Patrick Braxton became the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama, when he was elected in 2020, but since then he has fought with the previous administration to actually serve in office. (Aallyah Wright/Capital B)
NEWBERN, Ala. — There’s a power struggle in Newbern, Alabama, and the rural town’s first Black mayor is at war with the previous administration who he says locked him out of Town Hall.
After years of racist harassment and intimidation, Patrick Braxton is fed up, and in a federal civil rights lawsuit he is accusing town officials of conspiring to deny his civil rights and his position because of his race.
“When I first became mayor, [a white woman told me] the town was not ready for a Black mayor,” Braxton recalls.
The town is 85% Black, and 29% of Black people here live below the poverty line.
“What did she mean by the town wasn’t ready for a Black mayor? They, meaning white people?” Capital B asked.
“Yes. No change,” Braxton says.
Decades removed from a seemingly Jim Crow South, white people continue to thwart Black political progress by refusing to allow them to govern themselves or participate in the country’s democracy, several residents told Capital B. While litigation may take months or years to resolve, Braxton and community members are working to organize voter education, registration, and transportation ahead of the 2024 general election.
But the tension has been brewing for years.
Two years ago, Braxton says he was the only volunteer firefighter in his department to respond to a tree fire near a Black person’s home in the town of 275 people. As Braxton, 57, actively worked to put out the fire, he says, one of his white colleagues tried to take the keys to his fire truck to keep him from using it.
In another incident, Braxton, who was off duty at the time, overheard an emergency dispatch call for a Black woman experiencing a heart attack. He drove to the fire station to retrieve the automated external defibrillator, or AED machine, but the locks were changed, so he couldn’t get into the facility. He raced back to his house, grabbed his personal machine, and drove over to the house, but he didn’t make it in time to save her. Braxton wasn’t able to gain access to the building or equipment until the Hale County Emergency Management Agency director intervened, the lawsuit said.
“I have been on several house fires by myself,” Braxton says. “They hear the radio and wouldn’t come. I know they hear it because I called dispatch, and dispatch set the tone call three or four times for Newbern because we got a certain tone.”
This has become the new norm for Braxton ever since he became the first Black mayor of his hometown in 2020. For the past three years, he’s been fighting to serve and hold on to the title of mayor, first reported by Lee Hedgepeth, a freelance journalist based in Alabama.
Incorporated in 1854, Newbern, Alabama, today has a population of 275 people — 85% of whom are Black. (Aallyah Wright/Capital B)
Not only has he been locked out of the town hall and fought fires alone, but he’s been followed by a drone and unable to retrieve the town’s mail and financial accounts, he says. Rather than concede, Haywood “Woody” Stokes III, the former white mayor, along with his council members, reappointed themselves to their positions after ordering a special election that no one knew about.
Braxton is suing them, the People’s Bank of Greensboro, and the postmaster at the U.S. Post Office.
For at least 60 years, there’s never been an election in the town. Instead, the mantle has been treated as a “hand me down” by the small percentage of white residents, according to several residents Capital B interviewed. After being the only one to submit qualifying paperwork and statement of economic interests, Braxton became the mayor.
just in case anyone missed this in the news or maybe not in the loop, Disney is currently refusing to meet with or acknowledge the newly formed animation production workers union that just voted to join IASTE and become an official part of TAG, the animators and animation artists guild
production workers across all studios are currently voting to be recognized for their hard work and invaluable skill at keeping these productions running, but studios are refusing to meet with them to let them negotiate deals or even exist
as someone who works in animation as a designer i know i wouldn’t be able to do my job at all without any of my production workers. they are the incredibly hard working people who oversee pretty much everything in animation. they make sure everything is running on time, that schedules are being followed, they have to know pretty much every single word of the scripts and beats from the storyboards to make sure nothing is missed, and most importantly, they make sure artists are being taken care of and not overworked. they really are the unsung heroes of the animation world
production workers are also by far the most exploited workers in animation currently. they make about a fraction of what artists make for just as much work put in, and currently have no agreement for health coverage or other benefits that artists protected by the union are guaranteed
BUT! there is some good news. right now there’s a petition on IATSE’s website that has over 80,000 signatures currently addressed to disney leadership to do the right thing and meet with this new union and recognized their vote to form. it still needs roughly 21,000 signatures and only takes a minute to sign! anyone with a zip or postal code can sign, meaning both US and Canadian residents can sign and help this union get the deal it deserves!!
kimiko glenn posted her residuals from orange is the new black (she played brooke soso!) on tiktok and it’s disturbing to actually have a visual of how little she makes for one of the first defining shows of the streaming era
she also went on to say that many of the people on the show had to work second jobs, and added further perspective by adding that they couldn’t go out in public because they were famous but still making very little.
After appearing in 44 episodes of its nine-season run, Glenn claimed she only made $27.30 (£20) in 2020 from streaming residuals, which the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, defines as “additional compensation paid to performers when a production is shown beyond the original use covered by the initial compensation”.
“First of all,” she argued, “whether or not we got paid upfront, my tits live on in perpetuity. I deserve to get paid for as many f***ing streams as that s*** gets.”
Glenn continued: “Second of all, we did not get paid very well, ever. And when I say didn’t get paid very well, you would die!”
She went on to reveal that “people were still bartenders, people had their second jobs still”.
“They were f***ing famous as s***, like internationally famous – couldn’t go outside – but had to keep their second jobs because they couldn’t afford to not. We couldn’t afford cabs to set… you guys!” Glenn added.
if you see a suspicious looking ford explorer and can’t tell if it’s an undercover cop or not, look for the roof rails
these mfs
police model explorers don’t have them, the roof will be completely smooth other than possibly a fin or antenna at the back
i’ve found it to be the quickest and easiest way to tell, once you know what you’re looking for
In addition to that, here are some things I look for when identifying the secret police:
- can you see through the windows? SP have very darkly tinted windows, but if you can catch the light correctly you’ll see they have the bars separating the back seat from the front. sometimes the extreme tint is an indicator by itself.
- does it have an odd addition to the driver side mirror? SP have hidden lights on their vehicles.
- does it have any markings? check if it has stickers, dealership tags, or anything that can identify it. if you find something, youre in the clear! if its generic plates and nothing else its another indication of SP.
- does it have extra brake lights? can you see additional unlit lights? those are the police lights.
- this one is for up close, but the driver will be in uniform if they’re SP.
Wish everyone saying “jUsT gEt BeTtEr JoBs” would stop consuming any and all literature, movies, and shows. I mean if you think writing isn’t a legitimate job then surely you hate anything that is written, right?
Friendly reminder that calling Zuckerburg a lizard or alien is antisemitic and echoes New World Order propaganda about Jews. Zuckerberg is an ethnic Jew, and insinuating that he’s something inhuman only contributes to the current resurgence of neo-Nazi views
Let me help some of y'all with reading comprehension:
“[C]alling [any Jewish person] a lizard or alien [or not human] is antisemitic and echoes New World Order propaganda about Jews… [and] …contributes to the current resurgence of neo-Nazi views.”
It’s not about one guy. It’s about being made aware that using neo-nazi dogwhistles about a Jewish person makes the world a more comfortable place for nazis to fuckin murder the rest of us.
It’s okay if you didn’t know, it’s not your fault, dogwhistles are that way on purpose, to slip by unknowingly. Just knock it off and try not to spread it around yes? Okay.
Since the reading comprehension on this site is piss poor and it shows in the replies, I thought I would clarify this post even more for some of y'all out there.
The whole “lizard people shadow government” thing is an antisemitic dogwhistle. The point of dogwhistles is that you’re not using them with ill intent, but they still indicate the spread of neo nazi views and propaganda.
Saying “I’m doing it because he’s not a bad person, not because he’s Jewish” is not an excuse. This post wasn’t calling you an antisemite for unknowingly spreading this propaganda, as that’s literally what a dogwhistle is meant to do. Literally just stop doing this, it’s not that hard lmao.
It disturbs me, as a non-Jew myself, how many of us are trying to be defensive in the replies, when pretty much every Jewish person I’ve seen talk about this issue agrees that it’s wrong to apply antisemitic rhetoric to someone even though he is a bad person.
By calling a bad person an antisemitic dogwhistle, you show through your actions that you think Jewish people need to earn the right to be treated as human beings. Think of how bigots will often show their true colors by misgendering a trans person who also happens to be an awful piece of shit human being.
“But I can’t think of other insults to use!!!” it’s not Jewish people’s responsibility to think of jokes and insults for you, and also, that’s not an excuse to keep doing this bad thing.
Just stop spreading this rhetoric and move the fuck on.
I just found out that our reward points at this motel will take 24 hours to go through. the manager came to the door and threatened to kick us out if we can’t give them their $70. please help. this is literally our lives on the line
hi, thank you to everyone who reblogged and donated ;_; thank you all so much for saving us. I haven’t been updating bc I’ve been sleeping off heavy amounts of physical pain 😔
I could use some help again for food and tomorrow’s motel payment. thank you all for reblogging and donating
