Alabama town’s first Black mayor, who had been locked out of office, will return under settlement

NEWBERN, Ala. (AP) — The first Black mayor of a small Alabama town, who said white officials locked him out of town hall, will return to the role under the terms of a proposed settlement agreement.

Patrick Braxton will be recognized as the lawful mayor of the town of Newbern, under the terms of a proposed agreement to settle a lawsuit between Braxton and the town of Newbern. The settlement was filed Friday and, if approved by U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose, will end the long-running dispute over control of the town government, pave the way for Braxton to take over as the town’s first Black mayor and allow the seating of a new city council.

“I’m pleased with the outcome and the community is pleased. I think they are more pleased that they can voice their opinion and vote,” Braxton, 57, said Monday.

Newbern, a tiny town of 133 people about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Selma, has a mayor-council government but has not held elections for six decades. Instead, town officials were “hand-me-down” positions with the mayor appointing a successor and the successor appointing council members, according to the lawsuit filed by Braxton and others. That practice resulted in an overwhelmingly white government in a town where Black residents outnumber white residents by a 2-1 margin.

Braxton, a Black volunteer firefighter, in 2020 qualified to run for the non-partisan position of mayor. Since he was the only person to run, he became the town’s mayor elect. He appointed a town council as other mayors have done. But Braxton said he faced a series of obstacles when trying to take office.

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