Tenaha, Texas

Tenaha, Texas
Town
Location of Tenaha, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Shelby
Area
• Total	4.0 sq mi (10.3 km2)
• Land	3.9 sq mi (10.2 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	348 ft (106 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	1,046
• Density	264.9/sq mi (102.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	75974
Area code	936
FIPS code	48-72188Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1369702Template:GR

Tenaha is a town in Shelby County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,046 at the 2000 census. The town name is Caddo Indian for "Muddy Water"

Geography

Tenaha is located at 31°56′39″N 94°14′47″W (31.944062, -94.246274)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10.3 km²), of which, 4.0 square miles (10.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.50%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,046 people, 402 households, and 281 families residing in the town. The population density was 264.9 people per square mile (102.2/km²). There were 489 housing units at an average density of 123.8/sq mi (47.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 46.18% White, 42.35% African American, 0.19% Native American, 9.66% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.86% of the population.

There were 402 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 22.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the town the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $18,807, and the median income for a family was $22,885. Males had a median income of $22,188 versus $16,667 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,892. About 36.0% of families and 40.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 56.2% of those under age 18 and 28.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The Town of Tenaha is served by the Tenaha Independent School District.The best known alumnus of Tenaha Highschool is Jim Wilkinson (James R. Wilkinson), who gave up plans to become an undertaker to go to work for Republican Congressman Dick Armey in 1992. He served as General Tommy R. Franks' director of strategic communications, and is deputy national security advisor for communications as of December 2003.

Controversy

Tenaha, has the dubious distinction of utilizing a state forfeiture regulation to seize property from unsuspecting motorists to raise revenue for the local police. A recent Houston Chronicle article detailed the allegations that led Texas State Senator John Whitmire to declare, “The idea that people lose their property but are never charged [with a criminal offense] and never get it back, that’s theft as far as I’m concerned.” Law enforcement authorities in Tenaha seized property from at least 140 motorists between 2006 and 2008, and, to date, filed criminal charges against fewer than half. See “Highway Piracy or Good Policing, Town’s Force is Seizing Property from People Who are Never Charged.” http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6252365.html

Between 2006-2008 in 200 times this practice has been in effect 147 of those cases no charges were filled. in all but one of the 147 cases the accused was African american.In one case the police threatened that if they didnt hand over 6000 dollars they would seize their children. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/chi-texas-profiling_wittmar10,0,5349218.story