Hollandale, Part One:

Children in Poverty:

United States: 14%
Mississippi: 31%
Washington County: 39%
Hollandale: 54%

“How can a country like this allow it? Maybe they just don’t know.” Robert Kennedy, during his visit to the Mississippi Delta.

There are four ways to enter the town of Hollandale, MS. The first is through Old Highway 61, which bisects the town from North to South. The second entrance is from Highway 12, which is 12 miles exactly from the Mississippi River to the Western side of town. As you enter Hollandale from 12 the scenery is something like this: cotton field, cotton field, cotton field, Simmons High School, cotton field, town. The main entrances, though, are from Highway 61 proper. There are two; one on the North side of town and one on the South side of town, a distance of about one mile. As you come in from either Highway 61 entrance a large brown sign with fancy writing greets you. It states: "Welcome to Hollandale. A Town Preparing for the Future Today." It is a great motto, always making me think, for some reason, of The Jetsons. The reality, of course, is a bit different...