US EditionAlabama town’s first Black mayor, who had been locked out of office, wins election
Patrick Braxton won with 66 votes, ending a decades-long governance dispute and racial discrimination claims in Newbern, a town of 133 residents.
- On Tuesday, Incumbent Mayor Patrick Braxton won 66 votes to his opponent's 26, securing re-election as Newbern, Alabama's first Black mayor after a long dispute.
- Newbern's mayor-council government had not been put to a vote for six decades, with outgoing mayors appointing successors in what plaintiffs called 'hand-me-down' governance.
- Black residents sued, alleging town officials changed the locks and denied Patrick Braxton access to town hall and financial accounts; Braxton finally occupied the office last year after a three-year legal battle.
- The settlement agreement included a promise to hold a mayoral election in 2025, and Madison Hollon of the SPLC Action Fund said this restores democratic governance and fair representation.
- With Black residents outnumbering white residents 2-1, Newbern, Alabama's 133 residents highlight a local shift from an overwhelmingly white government to more representative leadership.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Patrick Braxton Elected First Black Mayor Of Newbern
Source: Buyenlarge / Getty Patrick Braxton has made history as the first Black mayor of Newbern, a small town in Alabama with a population of just 133 residents. His election marks a hard-fought victory, coming five years after local white officials locked him and his appointed council out of town hall, refusing to recognize their authority, following his mayoral win in 2020. On Aug. 27, Braxton won the 2025 mayoral race with 66 votes to opponen…
Tiny town's first black mayor, locked out of office by white clique, wins in landslide
When Patrick Braxton became mayor of Newbern, Alabama, population 138, the clique of white residents in charge locked him out of town hall. Braxton was the only candidate to file paperwork for a position passed around the clique for generations; they lost by default, then held an illegal special election to install Haywood Stokes III instead. — Read the rest The post Tiny town's first black mayor, locked out of office by white clique, wins in la…
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