Tenaha, Texas
Encyclopedia
Tenaha is a town in Shelby County
, Texas
, United States
- established February 2, 1886. The population was 1,046 at the 2000 census. The town's name is taken from the Caddo language
for "Muddy Water". (According to An Informal History of Texas by Frank X. Tolbert
, "Tenaha" is the Caddo word for "urine.")
In 2009 Tenaha has become the subject of a class action over allegations that local police regularly made improper seizures of cash, jewelry, and property from African-American or Latino
motorists passing through the town. Arrested drivers were given a choice of either going to jail on money-laundering felony
charges or handing over all their valuables in order to be allowed to walk free. In one case a couple surrendered $6,000 to keep their children out of child protection services.
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.
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 per square mile (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.
. The best known alumnus of Tenaha High School 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.
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 150 motorists between 2006 and 2008, totaling more than $3 million USD. In most of the cases where the seizures were improper, the victims were African-American or Latino.
The allegations are that the town has used its proceeds to build a new police station, reward high revenue generating officers personally, and buy a second police car.
Linda Dorman, an Akron, Ohio
, great-grandmother had $4,000 in cash taken from her by local authorities when she was stopped while driving through town after visiting Houston in April 2007. Court records make no mention that anything illegal was found in her van. She's still hoping for the return of what she calls her life savings. In another instance, a man was taken to the local prison and directed to surrender thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry, then released without charges.
The town's District Attorney, Lynda Russell, has been accused of corruption for allegedly making commission payments to one of the arresting officers and local clubs, when Texas law explicitly states that forfeited money can only be used "for official purposes".
In July 2008, 10 plaintiffs filed suit in federal court against Tenaha and Shelby county officials, alleging that police officers had stopped them without cause and unjustly seized their property. The plaintiffs allege that officers threatened them with criminal prosecution if they did not cooperate. Officials named in the suit included Tenaha mayor George Bowers, deputy city marshal Barry Washington and Shelby County district attorney Lynda Kay Russell.
In March 2009, the plaintiff's attorney Timothy Garrigan announced that he would seek class-action status for the lawsuit, citing a large number of similar reports from other alleged victims.
The police said that they will return at least one man's seized possessions, valued at around $8,500.
Shelby County, Texas
*Arcadia*Brooklyn*Center*Dreka *Huxley*Joaquin*Possum Trot*Shelbyville *Tenaha*Timpson*Weaver-Education:The following school districts serve Shelby County:*Center ISD*Excelsior ISD...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
- established February 2, 1886. The population was 1,046 at the 2000 census. The town's name is taken from the Caddo language
Caddo language
Caddo is the only surviving Southern Caddoan language of the Caddo language family. It is spoken by the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. Today, only 25 elderly speakers are estimated to remain, none of whom are monolingual Caddo speakers, making Caddo a critically endangered language...
for "Muddy Water". (According to An Informal History of Texas by Frank X. Tolbert
Frank X. Tolbert
Francis Tolbert , better known as Frank X. Tolbert, was a Texas journalist, historian, and chili enthusiast. For the Dallas Morning News, he wrote a local history column called Tolbert's Texas that ran from 1946 until his death in 1984.-Biography:Tolbert was born in Amarillo, and was raised in...
, "Tenaha" is the Caddo word for "urine.")
In 2009 Tenaha has become the subject of a class action over allegations that local police regularly made improper seizures of cash, jewelry, and property from African-American or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
motorists passing through the town. Arrested drivers were given a choice of either going to jail on money-laundering felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
charges or handing over all their valuables in order to be allowed to walk free. In one case a couple surrendered $6,000 to keep their children out of child protection services.
Geography
Tenaha is located at 31°56′39"N 94°14′47"W (31.944062, -94.246274).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, 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 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,046 people, 402 households, and 281 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 264.9 people per square mile (102.2/km²). There were 489 housing units at an average density of 123.8 per square mile (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
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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
Public education in the town of Tenaha is provided by the Tenaha Independent School DistrictTenaha Independent School District
Tenaha Independent School District is a public school district based in Tenaha, Texas .Located in north central Shelby County, the district extends into a small portion of Panola County....
. The best known alumnus of Tenaha High School is Jim Wilkinson (James R. Wilkinson), who gave up plans to become an undertaker to go to work for Republican Congressman Dick Armey
Dick Armey
Richard Keith "Dick" Armey is a former U.S. Representative from Texas's and House Majority Leader . He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, in which Republicans were elected to majorities of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. Armey was...
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.
Police seizures scandal
Tenaha has the dubious distinction of allegedly utilizing a state forfeiture regulation to seize property from unsuspecting motorists to raise revenue for the local police. A Houston ChronicleHouston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
article detailed the allegations that led Texas State Senator
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing 31 single-member districts across the state with populations of approximately 672,000 per constituency. There are no term limits, and each term is four years long. The Senate meets at the...
John Whitmire
John Whitmire
John Harris Whitmire is the longest-serving of current members of the Texas State Senate representing District 15, which includes much of northern Houston, since 1983. Previously he was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1973 through 1982...
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 150 motorists between 2006 and 2008, totaling more than $3 million USD. In most of the cases where the seizures were improper, the victims were African-American or Latino.
The allegations are that the town has used its proceeds to build a new police station, reward high revenue generating officers personally, and buy a second police car.
Linda Dorman, an Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, great-grandmother had $4,000 in cash taken from her by local authorities when she was stopped while driving through town after visiting Houston in April 2007. Court records make no mention that anything illegal was found in her van. She's still hoping for the return of what she calls her life savings. In another instance, a man was taken to the local prison and directed to surrender thousands of dollars in cash and jewelry, then released without charges.
The town's District Attorney, Lynda Russell, has been accused of corruption for allegedly making commission payments to one of the arresting officers and local clubs, when Texas law explicitly states that forfeited money can only be used "for official purposes".
In July 2008, 10 plaintiffs filed suit in federal court against Tenaha and Shelby county officials, alleging that police officers had stopped them without cause and unjustly seized their property. The plaintiffs allege that officers threatened them with criminal prosecution if they did not cooperate. Officials named in the suit included Tenaha mayor George Bowers, deputy city marshal Barry Washington and Shelby County district attorney Lynda Kay Russell.
In March 2009, the plaintiff's attorney Timothy Garrigan announced that he would seek class-action status for the lawsuit, citing a large number of similar reports from other alleged victims.
The police said that they will return at least one man's seized possessions, valued at around $8,500.
Notable people
- Wayne ChristianWayne ChristianWayne Christian is a businessman from Center, Texas, who is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 9, which includes Jasper, Nacogdoches, Sabine, San Augustine, and Shelby counties in East Texas....
, RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
state representativeTexas House of RepresentativesThe Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
from Shelby and neighboring counties, was reared in Tenaha and graduated from Tenaha High School in 1969.