fate for participating in the march was more serious. Travis was arrested, again, and sent to a state juvenile facility without a trial. After months, Travis was released by the governor and exiled from Mississippi.[4] [5] [6]
After whites severely beat several staff members, staff members being jailed for their involvement with the walkout, and receiving backlash from the community for putting students on the "frontlines", SNCC pulled out of the region in early 1962. They moved north in Mississippi to work in slightly less dangerous conditions.[7]
In 1964, civil rights activists began the Mississippi Project and what would be called Freedom Summer, with teams returning to southwest Mississippi. They sang, "We'll Never Turn Back." SNCC members of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) returned to McComb in mid-July 1964 to work on voter registration. From late August 1964 through September, after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, McComb was the site of eleven bombings directed against African Americans.[8] Malcolm Boyd took part of COFO's Freedom House as a member of a clerical delegation to assist African-American voter registration.
The following summer, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 authorizing federal oversight and enforcement to enable blacks to register and vote again in the South. In Mississippi, most blacks had been disenfranchised since 1890. Even with enforcement, it took time to overcome local white resistance to black voting.
On January 10, 1975, during the Great Storm of 1975, an F4 tornado caused major damage to 38 blocks in the town, severely damaging or destroying many homes, businesses, vehicles, and trees within the town and surrounding areas along the tornado's path. The tornado killed 9 people and injured 210 others along its 56.5miles path.[9]
On October 20, 1977, a chartered plane carrying members and crew of rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashed in a swamp near McComb, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, Steve's sister Cassie (a backup singer), road manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as both pilots.
In 2006, Zach Patterson was elected as McComb's first African American mayor.[10]
In 2018, voters in the city of McComb elected Quordiniah Lockley as mayor, and for the first time elected a city board consisting of an African American majority.[11] [12]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.6sqmi, of which 11.6sqmi is land and 0.1sqmi (0.54%) is water.
The climate in McComb is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, McComb has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[13]
| White | 2,907 | 23.42% | |
| Black or African American | 8,762 | 70.59% | |
| Native American | 18 | 0.15% | |
| Asian | 144 | 1.16% | |
| Pacific Islander | 7 | 0.06% | |
| Other/Mixed | 317 | 2.55% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 258 | 2.08% |
An annual Earth Day Fest organized by Pike School of Art – Mississippi is celebrated in April on the Saturday of or following Earth Day. The Summit Street Unity Festival is celebrated annually on the third Saturday in October. The Black History Gallery annually celebrates Juneteenth.[15] [16] [17]
The City of McComb, Mississippi, is served by the McComb School District, which includes seven schools: Otken Elementary, Kennedy Early Childhood Center, Higgins Middle School, Denman Jr. High School, McComb High School, the Business & Technology Center, and Summit Academy.
In addition to the McComb School District, the surrounding Pike County area has two other school districts: North Pike School District and South Pike School District. These districts collectively serve various parts of McComb and the greater Pike County area.
McComb also offers private education at Parklane Academy, a K4 through 12th-grade private college preparatory school located in the central part of the city. McComb was also home to St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, which provided classes from kindergarten through seventh grade until the school closed in 2014.
For higher education, Southwest Mississippi Community College is located just seven miles north of McComb, near Summit, MS. Notably, McComb High School is recognized as one of the 100 National Model Schools, highlighting the city’s commitment to quality education.
See also: McComb (Amtrak station). Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to McComb. Amtrak trains 58 & 59, the City of New Orleans stop here.[18]