NEWBERN, Ala. — The sunrays beamed on Patrick Braxton’s forehead as he raised his right hand and placed his left on a Bible, held by his wife, Freda.
He stood confidently, ready to execute his oath of office for all to see.
That moment — on an early August afternoon — felt so familiar yet so different for Braxton.
Nearly four years earlier, he’d been sworn in as the first Black mayor of his hometown by the Hale County probate judge. But he never got to serve. The former majority-white town council locked him out of town hall and reappointed themselves to their positions after ordering a special election that no one knew about. He experienced harassment and intimidation to keep him out of office.
Ever since, Braxton has been fighting through the courts to hold onto the title of mayor, and demand the town hold regular elections, since it hadn’t since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Last month, a federal judge signed a settlement agreement that reinstated Braxton to his post and allowed residents to exercise their right to vote.
On Aug. 3, dressed to the nines in a teal suit, he peered out into the crowd of hundreds of mostly Black folks. The heat index reached around 107 degrees, but it didn’t matter. He was surrounded by his mother, daughter, wife, and peers. He grabbed a mic, and thanked everyone for coming to witness his swearing-in ceremony — for the second time.
“It’s even sweeter the second time,” he said. “No more locked doors.”
“Yeah,” the crowd exclaimed.
“We finna go forward and go forward wide open.”
“Yes!” they cheered.
“We’ve been held back too long.”
The small, quiet town rattled with excitement, sensing a new day in Newbern for many residents and neighbors in surrounding counties. After 60 years of no elections or Black leaders elected to govern this town, Braxton hopes this next chapter will mend decades of deep-seated racial tensions. While he finally has the town keys, he still faces roadblocks ahead, and some question whether he has a fair shot to implement change.
He has one year to serve until the 2025 municipal elections. In the meantime, he awaits Republican Gov. Kay Ivey’s confirmation of his appointed council member. If she doesn’t respond in 90 days, a special election must be held by the end of the year. Separately, he’s working with the local banks and former town council’s accountant to locate financial records to perform an audit.
Though rare in nature, citizens here aren’t the only rural Americans who have been locked out of democracy, forcing the courts to right the wrongs of institutions that disenfranchise Black voters or deny them the representation they deserve. In Pleasant Grove, Alabama, two residents sued the city officials in 2018 over a discriminatory election system that made it difficult for Black people to win office. A settlement agreement ordered a new, fairer voting process. In other cases, Black officials have faced racial discrimination for serving. In Kenly, North Carolina, a majority-white police department resigned “citing a hostile work environment” after a Black woman became town manager in 2022. After three months, the town council fired her.
What’s been happening in Newbern and other small towns across the country is representative of “what still happens every day at every level, which is the systemic racism and oppression of Black communities,” said Leah Wong, attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., who worked with Braxton on the case.
“I’m really hoping that this story symbolizes that more than anything,” she told Capital B. “I just can’t get over the cognitive dissonance sometimes the country represents where the Supreme Court guts parts of the Voting Rights Act, saying that we no longer need it — alluding to the fact that we live in some sort of post-racial society. … It feels both empowering to be there, to watch Mayor Braxton step into his role, but also a reminder that the work continues.”
Ethel Alexander, a councilwoman for Colony, Alabama, a small town two hours away from Newbern, echoed Wong’s remarks.
She added: “On a national level, they are trying to take our votes away. For someone to say the 2020 election was a lie, that they stole the election, it’s the same thing here on a smaller level. Isn’t that something?”
“A New Day in Newbern”
Some white residents in Newbern, including the former mayor, Haywood “Woody” Stokes, don’t care to make amends, Braxton said. Recently, when the town held a ribbon-cutting for a new, modern sewer system, some white residents tried to block it.
“They tried to tell the engineers they couldn’t dig across their driveway … dig in the yard. That’s how bad certain little groups didn’t want nothing to come in that they know it’s gonna benefit the Blacks,” Braxton said. “The town is not a bad town. Like I say, just like a sack of apples, you got one or two in there that’s bad.”
Braxton said many older white residents have said they planned to move because he is the mayor. But, Braxton isn’t allowing that to stop him from working to bridge the gap between white and Black residents.
One of his first priorities is to beautify and clean the town. He also wants to hire workers and staff and get equipment for the city to use. Previously, Stokes had a city dumpster located in his backyard, but only white residents could use it, Braxton said.
He also wants to create welcoming spaces that are inclusive of the Black community. At one point, the city had a Newbern Community Center, which Black residents never frequented because they only saw white people go in. Once they started inquiring about the building, it became a “private supper club.” Even at the Mercantile store, Black people and white people wouldn’t sit together and eat, said Janice Quarles, a longtime resident and council member to Braxton.
The only time Quarles remembers mingling with white women was during a weekly group gathering at the local library.
“I enjoyed it so much. We would do different activities. We would bring food, snacks, and just to hold good conversations and play games,” Quarles said. “Other than that, we don’t do anything together.”
As a council member, Quarles hopes they can secure grants to bring in a convenience store like Dollar General. They want to see the town grow and allow residents to be involved in the process. He’s going to start by ensuring town hall meetings are open to the public.
“Please come and voice your opinion. You might need this did on your street, but we gon’ talk about it. We’re going to try to get you on a list. We’re not gonna ignore you,” Braxton added.
Lena Barfield, a resident of Newbern, said it’s time for a change, and she believes Braxton is the person to do it. Under the previous administration, Barfield noted nothing was done to help the community, even though Stokes lived right down the street. Though she doesn’t know what Braxton will be able to do when he is in office, she wants him to be transparent.
“Only thing I want them to do is if you tell me that you can do this here, I expect you to do it,” Barfield said. “We want him to follow through.”
Theodore “T.J.” Johnson, a resident, wants additional housing, stores, and more activities for the youth.
“We got to start from ground level and do what we need to do for the people. So whatever it is, the mayor got on his list, that’s what we got to do,” Johnson told Capital B.
As a first-time council, Braxton and Quarles are pleading for help. Members of the Alabama Conference of Black Mayors pledged to walk with them hand-in-hand. At least 17 current and former mayors who are members of the ACBM showed up to support Braxton during his inauguration.
“It’s a new day in Newbern,” Braxton told Capital B. “I’m not worried about what happened in the ’50s, what happened 20 years ago. What’s going on now? That’s what I’m worried about, and how we’re going forward.”