Black Mayor Locked Out of Town Hall and Meetings for Years by MAGA-Style Officials Wins Historic Election

Black Mayor Locked Out of Town Hall and Meetings for Years by MAGA-Style Officials Wins Historic Election

In the USA.

The news as it trends.

In Newbern, Alabama, a town of just 133 people, democracy was denied for over 60 years.

Despite Black residents making up nearly 89% of the population (compared to 11% White), the town was run by an all-White government using a “hand-me-down” system.

Instead of elections, mayors appointed successors, and council members were never voted in, a structure that operated more like a private business than a lawful public institution.

This system was not in conformity with any U.S. public office laws.

In 2020, Patrick Braxton, a Black man, was elected as Newbern’s first Black mayor. But instead of being welcomed into office, he was locked out, literally.

White town officials changed the locks on town hall, denied him access to financial records, and refused to recognize his authority.

Though elected, Braxton was blocked from serving.

The outgoing council held a secret meeting and fraudulently reappointed themselves, continuing to run the town while ignoring both the law and the will of the people.

Outraged by this illegal power grab, Braxton and fellow Black residents filed a federal lawsuit, challenging the town’s refusal to let him serve and exposing the unlawful “hand-me-down” governance.

After three years of legal battle, they won. The settlement forced the town to hold a proper election in 2025.

Reports highlighted deep racial and political divides, with critics pointing to MAGA-style indoctrination and power hoarding as tactics used to maintain control.

Braxton only served one year out of five, and even that came after years of resistance.

In August 2025, Newbern held its first legitimate election in decades. Braxton won decisively, 66 votes to 26, restoring democratic governance and affirming the voices of Black residents who had long been silenced.

This story is now making waves across blogs and major outlets like CNN, spotlighting a new chapter in America’s racial justice movement, where laws existed, but were never respected by the few who held power.

Yetunde B reports for Yeyetunde’s Blog.