A jaw-dropping election is still undecided after three years
It’s a sad, sad thing if anyone turns to their mechanic for news, but we have a story to share that was news to us and we’re sorry to bet it will be news to you.
Newbern, Alabama, traces its roots back to 1854 when it was incorporated to produce cotton using slave labor. The population ratio (and power structure, as we’ll see) still reflects those beginnings. Newbern, only about a square mile in size, is currently home to 275 people, 85% of whom are Black. It’s one of the many tiny, majority Black towns making up most of poverty-stricken Western Alabama.
While it’s sadly typical in so many ways, it stands out in one… democracy just hasn’t seemed to take hold. Nearby Selma played a large role in the voting rights struggles of the 60’s but elections seem to be an unnecessary encumbrance in Newbern. 83-year-old Hattie Hollis, born and raised in Newbern, could not recall a single election being held. “Not that I know of,” she said. “I can’t remember any election.” Haywood Stokes, most recent Newbern mayor and descendant of one of Newbern’s original slaveholders, explained the political complexities: “The title of Mayor has simply been passed from individual to individual to anyone who would agree to be Mayor without regard to elections.”
That changed in 2020 when Patrick Braxton, a volunteer fireman in Newbern, decided to run. Mayor Stokes explained “We’d never had an election” and “We don’t have the ballots and machines to do it.” Convinced he lived in a system that preferred elections, Braxton researched how and where to file the necessary paperwork, and actually filed to run. Since he was the only person to do so, (Stokes didn’t bother) he won, and appointed the first majority-Black council in Newbern’s history.
The story, of course, doesn’t end there. Stokes and the former council met secretly and agreed to hold a special election but neglected to tell any of the residents about it. Since no one filed paperwork to run in a secret election, no one was elected to anything and the former council reappointed themselves. Braxton was then physically locked out of City Hall, cut off from the town’s bank account and financial records, and even stopped from receiving city mail. You won’t be surprised at all to learn that Braxton has been threatened, run off the road, followed by drones, and abandoned by his fellow firefighters. One of his supporters has received handwritten threats with swastikas and racial epithets, including one letter that had a drawing of her and Braxton being lynched.
Mayor Braxton has filed a civil rights suit in Federal court to be recognized as the rightful Mayor, but the suit has been working its way through the courts for three years now. There’s much more to the story, and here are links to sources that go much deeper than your mechanic can…
White Minority Locks Out First Black Mayor of Newbern, Alabama, Equal Justice Initiative, July 2023
Newbern, Alabama town that locked out Black mayor, violated Voting Rights Act, new complaint alleges, Howard Koplowitx on AL.com, Sep 2023
Black mayor of tiny Alabama town says he was ousted by his White predecessor, Edwards and Clarke on CNN, Aug 2023
He became the first Black mayor of a rural Alabama town. Then a white minority locked him out, Adria Walker in The Guardian, Aug 2023
Alabama town’s first Black mayor claims he’s been locked out by white predecessor, Osunsami et al on ABC, Sep 2023
The Conspiracy (Braxton vs. Stokes), AlabamaLove.org
Newbern’s first Black mayor fighting for his office in court, Jon Paepcke on WVTM13, Aug 2023
Political and Legal Scandal Rocking a Small Alabama Town: Who’s the Mayor? Arian Campo-Flores in The Wall Street Journal, Aug 2023
Power struggle unfolds between Alabama town’s 1st Black mayor and white officials (audio), WBUR, Jul 2023
He became the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama. A white minority locked him out of town hall, Lee Hedgepeth on Tread, Jun 2023
