Alabama town’s Black mayor wins election four years after white residents locked him out of town hall and refused to let him serve
Patrick Braxton becomes the first Black mayor of New Bern, Alabama
- Patrick Braxton has been re-elected as mayor of Newbern, Alabama, securing a landslide victory with 66 votes to 26.
- This win follows a protracted dispute after his initial election in 2020, when he was locked out of the town hall and denied access to municipal affairs.
- Braxton filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, as the town's government was predominantly white despite Black residents outnumbering white residents two-to-one.
- A settlement in July 2024 finally allowed Braxton to commence his first term, three and a half years after the initial conflict began.
- Braxton, the first Black mayor of the rural Alabama town, expressed satisfaction that his victory affirmed the community's desire for his leadership.