Водоустойчивое: История и современность луизианской деревни

Waterproof is a village in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States with a population of 541 as of the 2020 census. The village in 2010 was 91.7 percent African American. Some 24 percent of Waterproof residents in 2010 were aged sixty or above. Waterproof is approximately 17 mile (27 km) north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish. The village is named for its relative safety from flooding prior to construction of the Mississippi River levee system. With a population dependent on agriculture, the rural village struggles with poverty. Mechanization has decreased the need for farm labor. Industrial scale cotton is the major commodity crop, but corn and soybeans are also important.

Jim Crow rules were strong through the segregation era, and the Ku Klux Klan was active in southwest Louisiana through the late 20th century. Although there were 7,000 blacks living in the parish in 1964, none had been registered to vote. The 4,000 whites controlled parish and city politics for decades. The first 15 blacks were registered to vote in 1964, after passage of national civil rights legislation. The village has the Tensas Parish Detention Center South. This prison facility holds inmates sentenced in Waterproof and Tensas County courts and courts of other cities in the Tensas Parish area. It has recently been used to detain undocumented immigrants. The listed address of Tensas Parish Detention Center South is 8606 Highway 65. On December 8, 2018, the village elected its youngest mayor in history, Jarrod Randell Bottley, an African American male. He was 31 years old at the time and serves the town on a full time basis.

In September 2006 Bobby D. Higginbotham was elected as mayor of Waterproof. After taking office, he hired Miles Jenkins as chief of police. Both native to Waterproof, the two African American men had also lived and worked for years in other cities, including New Orleans. Jenkins had a 30 year career in the US military and earned a master's degree in public administration from Troy University in Alabama. He started to professionalize the small town police department. In the 2007 primary, Jones defeated Higginbotham, 2,188 votes (77.6 percent) to 631 votes (22.4 percent). Jones and District Attorney James E. Paxton of the Louisiana 6th Judicial District, who was elected in 2008, recognized Caldwell A. Flood Jr., as the bona fide mayor of Waterproof. Police chief Miles Perkins was also arrested and charged for profiting from traffic tickets. In March 2010, Police Chief Miles Jenkins filed a lawsuit asserting conspiracy by Jones, Paxton, and other members of the white power structure to prevent the legal exercise of power by black elected officials. He said that he and Higginbotham were illegally forced from office and prosecuted by white officials. He cited numerous arrests by Jones and prosecution by Paxton, on charges that observers said they had never heard used against a police official. The case was closely watched by civil rights activists. The Louisiana State Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari. In 2016, the US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, upheld the District Court decision denying habeas relief.

+Waterproof racial compositionRaceNum. Perc. White (non Hispanic)305.55%Black or African American (non Hispanic)49190.76%Asian10.18%Other/Mixed91.66%Hispanic or Latino101.85%
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 541 people, 287 households, and 156 families residing in the town.

As of the census of 2000, there were 834 people, 353 households, and 194 families residing in the town. The population density was There were 427 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the town was 87.41% African American, 11.87% White, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population. In 2010, the African American proportion of the declining, aged population was 91.7 percent. John Henry Johnson, professional football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; born in Waterproof. Samuel W. Martien, major cotton planter and politician, serving as elected member of Louisiana House of Representatives from 1906 to 1920. J. C. Seaman, state representative from 1944 to 1964; born in Waterproof. Matthew Walker Sr., one of the first African Americans to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and one of the most prominent Black doctors in the 20th century in the United States. Johnny Weekly, professional baseball player; born in Waterproof in 1937.