Father, we pray that this will not be the end, a ghostly white preacher began, obliquely citing his hopes for peaceful integration in Vidor. And I know in some of the deeper, darker corners, the KKK, Ayran Brotherhood, all those types still exist. Whenever my parents would leave, I would go to the store with my friend, or if they needed to go to the mall, I would go with them. In Vintage 2022, as a result of the formal request from the state, Connecticut transitioned from eight counties to nine planning regions. Generally its just racism, not organised into any kind of Ku Klux Klan. The participation rate is a useful market measure because it shows the relative amount of labor resources available to the economy. When the Ku Klux Klan took hold in Texas in the twenties, people from the nearby cities found the dark, silent pine stands of the Vidor area to be good places for secret societies and secret . His friends, mentors and family all told him the same thing. But Vidor held on to its reputation. Blacks knew they were places to avoid after dark. We knew who looked in windows at night, who sold dope, who paid what in rent.. But, I realized, her comments only reflected part of the story. Locals blamed outside agitators brought in by a small minority of Vidor Klan members, but a media circus followed and Vidors reputation was sealed. Everybody knew everybodys business, says Ross Dennis, a former resident who now lives in exile in Arkansas. Beyond that, its hunting, fishing and high school football. Ive been door-checked too many times. This is called the labor force participation rate. This is a good way to get a general idea of the average income of a group of people, but it can be skewed by a very high or very low incomes. and Brenda Lanus wanted to escape the drugs and gangs Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media. 0.2%. Will Caesars impress with Vegas High Roller? You know, said the mayor, trying to match his tone, its very simple for me to get the police department.. The weather was still warm for mid-October, the sky a dauntless blue. I know Vidors reputation, and we still have a reputation for a reason. Vidor officials acknowledge racism is still present in Vidor. He was arrested at his home near Vidor by federal agents, who confiscated six hundred rounds of ammunition and several weapons, including an AK-47. In this section, we can also look at how people in Vidor CCD get to work. Were talking 70 years ago. Cooper, 54, also grew up not far from Vidor, in a small town along the Neches River, on the outskirts of Beaumont. Population In Vidor, Texas (Community Demographics) - Dwellics These commute times can be compared to other date like income and educational levels to see how they relate to each other and if there are any trends in the data that might suggest a correlation. The Industry Diversity score in Vidor, Texas is 64.9.Industry diversity score ranges from 0 to 100. The total population of Vidor over the age of 16 is 8,021. At the post office, Lanus was standing in line when a clerk frantically ordered everyone outa bomb threat had been called in. The two of them believed Vidor was better than the reputation that preceded it. In Vidor there was no Martin Luther King Boulevard, as there was in Beaumont and Orange and Houston. But I had people coming up to me to thank me for providing security for the march. The days leading up to the march were full of trepidation for everyone involved. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Orange County, Texas The Knights competition came from the Texas-based White Camelia Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, from nearby Cleveland, a more traditionaland more extremeKlan group headed by Charles Lee. On July 7, Brenda and Alexis headed for Vidor with their children. He had made friends in the complex, becoming particularly close to tenants council president Ross Dennis, but his fear of Johnson grew daily. The median age of Vidor CCD, Texas gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger. An ex-con (she helped her boyfriend break out of jail) with eyebrows painted on in perpetual surprise, Johnson now denies she ever posed a threat to Simpson, though she acknowledges she did not want blacks in the project. I just wanted to show everybody that were all precious in Gods eyes, the mother said. It sits 20 miles from the Louisiana border, and some say it bears more resemblance to that state than the rest of Texas. Unlike standardly available Census demographics, NeighborhoodScout uses dozens of custom models to transform 8.5 million raw demographic data elements from government sources into proprietary indices and insights. And I had to recall that when I sat in the pews at the First Baptist church in Vidor, and I was invited to meetings in these churches and I was treated very well. In Texas, they were represented by Michael Lowe, a diminutive part-time carpenter who dreamed of building the largest Klan organization in America. I am so sick of people saying our town is bad, racist and trashy. But most of all, they were sick to death of everyones exploiting Vidor for their own ends. I was taken aback, surprised the sound of prejudice could emerge so easily. It is true that some people in this town are stuck in the dark ages, and it is true as well that theres a whole generation trying to pull us out of it., Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies, Screenshot from the documentary 'The Least of My Brothers', Fran Ruchalski/The Beaumont Enterprise via AP. Well, who are you? he demanded, as if he didnt know. Population, Census, April 1, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Vidor city, Texas News coverage of the march in Vidor noted the oddity of the march being held there at all. Interstate 10 travelers now bought gas in Beaumont or Orange rather than stop in Vidor, and anxious business associates called from as far away as Singapore to ask about the situation. There is no doubt that most residents of the complex welcomed Bill Simpson. Houston, where Floyd lived most of his life, was no different. He was an enormous manseven feet tall and three hundred poundssoft spoken, thoughtful, and deeply religious. Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more. Alexis had an additional dilemma: She was six months pregnant. Former 'sundown town' struggles to overcome racist past, Some Vidor residents don't get to see CNN report. The more diverse, the higher the score. This is a good town and the people here love each other and I have not seen or heard anyone being treated like all those posts its all ridiculous and all lies, wrote one woman, as the debate continued to rage on the towns Facebook page. His statement was inspiring but, unfortunately, a bit optimistic. These people do not represent Vidor.. When Vidor residents talk about the problems the town has faced, they often talk in the past tense. Vidor is a small city of about 11,000 people near the Texas Gulf Coast, not too far from the Louisiana border. I know something about it. "We haven't had a Klan in 30 years. I dont mind telling you Im the mayor of the city, Woods answered. The search engine finds the neighborhoods that are the optimum fit to the set of criteria you choose. The median age of Vidor, Texas gives you an idea of the age distribution, with half of the population being older than the median age and half being younger. They would want to chase me out of town), and saw the march as a chance for Vidor to show what he believed to be its true face to the world. Click the Quick Info icon to the left of each row in TABLE view to learn about sampling error. He Cant Believe How Bad Things Are. Texas: population by race and ethnicity 2021 | Statista A black HUD investigator came out to evaluate their claims; as she ambled through the project, a child called her a rigger. The audience bowed their heads. That last metric is important because it can be used to look at the gender pay gap between men and women. His had been a middle-class upbringingborn in California, he was raised in a white neighborhood in Olean, New York. Vidor, Texas - Wikipedia US Census Bureau. The trouble came from the myth that had been placed on it by the history., There was only one problem. Population Estimates, July 1, 2022, (V2022) . It shows that theres more than one person, that is to say, it shows progressive-minded people in the town that theres a mass of people who think this way, and thats wonderful.. In the chart below, we can look at the number of rental properties in Vidor that fall into a particular rent range. a series of public rallies and death threats by the Klan. Our nationally-comparable school ratings are covered under US Patent No. Sometime in 2022, the Hispanic population surpassed them, new data shows. Even the person who organised the march, 25-year-old Yalakesen Baaheth, was aware of how improbable it sounded. There is a lot of data that lets us see how many people live in Vidor CCD, Texas. When the day came, Baaheth and Malone arrived at Raymond Gould Park just off the highway to see dozens of cars lined up. Since they moved to Houston from Vidor, Alexis Selders and Brenda Lanus have become frightened of new and different things. You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature. Belying Vidor stereotypes, church members took Simpson into their homes, and over the next few months, he lived quietly in Vidor and began to rebuild his life. One by one, speakers rose to the microphone, many more closely resembling yuppies than the racist crackers portrayed by the national media. Vidor, is how one black woman responded to a flyer posted on Twitter. Much of the community is centred around the church; there is one on almost every street corner. Are you prepared for the good and the very, very bad? She said she did and I said again: No, do you really understand?. All those stories are true, dont get me wrong, there is a difference between lies and truth. When the Ku Klux Klan took hold in Texas in the twenties, people from the nearby cities found the dark, silent pine stands of the Vidor area to be good places for secret societies and secret meetings, and the townspeoplepoor, ignorant, and resistant to changewere receptive to the Klans insular and angry message. What about Texas as a whole?. They held one rally in the very same park where Baaheth and Malone would hold their peace march 27 years later. The man slammed the phone down but then called back about five minutes later with a more focused message. The womens exit weakened the resolve of DeQuir and Simpson. This can then be used to infer and compare against birth rates, parent ages, and more metrics to understand the population. We can look at the total population in Vidor CCD over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed. In terms of accurately summarizing income at a geographic level, the median income is a better metric than the average income because it isn't affected by a small number of very high or very low incomes. They were not afraid to tell you. Learn more about how Statista can support your business. Population of Vidor, Texas by Race and Ethnicity The latest median household income of Vidor, Texas is $53,091.00. It was trying to change, but not all that hard, and sometimes wanted to be left alone. The people were kind; receptionists proffered job applications and said they were hiring, but other applicants had longer work histories and other applicants had telephones. 19.8 minutes is the average travel time to work for people in Vidor. This data can be very important for a number of reasons, including social and economic research, planning and development, and marketing to a multi-cultural population. 2021 (latest available). Asses. Across town at the junior high school, the good people of Vidor had staged a prayer rally, their standard response to the pressures of the past year. But the suburbanites who had been gradually slipping into Vidor had brought something new to town: an ambition to tame the place and connect it with the outside world. The tone was inevitably sanctimonious. VIDOR, Texas (CNN) -- As a reporter for CNN, I've spent a lot of time travelling around the United States. The more diverse, the higher the score. Educational attainment is a good indicator of the overall education level of a population, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more to see how education levels affect income, unemployment rates, and more. The concluding prayer was innocuous. It was, prior to 1925, accessible to Beaumont only by ferry across the Neches River. We can look at the total population in Vidor over the last 5 years to see how much it has changed. What they do is they find someone who represents the stereotype. This statistic is not included in your account. ", US Census Bureau, Resident population of Texas in 2021, by race and ethnicity Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/306044/texas-population-ethnicity-race/ (last visited July 09, 2023), Resident population of Texas in 2021, by race and ethnicity [Graph], US Census Bureau, September 30, 2022. The NeighborhoodScout search engine is covered under US Patents No. Vidor High School students left their letter jackets at home when they competed against other schoolsthey were afraid of reprisals. Vidor is currently declining at a rate of -0.42% annually and its population has decreased by -1.26% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 9,753 in 2020. Racism would lose; America would win. But at the same time, so much has changed.. The more diverse, the higher the score. Stories persisted of blacks stopping for gas and being forced to drink motor oil or just being chased out of town for fun. a week after the march, he says he was singled out for racial abuse from his first day at school. The per capita income in Vidor CCD is $32,417.00. Vidor also had a reputation as a haven for the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan even had a bookstore on the towns main street. They are racist of course, but they can say: Well, Im just in favour of keeping the town the way its always been.. Too many whitesand too many blacksknew what Vidor stood for. Some 20 per cent of its roughly 10,000 residents live in poverty higher than the rate for Texas and the rest of the country. The result of the relocation of two single black women with five children between them and two single black men was several months of terror at the hands of various white supremacist groups, unrelenting negative news coverage of the town, and as of last September, the restoration of Vidor to its monochromatic state. The median income is a good indicator of the overall income of a group of people, and can be used to compare against other metrics such as the average income, per capita income, and more. And he thinks it might have done some good. As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic. On Main Street, however, the marchers were greeted by a swelling crowd of about three hundred. The Nationalist Movement turned out to be one middle-aged man named Richard Barrett and a handful of kids with skinhead hairstyles. Please note: Unemployment data updated May 2023. Locals speculated that its members moved away. But, from the day he moved in, Bill Simpson was subjected to overwhelming pressures. Hearing of their experience the day before, she was apologetic: Oh, I forgot to tell you, she said to the women. Get quick analyses with our professional research service. The ideal entry-level account for individual users. Now the women lived in apartments in a remote part of town connected to the rest of the city by only one bus line. Race and Hispanic origin in Vidor as a percentage of the total population, expressed as percentage point difference from Texas. Half of the people in the group make more than the median income, and half make less. This is the kind of thing that gets Vidor back in the news, next thing you know The Black Panthers will want to come march in Vidor again, one user wrote. Races in Vidor, Texas (TX) Detailed Stats - City-Data.com The story appeared in newspapers around the world, but because of its good-versus-evil spin and its lower-class participants, it was particularly well suited to tabloid TV: Phil Donahues October show was quickly followed by those of Sally Jesse Raphael, Jerry Springer, and Montel Williams. Ignoring the links between white drug dealers and black street gangs, they reasoned that a black person would not have accepted a contract from a white to murder a black. Mimi Swartz is a staff writer based in Houston. They were willing to integrate, provided it could be done easily, but they had no will to engage in a public fight for an unpopular cause. The more diverse, the higher the score. Much of his work is focused on how sundown towns remain sundown towns. Richard Stanfield, the chairman of the Orange County Public Housing Authority, had met quietly with members of the complexs resident council in May 1992. Soon. Richard Hall reports, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, It sits 20 miles from the Louisiana border, and some say it bears more resemblance to that state than the rest of Texas. This is different from the average or mean income because it includes and accounts for all people in Vidor, Texas, including people like children, the elderly, unemployed people, retired people, and more. As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic. The age and gender of a population is another interesting demographic statistic because it lets us track trends in the population over time. QuickFacts Vidor city, Texas Table (a) Includes persons reporting only one race (b) Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categories (c) Economic Census - Puerto Rico data are not comparable to U.S. Economic Census data D Suppressed to avoid disclosure of confidential information F Fewer than 25 firms What about Alabama? We are trying to change our image, and we have changed, but I'm not sure we've convinced them [African-Americans] of that.". That poverty has brought with it the usual problems, among them a serious methamphetamine issue. Bill Simpson is dead; Brenda Lanus, Alexis Selders, and their children are, if anything, worse off than they were beforebroke, frightened, close to demoralized. Population by Race Breakdown of the population of Vidor, Texas by race. This is a good way to compare the income of Vidor CCD against other areas. Step. Im scared of people around here, Alexis said. It wasnt just the Klan that wrecked the effort to integrate East Texass notorious all-white city. Raw data sources: Away from Vidor, they had the same old problems. In this article, we'll explore the population statistics for Vidor CCD, Texas, including popular demographics data like median age, number of households, household income, gender, employment and unemployment rates, occupations, religion, and more. Though Stanfield denies it, resident-council president Ross Dennis later told the Texas Commission on Human Rights that Stanfield told the council he intended to slide a couple of black families into Vidor in the middle of the night. Once compliance with HUD was achieved, he reportedly said, he would slide the black families back out again.. We really generalise, especially if a town has a history of racial stigma. Neither of us can do any more to further the program and we are trapped by our own poverty in a situation that is very volatile. When I was recently assigned to cover a story about the history of racism in Vidor, Texas, for the "Paula Zahn Now" show, it turned out that I was surprised by some of the things I found, namely that some whites were openly telling me they still wanted separation from blacks. Vidor is a city located in Orange County Texas. Speaking to The Independent a week after the march, he says he was singled out for racial abuse from his first day at school. And many of them go through the same soul-searching as Vidor is currently experiencing. They had lived in Vidor for sixteen days. 3.23% of households in Vidor are classed as high income households (making $200,000+ per year). The woods that provided Vidor with industry also afforded another opportunity. Several more attempts to move in black residents were met with the same response. The Occupation Diversity score in Vidor, Texas is 88.4.Occupation diversity score ranges from 0 to 100. By the time Dennis finished his history of the town, Brenda Lanus and Alexis Selders had made a decision: to get out of Vidor as soon as they could. The estimated population of Vidor, Texas is 9,944 people, with a median age of 39.2. Just like with rental rates, we can look at the number of properties in Vidor that fall into a particular value range. Lowe visited town frequently, glad-handing at Garys Coffee Shop like a man running for office. Could a march for racial justice change peoples minds? Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. They can have this little town was the quote above the Houston Posts coverage of Lanus and Selders departure on July 23. No one threw the weight of the government behind the integration effort, as was done in the sixties; there were few warnings to potential troublemakers, and few threats to punish the opposition with the use of force or jail terms. Perhaps it is time to shift priorities. In simple terms, the median income is the middle income of a group of people. Im finally home, he said happily on September 1, the day he moved in. In fact, the request of the only black member of the Orange County Public Housing Authority Board to meet with them was ignored. When Cooper first got the call asking him to come and speak at the march in Vidor, he says he was inclined to do what his father always taught him: dont go to Vidor. Not only were there no blacks in Vidor, but there was no trace of black culture. Hispanics now the largest racial group in Texas but not in Austin They had never been out of Louisiana, never ridden on an airplane, never polished their reading skills beyond the most rudimentary level. It was a simple story of good versus evil; the government would use its might to break the back of racism in an ignorant, hateful place. If you use any of the data found on this page, please consider linking back to USPopulation.org as the source and if you have any feedback or data requests, click here to contact us. In other words, Lanus and Selders were marooned at the project. It sent out 1,300 invitations to people on public housing waiting lists in the Golden Triangle and received a universal answer: no. We got a whole bunch of responses from people in the town and the surrounding areas. (The majority were from Houston, the Pasadena and Greenspoint areas.) We were just speaking of positive things.) These crowds had always been bigger than the white supremacists gatherings, and todays was no exception. We would not stop to go to the store. Once, integration was regarded as the supreme goal of the civil rights movement. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. As such places go, it has little in common with the cramped high-rise dungeons that have become the pathetic cliches of Americas failed efforts to provide shelter for those in need. The Texanist: Is There Really Only One Natural Lake in Texas? (Brooks, who died in 2012, was in John F Kennedys motorcade when the president was assassinated.). That person appeared a few weeks later with the arrival of Bill Simpson. When the company left in 1924, the small community that had built up around it remained and gradually shifted to farming. As a great many Vidorians pointed out, their town is surrounded by places where the absence of blacks has not been a cause celebre. When he fell to the ground, one of the assailants stood over him and pumped several more bullets into his body.