a 13-year-old Bethlehem Elementary School student made national headlines when he stabbed his principal Murray Kennedy to death with a nail file. Because the white principal was killed by a black student, the incident stoked fears of racial conflict in the community, which were addressed by local black and white leaders in the community. The case drew the attention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who helped contribute to the student's defense fund. It also drew the attention of the Ku Klux Klan; 65 members of the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in front of the Winder, Georgia courthouse in protest of the murder. Despite the involvement of the KKK, fears of racial tension in the community itself quickly died out. After being charged as an adult, the student was sentenced to 15 years after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Geography Bethlehem is located in southern Barrow County, south of Winder, the county seat. The town is west of Athens, Georgia, and east of Atlanta. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , with approximately of water. The land in and around Bethlehem forms a watershed that flows into the Apalachee River and Marburg Creek, which itself flows into the Apalachee River. Around 76.4% of the land in Bethlehem is used for agriculture or forestry, followed by 14.8% for residential use. Climate The climate of Bethlehem, as with most of the southeastern United States, is humid subtropical (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with four seasons including hot, humid summers and cool winters. July is generally the warmest month of the year with an average high of around . The coldest month is January which has an average high of around . Bethlehem receives rainfall distributed evenly throughout the year as typical of southeastern U.S. cities, with March on average having the highest average precipitation at , and May typically being the driest month with . Demographics As of the census of 2020, there were 715 people, 341 households, and 241 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 341 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 64.11% White, 9% African American, 0% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.48% Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 13.63% from other races, and 12.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were