Officials Seek Ways to End Generations of Poverty : Mississippi Delta Labeled ‘America’s Ethiopia’

HELENA, Ark. —  The lower Mississippi River region is so poor that one section is called “America’s Ethiopia,” and a federal commission is seeking new ways to help its dying towns and end generations of dependence on welfare.

There are counties with more than one-quarter of the work force idled, a lack of capital to attract new jobs and waste of human resources, such as teen-age mothers with sickly babies and adults who cannot read or write.

Unlike a foreign country in need, the region of 214 counties in seven states covered by the study gets neither enough sympathy from Washington nor bailouts from international financiers, said Wilbur Hawkins Jr., executive director of the Lower Mississippi Delta Development Commission.

“It’s nice, well and dandy to take care of foreign nations,” Hawkins said. “But here we are in America--we can afford to send money to Poland, to the Caribbean nations, but not to the Delta.”

‘Lack of Care’

“There is a lack of care about the Delta’s problems, a lot of unconcern,” said one commission member, Rep. Ed Jones (D-Tenn.). “I think the Southern people are concerned, and now it’s time for the nation to be concerned.”

The commission members represent Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee and are appointed by the states’ governors. Congress assigned the commission to come up with a 10-year plan for government and private action to lift the region out of poverty.

Geographically, a river’s delta is at its mouth; the Mississippi’s is the area below New Orleans where it spills into the Gulf of Mexico. But Congress, noting common problems of the mostly agrarian poor counties stretching from southern Illinois to the tip of Louisiana, grouped the seven states under the common heading of “Delta” in creating the commission.

The region has long relied on agriculture, river commerce and industries that have suffered because of overseas competition. The river is lined by rich farmland and dotted by small waterfront towns, like Helena, and a few population centers, like Memphis, Tenn., which have some prosperity.

Of the 11 million people in the region, 40% fall below federal poverty guidelines, according to Sen. Dale Bumpers (D-Ark.).

Below Poverty Level

More than half the residents of northwestern Mississippi’s Tunica County, which earned the “America’s Ethiopia” nickname, live below the poverty level.

Across the Mississippi at Lee County, Ark., the per capita income is $6,542. The hospital was closed for lack of money.

At Lakeview, Ark., south of Helena, rampant teen-age pregnancy prompted distribution of contraceptives at the school health clinic--but the program was curtailed for lack of funds.

One stumbling block to national action is a lack of awareness about the Delta, Hawkins said. During a recent meeting in Washington, Hawkins said he asked why more federal contracts go to Puerto Rico than Mississippi.

“ ‘Puerto Rico is just as American as Mississippi,’ ” Hawkins quoted an official as responding, “then in his next breath, he said: ‘What can you make? What can you do?’ ”

The swampy land lining the Big Muddy was drained and pioneered by plantation owners over the last century. Rich in deep topsoil and natural resources, poor in capital, the Delta counts agriculture as its dominant industry.

But wealth never trickled down from the landowners; residents, many of them sharecroppers, stayed poor and got poorer with the changing fortunes of farming, which has a reverberating effect in the little-diversified economy.

The commission’s preliminary proposal for a 10-year improvement plan, to be presented to Congress in October, was compiled during the last six months. It runs more than 70 pages and is packed with new statistical data, Hawkins said. The congressional mandate calls for a final report in May, 1990.

Hawkins also said the mandate bars any release of details until Congress gets the report.

But long-time Delta residents say the region’s problems can be boiled down to one word: money. Money to attract jobs, train workers and battle conditions that smother hope and erode families.

Scouted Site

Hawkins recently scouted Phillips County for a site for the commission’s late-summer meeting in Arkansas. At Elaine, as he walked down a gravel road toward time-worn houses, he was surrounded by curious youngsters.

“What are y’all doing this summer?” Hawkins asked.

“Nothing,” replied 12-year-old James Ellis.

Hawkins hoisted another child, 2-year-old Bryant Hart, into his arms.

“We want to make his tomorrow better. That is what this is about,” he said. “You ask what this boy’s life is going to be like--this is the future generation. His future depends on the success of what we do.”