FIRST BLACK MAYOR IN RURAL ALABAMA

By: Aallyah Wright Patrick Braxton is over-whelmed with gratitude. He’s been juggling a year’s long legal battle to serve as the lawful mayor of his hometown, Newbern, Alabama. After years of harassment, his rural town enters a new chapter: Its first Black mayor will finally get to serve. Braxton will be re-instated as mayor of Newbern, according to a proposed settlement reached on June 21. Th e settlement awaits the signature of U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose. After 60 years of no elections, residents will get to exercise their right to vote. Th e town has also pledged to hold regular municipal elections beginning in 2025. In nearly a year since Capital B was among the first to report on Braxton’s fight, he has garnered support locally and nationally. On a recent morning in May, he traveled nearly three hours from his hometown to Mobile for a preliminary injunction hearing, asking the courts to demand the town hold regular elections in November. When he and his council members arrived, they were met by a busload of more than 30 residents who also traveled nearly three hours to showcase their support. In 2020, Braxton became the first Black mayor in...