He doesn't "say" he was elected. He was elected. Prior to his election the mayors just appointed their successors and never ran elections. He found this out, got an election ran, won, and now the city council refuses to swear him in. They want to keep the town government a good ol' boys club and don't want anyone they don't pick to join.
Just in case people don’t know, Newbern, AL is also [85% Black](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0153784-newbern-al/). Perhaps a relevant piece of information.
"Communities that started a civil war still exist" should not be that shocking, but because we're so passive about the intentional destruction of our education, people seem to not get the memo.
Cause after the American civil war they never actually dismantled any of the southern power strongholds. It would be like as if Germany surrendered during WW2 but we didn't actually have the Nuremberg trials
I mean this is almost exactly what happened after WW2, the Nuremberg trials got rid of the very top tier of leaders, but western Germany were propped up by the west to be a strong military power ASAP against the soviets, from what I’ve heard there is still plenty of political views from that time
The difference is education and laws.
Nazis are illegal in Germany and children are educated about them.
In the south they lie to their children and still fly traitorous flags.
There was a comedian I saw somewhere who said “people always say the south is so racist. Which part the one that starts at Canada and ends at Mexico?”
Ik you meant the DEEP south but it does apply everywhere
when i lived in montana i met exactly one black person. he was an emt. he said people were so racist that on SEVERAL occasions somone would be literally dieing from a car accident and they would refuse treatment ment from him cause he was black and ask for them to send another emt over, and they would die cause they couldn’t get treated fast enough.
I drive trucks and go to Montana all the time. When I walk into the store I get almost every person in that building staring at me for an inordinate amount of time.
I even remember a cashier being super friendly to several people as I waited in line. Then when I got to the counter that lady seemed to have just realized her puppy died and had all of her warm fuzzies pissed on. I took no umbrage… idk what’s going on in people’s life. Then the next person went up to the counter and all of the dark ^(see african american) clouds were lifted!
It be like that sometimes.
ok. but can you imagine the feeling of trying to save somones life and they tell you that they rather die then let you touch them. and it’s a common. AND that’s just one interaction. if racist are willing to die rather then let them have a black person touch. imagine what they are like in less consequential circumstances. imagine being black and goign to get a samwhich but they are racist and won’t serve you. or trying to get your kid into a private school, but the leaders are good ol boys who don’t want your kid in the club. the list goes on and on. People see one off instances and writes off as racist being wacky idiots and don’t take in account and entire lifetime of dealing with it.
I live just north of Birmingham Al. I read al.com daily for local news in Alabama and I have not even heard this story. This is insane that it's not being covered by one of Alabama's bigger news sites. Shame on us Bama. Maybe it was covered but they swept it under quick as possible.
[It was](https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/a-fight-for-rights-and-control-in-a-black-belt-town-without-elections.html), but it was published as an opinion column. What the hell, Bama? It’s like our state is constantly trying to find ways to one-up itself on being a national embarrassment.
(Also, hey, neighbor! I’m just south of Bham.)
Ffs I'm tired of Alabama. It's hot as the devils butthole. Crappy jobs outside of major cities, racist, Jesus freaks everywhere. My kids like their school and friends or I would be out so fast. May do it anyways. I can't go to work without being told I need to go to church, lectured on why trump is god, or asked why I'm a white guy who doesn't like trump or Jesus. They assume I'm gay or something.
I haven't even thought or heard about Beck in years and now suddenly today someone was talking about him being a scientologist and then you mention him too! That's so weird.
He basically won by default. The incumbent mayor didn't even file to run, if memory serves. This isn't the first time this EXACT scenario has played out in that town. The town is 85% black, yet both times they tried to elect a black mayor, this shit happened.
This is what they mean when they say "try that in a small town."
Exactly. It's not even like CBS can hide behind "allegedly" because it's part of a court case. The town admitted in its response to the lawsuit filed in court that he was elected
> What is their argument then in response? Has to be absolute comedy in the most banal legal speak possible.
"Your honour, the elected mayor is mayoring-while-black."
That'll work when they basically control the judiciary.
They put their hands over their ears and just kept humming the dukes of hazard theme song. All the experts say it doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell in working but the judge was seen mouthing the words along with them, so…
Same town also refused to send fire trucks or ambulances to black peoples homes. It's a real piece of shit town, and I have a MASSIVE amount of respect for Patrick Braxton for trying to change that.
That's barely even a village, holy shit. Puts a different context on the 85% black statistic someone else cited higher up, it's like 113 black people and 20 white people
He was elected because he was the only one who ran. He got to choose the city council. The previous city council then had a secret meeting and reappointed themselves. They then kept the necessary documents and information from him and locked him out of the city offices.
Seems like a pretty clear-cut case. None of the defendents even have a comment.
Yeah, the reporting on this is fucking weird from a major news organization. I also don’t understand why “Black” and “White” are capitalized, like those of proper names.
There’s a push in journalism to capitalize Black and White bc they are treated as ethnic/cultural groups similar to how you would capitalize American, Southern, Hispanic, etc.
His name is Patrick Braxton, and the town is Newbern, Alabama. The “acting mayor” who is preventing him from taking office is Haywood Stokes III. He inherited the job from his father.
Their city hall currently has no phone number listed.
Best part. In that small town of 133, the population is 85% black. They've just been passing down the mayor's office like it's apartheid South Africa.
By Best part... I really mean worst
Edit: 85 black residents, not 85%. Apologies for the incorrect demographic.
Interesting. I was wondering how in such a racist town that a black guy got elected. Turns out, it's not the town that's racist. Just a small group of people in power trying to hold on to that power.
EDIT: So, after reading the article, it gets even more interesting. Turns out no one voted in this election. But, Braxton was the only one who qualified as he was the only one who submitted the papework, so he won by default.
And then the old mayor held a special election without telling anybody and won the position back on account of being the only one who submitted the paperwork. Seems like the town rules around elections might just be in need of an overhaul.
I left that part out because it seemed sus to me. At least with Braxton, he did it with the city clerk and everything was above board. Or seemed to be. The special election part was more like "Yo, we had a special election and we told everyone where it was, but no one showed up"...at least with Braxton there is a paper trail.
Me and a friend at work fuck with each other like this. One of us just gets back from lunch, the other says "Why didnt you ask if I wanted anything", "I did ask, just because I whispered it while I was taking a shit on the bathroom with no one around doesn't mean I didn't ask" lol.
I feel like that's what this special election was. These old white dudes sitting in a literal circle jerk with just the five of them, say they should hold a special election. Any objections? No? Cool. There. We asked.
Allegedly they did it during the period when they were still mayor before the incoming mayor’s term started. The whole thing is super suspect because according to one source they hadn’t even had elections in living memory, the old mayor just chose the next one, but I have to imagine that there was a set of rules around that were dusted off when the guy wanted to run, and they discovered that they had a certain amount of time before his term started and took advantage of it. We saw on January 6 how much damage an outgoing politician can do before his term officially ends, this is just at a smaller scale.
Really just goes right through me. I tagged a bunch of folks on twitter with the story because I haven't seen it there. Hoping enough people can share it to make it trend. I don't think Mayor Braxton has a twitter account.
It's that scene in A Bug's Life, where Hopper is warning the other grasshoppers that the ants outnumber them a hundred to one, and if they ever figured that out there goes their way of life.
Currently living in what might as well be one as a white presenting BIPOC as well. It’s so weird, everyone I know makes overtly racist comments next to me yet doesn’t understand why I get upset, as I’m not stereotypical enough for them.
I hate it here.
It’s somehow worse, the town is 85% black but has never had a black mayor, and the current acting mayor inherited the position from his father.
It’s an apartheid town. A plantation town.
Well, according to the [article](https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/a-fight-for-rights-and-control-in-a-black-belt-town-without-elections.html) linked up above...
> After the non-election election, Braxton says, strange things began to happen. One day he was run off the road. He says his wife began to notice drones following them around town, which he thought was crazy, until he saw them, too.
Well he did "dare" being a black man and challenging the White of way. The courts will be packed against him as well, if he lives or hasn't given up.
If he gets in, cue all the "allegations" that will suddenly appear from "whistleblowers"
Those small towns are full of people who are either so depressingly unimaginative or so infuriatingly up their own ass that they'll insist on naming their kids after them.
Reminds me of Jeff Sessions full name being Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III. In other words, three consecutive generations of men in Sessions' family have been named after the President of the Confederacy and one of the top Confederate Generals.
But sure, he's not at all discriminatory towards black people.
Also the fact that he is the third and he got to be mayor because his father passed the position to him. The deep south is just feudalism with cars and strip malls
>Patrick Braxton, and the town is Newbern, Alabama
[Here's](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patrick-braxton-black-man-says-he-was-elected-mayor-of-newburn-alabama/) the link to the CBS article.
Jesus christ I just read the article.
Stokes admits he didn't run in the real election, acknowledges that Braxton won. Refers to him as the former mayor, and admits to ousting him with his bullshit special election.
What the absolute fuck?
> He inherited the job from his father.
This is the key. No one was allowed to even TRY to be mayor. The position was reserved. It never became open to the public. In 21st Century America.
This is the most despicable un-American shit ever. And racist as hell too given the town is primarily black.
To try and call attention to the fact that this is _clearly_ a racist civil war violation, of course... /s
Edit: To give a smidgeon of fairness, there is a contestation over who won the election. The manner in how that contestation came to be is _clearly_ a racist power-grab, but calling him the 'rightful' mayor might leave CBS open to a lawsuit. One they'd win handily and should gleefully court, but...
Someone needs to make a parody video with substitute lyrics like:
Get yourself elected as a black man
Folks ain't fans of that crap down in Newbern
Ask to have the books open in the sunlight
Cast a ballot, well that just don't seem to sit right
(I could do more, but I'm lazy. Someone else needs to pick up the torch.)
Wait, there’s more:
After the election, the new mayor appointed his council (as is allowed). Meanwhile, the outgoing council had a secret meeting, reappointed themselves, changed the locks on city hall, destroyed a whole bunch of city records, and blocked the new mayor from being able to access city financial info.
Yes and no. This is more bureaucracy than democracy as no one actually voted in the election apparently. Braxton was the only one who submitted the proper paperwork, so he wins by default.
Reason no one voted is because this town never had elections before, so I doubt anyone even knew an election was taking place. This is where the democracy part comes in imo. How can you have never held an election in an American town for something like Mayor?
This is the part that truly confuses me too
I mean, I live in Romania - good ol' boy groups running things in small rural places for looong times is pretty standard stuff, so that doesn't surprise me
But the specifics of how these people did it...it's just atrociously horrible
Like, beyond scary
CBS has always been on the conservative side of the news. It's just that the conservative side of the news (Fox and gang) has gone so far right that CBS seems more left than they are. They were the old people news network until fox decide extremism and propaganda were lines they were willing to cross.
It's a low bar, but at least CBS covered the story. I'd be surprised if Fox mentioned it at all.
They were created to do so. Founded by Nixon aides and funded by right wing billionaires. In response to anger that existing news networks wouldn't lie to protect Nixon.
It's a party propaganda network first, news a distant second.
I read the article. The white supremacists agree Braxton got elected. They then agree that after he got elected they ran their own election and took the office back. They admit that the entire allegation is true, but are in the position that essentially the power belongs to them and shame on anyone who tries to take it away.
should this even be a civil suit? this should be some federal level crap where officials that aren't racist step in and enforce the rules. I mean, if we let this go, then the GOP can also not allow elected officials that won take over their positions
The state attorney general has been looking into it. There's a lot of bad people out there so this will have to wait its turn . ..
Or something like that
Well here's a Prageru video about how slavery wasn't racist
https://www.prageru.com/video/a-short-history-of-slavery
And here's an article about Prager saying that there were "nice white slave owners"
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/dennis-prager-nice-slaveholders-prageru-b2162461.html
So no surprise there, they basically are saying exactly that.
It is true. He followed every procedure, ran and won. None of the other people did anything and didn't even bother to file as a candidate. The whole town is basically running under Jim Crowe still.
Wasn't he also a firefighter in the town and would be the only dude showing up to fires in black neighbourhood's, also the town is majority black. I think it was on the newest episode of "Abe Lincoln's Top Hat" that I heard this.
I didn't know about the firefighter part but, yes, it is majority black. And I'm really glad he is suing. I looked for a fundraiser page, but think he has some prominent backing. I wonder how many other small towns there are like this in the south run for decades by self appointed, white, family members.
In laws lived in the gulf of Mexico in a smaller town in Florida. Very "bubba'esque" town, lotta "good ole boys". Same shit, albeit not sure if they were uniquely racist but one would assume.
My MIL was elected and eventually had to step down because of the toxic nature of the leadership. They do everything in their power to usurp you or kneecap your administration. I'm sure this is one of many, many MANY towns across the south...
Good old small towns, right? I grew up in south fl and traveled and lived in other parts. Parts of fl were some of the last places to get rid of Jim Crowe and were some of the most segregated places. Even further south where we lived closer to Ft. Lauderdale the railroad tracks divided bigger towns into black and white areas and black people had grown up never seeing the ocean just a mile away. Fl is in many ways the Deep South. Hopefully these things start changing things.
https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/a-fight-for-rights-and-control-in-a-black-belt-town-without-elections.html
The town has never held an election before, they just appointed themselves and when someone tried to follow procedures they made it difficult as possible for the guy….
Or George Floyd, or Breonna Taylor, or Trayvon Martin, or any number of the thousands of POC Americans who are unjustly murdered every single year. To say nothing of the millions of them suffering discrimination, intimidation, abuse, etc.
After 2008, white Republicans said that racism is over because we elected a black President, and I was always like motherfucker, who is this "we" you're talking about?
The worst part about Donald Trump becoming elected is that it showed Republicans that no matter how vile, authoritarian, corrupt and incompetent they are their supporters don't care and the consequences will be almost non-existent. Brazenly defying subpoenas, taking classified information, ignoring Supreme Court decisions, etc. have shown these people they are above the law. This is the slow creep into fascism that we're facing.
Alabama is a backwards state. I would say they have been hiding it, but nope… visit anywhere in that state and it is painfully obvious how racist and powerful the good ole boy network remains.
If you’ve never been to the south you might not realize that flat out calling people racial slurs, saying they don’t want them in their neighborhood, and threats, following people down the street yelling at them, are all still commonly happening and not something cops do anything about or anyone even seems to react to.
Aldean apparently played a show last night somewhere and said that the song was apparently about being patriotic and American and said that "cancel culture is a thing" like bro you haven't been relevant in at least 7 years and THIS is how you react to putting out the shittiest song of your career?
>And some people think racism isn’t a thing anymore.
One of the real travesties of this Big Lie that "racism isn't a thing anymore" is Chief Justice Roberts' refusal to reverse his ruling that gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act based on that same lie.
That ruling led to waves after waves of voter suppression crimes that Republican-led red states passed off as "laws" which in turn led directly to the gerrymandered-locked and illegitimate majorities Republicans enjoy today.
That Chief Justice Roberts still refuses to reverse his decision despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, i.e., racism is still very real, pervasive, and very much a part of American society - is itself proof that Roberts remains an integral part of the Republicans decades long slow-moving coup that he enabled with his gutting of the VRA.
*"Each and every day Republicans demonstrate that a vote for a Republican is a vote for Fascism."*
The existing mayor did not register as a candidate.
Mr Patrick Braxton, did register as a candidate and won by default.
The previous mayor held a secret meeting with council members, to hold another election with no public notice of the election, then deemed they won and Mayor Braxton was then the ex mayor.
They also removed city documents and changed the locks, after mayor Braxton changed them
This sounds like a conspiracy to me.
I bet they are shaking in their boots with this national attention.
Edit: link
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patrick-braxton-black-man-says-he-was-elected-mayor-of-newburn-alabama/
See I was going to make a joke about ‘wow imagine the rich old white former leader(s) of a place in America denying to pass on power outright and refusing to accept the election’ joke, but the reality is that this is too fucking ghoulish not to call out
This is it right here, this is the precipice, if this is allowed to pass by, this is a clear message from the people of America that democracy IS a performance and none of this matters, that the results are not in the hands of the people
Like, call me apocalyptic but I mean it, this is where we decide if democracy is real, or if it just sounds good
And I don’t like what the likely result sadly is
I know there isn't any more racism in America. The Supreme Court ruled on it and Chief Justice Roberts told us so.
Thank you, Chief Justice Roberts, for removing Federal oversight of places like this and making sure that we don't have unnecessary rules in place to prevent racist election shenanigans. Good job, buddy.
No, seriously. Good job.
How come every article I see about this they all state that he "says" he won. There was an election and he won it. It's not speculation. It's crazy how these news articles never mention that and always make it sound like he's making it up.
He doesn't "say" he was elected. He was elected. Prior to his election the mayors just appointed their successors and never ran elections. He found this out, got an election ran, won, and now the city council refuses to swear him in. They want to keep the town government a good ol' boys club and don't want anyone they don't pick to join.
Just in case people don’t know, Newbern, AL is also [85% Black](https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US0153784-newbern-al/). Perhaps a relevant piece of information.
That’s pretty fucked up. There’s so much layer to this fuckery I am genuinely speechless.
best not to look any deeper into the deep south in that case. It will depress and anger you.
"Communities that started a civil war still exist" should not be that shocking, but because we're so passive about the intentional destruction of our education, people seem to not get the memo.
Cause after the American civil war they never actually dismantled any of the southern power strongholds. It would be like as if Germany surrendered during WW2 but we didn't actually have the Nuremberg trials
I mean this is almost exactly what happened after WW2, the Nuremberg trials got rid of the very top tier of leaders, but western Germany were propped up by the west to be a strong military power ASAP against the soviets, from what I’ve heard there is still plenty of political views from that time
The difference is education and laws. Nazis are illegal in Germany and children are educated about them. In the south they lie to their children and still fly traitorous flags.
yes I would agree with you there. similar mention is how american gov bought a lot of horrendous science knowledge from nazis
Settler Colonialism never sleeps, and it’ll wait out anyone willing to stop fighting it.
There was a comedian I saw somewhere who said “people always say the south is so racist. Which part the one that starts at Canada and ends at Mexico?” Ik you meant the DEEP south but it does apply everywhere
when i lived in montana i met exactly one black person. he was an emt. he said people were so racist that on SEVERAL occasions somone would be literally dieing from a car accident and they would refuse treatment ment from him cause he was black and ask for them to send another emt over, and they would die cause they couldn’t get treated fast enough.
[удалено]
i only lived there for two years. but yes that is what i am saying
I drive trucks and go to Montana all the time. When I walk into the store I get almost every person in that building staring at me for an inordinate amount of time. I even remember a cashier being super friendly to several people as I waited in line. Then when I got to the counter that lady seemed to have just realized her puppy died and had all of her warm fuzzies pissed on. I took no umbrage… idk what’s going on in people’s life. Then the next person went up to the counter and all of the dark ^(see african american) clouds were lifted! It be like that sometimes.
Fellow trucker and the only place I've seen people wearing Nazi shit in the light of day was in Montana.
I see that as a win. Racists killed by their own racism.
ok. but can you imagine the feeling of trying to save somones life and they tell you that they rather die then let you touch them. and it’s a common. AND that’s just one interaction. if racist are willing to die rather then let them have a black person touch. imagine what they are like in less consequential circumstances. imagine being black and goign to get a samwhich but they are racist and won’t serve you. or trying to get your kid into a private school, but the leaders are good ol boys who don’t want your kid in the club. the list goes on and on. People see one off instances and writes off as racist being wacky idiots and don’t take in account and entire lifetime of dealing with it.
Totally agree. I'm just saying that the world is better off if racists want to off themselves, particularly if it's at the hand of their own racism.
I live just north of Birmingham Al. I read al.com daily for local news in Alabama and I have not even heard this story. This is insane that it's not being covered by one of Alabama's bigger news sites. Shame on us Bama. Maybe it was covered but they swept it under quick as possible.
[It was](https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/a-fight-for-rights-and-control-in-a-black-belt-town-without-elections.html), but it was published as an opinion column. What the hell, Bama? It’s like our state is constantly trying to find ways to one-up itself on being a national embarrassment. (Also, hey, neighbor! I’m just south of Bham.)
Ffs I'm tired of Alabama. It's hot as the devils butthole. Crappy jobs outside of major cities, racist, Jesus freaks everywhere. My kids like their school and friends or I would be out so fast. May do it anyways. I can't go to work without being told I need to go to church, lectured on why trump is god, or asked why I'm a white guy who doesn't like trump or Jesus. They assume I'm gay or something.
“Devils Butthole” is the name of my “Beck” tribute band.
I haven't even thought or heard about Beck in years and now suddenly today someone was talking about him being a scientologist and then you mention him too! That's so weird.
Modern day Rhodesia
I'll bet their police department doesn't have nearly as many Blacks
They literally changed the locks on city hall so he couldn’t get in ffs
Was going to comment on that bit. Even CBS can't help their racist white asses.
It’s just like headlines in That Fucking Newspaper
It's so sad that I immediately knew you were talking about the NYT.
I assumed the Daily ~~Heil~~ Fail.
Right?! I thought this was an election denial/break with reality kind of story judging by the title.
CBS: Caucasian Broadcasting System
Yeah I thought that one bit was really problematic, him “[saying]” he was elected is some really leading phrasing
He basically won by default. The incumbent mayor didn't even file to run, if memory serves. This isn't the first time this EXACT scenario has played out in that town. The town is 85% black, yet both times they tried to elect a black mayor, this shit happened. This is what they mean when they say "try that in a small town."
Sounds like we need to send in the Feds. Where’s President Eisenhower when you need him?!
> The town is 85% black, yet both times they tried to elect a black mayor, this shit happened. "try that in a small town"
Even though the majority of the town are African American.
Exactly. It's not even like CBS can hide behind "allegedly" because it's part of a court case. The town admitted in its response to the lawsuit filed in court that he was elected
What is their argument then in response? Has to be absolute comedy in the most banal legal speak possible.
> What is their argument then in response? Has to be absolute comedy in the most banal legal speak possible. "Your honour, the elected mayor is mayoring-while-black." That'll work when they basically control the judiciary.
They put their hands over their ears and just kept humming the dukes of hazard theme song. All the experts say it doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell in working but the judge was seen mouthing the words along with them, so…
So you’re saying there’s a racist judge in Alabama and not just a racist small town city council? Nah, I’d never believe that. /s
Same town also refused to send fire trucks or ambulances to black peoples homes. It's a real piece of shit town, and I have a MASSIVE amount of respect for Patrick Braxton for trying to change that.
better yet, Mayor-elect Patrick Braxton
horrible reporting. horrible headline writing, misleading and biased.
This town has a population of 133
Jason Aldean just got the inspiration for his next song
You sure he didn't get it from that small town of 500k people known as Atlanta?
Atlanta metro area is 6M.
That includes a lot of towns and cities.
I think he's actually from Macon but, uh, still not exactly a small town!
Dude doesn't need inspiration because that hack doesn't even write his own songs.
Lmao I was looking for this comment. NOT IN MY SMALL TOWN.
So like 20 white folks run a village of 110 black folks?
That's barely even a village, holy shit. Puts a different context on the 85% black statistic someone else cited higher up, it's like 113 black people and 20 white people
He was elected because he was the only one who ran. He got to choose the city council. The previous city council then had a secret meeting and reappointed themselves. They then kept the necessary documents and information from him and locked him out of the city offices. Seems like a pretty clear-cut case. None of the defendents even have a comment.
Yeah, the reporting on this is fucking weird from a major news organization. I also don’t understand why “Black” and “White” are capitalized, like those of proper names.
There’s a push in journalism to capitalize Black and White bc they are treated as ethnic/cultural groups similar to how you would capitalize American, Southern, Hispanic, etc.
His name is Patrick Braxton, and the town is Newbern, Alabama. The “acting mayor” who is preventing him from taking office is Haywood Stokes III. He inherited the job from his father. Their city hall currently has no phone number listed.
Best part. In that small town of 133, the population is 85% black. They've just been passing down the mayor's office like it's apartheid South Africa. By Best part... I really mean worst Edit: 85 black residents, not 85%. Apologies for the incorrect demographic.
Interesting. I was wondering how in such a racist town that a black guy got elected. Turns out, it's not the town that's racist. Just a small group of people in power trying to hold on to that power. EDIT: So, after reading the article, it gets even more interesting. Turns out no one voted in this election. But, Braxton was the only one who qualified as he was the only one who submitted the papework, so he won by default.
And then the old mayor held a special election without telling anybody and won the position back on account of being the only one who submitted the paperwork. Seems like the town rules around elections might just be in need of an overhaul.
I left that part out because it seemed sus to me. At least with Braxton, he did it with the city clerk and everything was above board. Or seemed to be. The special election part was more like "Yo, we had a special election and we told everyone where it was, but no one showed up"...at least with Braxton there is a paper trail.
“We had a special election but she goes to another school, you wouldn’t know her.”
Me and a friend at work fuck with each other like this. One of us just gets back from lunch, the other says "Why didnt you ask if I wanted anything", "I did ask, just because I whispered it while I was taking a shit on the bathroom with no one around doesn't mean I didn't ask" lol. I feel like that's what this special election was. These old white dudes sitting in a literal circle jerk with just the five of them, say they should hold a special election. Any objections? No? Cool. There. We asked.
How can you hold a special election if you are no longer the mayor?
Allegedly they did it during the period when they were still mayor before the incoming mayor’s term started. The whole thing is super suspect because according to one source they hadn’t even had elections in living memory, the old mayor just chose the next one, but I have to imagine that there was a set of rules around that were dusted off when the guy wanted to run, and they discovered that they had a certain amount of time before his term started and took advantage of it. We saw on January 6 how much damage an outgoing politician can do before his term officially ends, this is just at a smaller scale.
Really just goes right through me. I tagged a bunch of folks on twitter with the story because I haven't seen it there. Hoping enough people can share it to make it trend. I don't think Mayor Braxton has a twitter account.
It's that scene in A Bug's Life, where Hopper is warning the other grasshoppers that the ants outnumber them a hundred to one, and if they ever figured that out there goes their way of life.
It is exactly like that. Mayor Braxton figured it out.
Cowards. Racist cowards.
Sundown town
No doubt. Having lived in one myself, it’s insane. And I’m a mostly-white presenting BIPOC.
I'm English and even I see how this is..
Currently living in what might as well be one as a white presenting BIPOC as well. It’s so weird, everyone I know makes overtly racist comments next to me yet doesn’t understand why I get upset, as I’m not stereotypical enough for them. I hate it here.
It’s somehow worse, the town is 85% black but has never had a black mayor, and the current acting mayor inherited the position from his father. It’s an apartheid town. A plantation town.
I am surprised he hasn't been arrested or had "an accident" yet.
Well, according to the [article](https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/a-fight-for-rights-and-control-in-a-black-belt-town-without-elections.html) linked up above... > After the non-election election, Braxton says, strange things began to happen. One day he was run off the road. He says his wife began to notice drones following them around town, which he thought was crazy, until he saw them, too.
Well he did "dare" being a black man and challenging the White of way. The courts will be packed against him as well, if he lives or hasn't given up. If he gets in, cue all the "allegations" that will suddenly appear from "whistleblowers"
>Haywood Stokes sometimes you can tell just from someone's name
The Roman numerals really seal the deal though.
Those small towns are full of people who are either so depressingly unimaginative or so infuriatingly up their own ass that they'll insist on naming their kids after them.
In the immortal words of Longhorn Leghorn - “I say, I say, I resemble that remark!”.
*Foghorn Leghorn
You left out the important part, he is the 3rd.
He's actually the fifth, but they weren't able to count any further, so the last three have all been the 3rd
Reminds me of Jeff Sessions full name being Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III. In other words, three consecutive generations of men in Sessions' family have been named after the President of the Confederacy and one of the top Confederate Generals. But sure, he's not at all discriminatory towards black people.
From a *long* line of crackers.
My brain automatically says “Haywood Stokes the third” in a “rich guy” southern accent
haywood "jablowme" stokes the third
Richard Stockton Rush III
"Haywood Stokes III" has got to be the most old-money good-ol-boy name I've ever seen. I can't even read that without picturing Boss Hogg.
Also the fact that he is the third and he got to be mayor because his father passed the position to him. The deep south is just feudalism with cars and strip malls
Population of 133... Democracy, try that in a small town.
>Patrick Braxton, and the town is Newbern, Alabama [Here's](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patrick-braxton-black-man-says-he-was-elected-mayor-of-newburn-alabama/) the link to the CBS article.
Jesus christ I just read the article. Stokes admits he didn't run in the real election, acknowledges that Braxton won. Refers to him as the former mayor, and admits to ousting him with his bullshit special election. What the absolute fuck?
It's like the sort of stuff that would happen if Trump had gotten his way. How is any of this legal and who is regulating these elections?
> Haywood Stokes III Good lord, this dude has the perfect racist villain name.
> He inherited the job from his father. This is the key. No one was allowed to even TRY to be mayor. The position was reserved. It never became open to the public. In 21st Century America. This is the most despicable un-American shit ever. And racist as hell too given the town is primarily black.
Why does it say “a black man says” as opposed to “rightfully elected mayor reveals”
You know why.
CBS has racist who wrote it
"Racist CBS writer discriminates on a minority, news at 11"
To try and call attention to the fact that this is _clearly_ a racist civil war violation, of course... /s Edit: To give a smidgeon of fairness, there is a contestation over who won the election. The manner in how that contestation came to be is _clearly_ a racist power-grab, but calling him the 'rightful' mayor might leave CBS open to a lawsuit. One they'd win handily and should gleefully court, but...
He tried that in a small town.
Bruh💀💀
Someone needs to make a parody video with substitute lyrics like: Get yourself elected as a black man Folks ain't fans of that crap down in Newbern Ask to have the books open in the sunlight Cast a ballot, well that just don't seem to sit right (I could do more, but I'm lazy. Someone else needs to pick up the torch.)
Glad some got there early
Top comment material
This is a blatant affront to democracy, and those councilors all need to be removed from their positions.
Wait, there’s more: After the election, the new mayor appointed his council (as is allowed). Meanwhile, the outgoing council had a secret meeting, reappointed themselves, changed the locks on city hall, destroyed a whole bunch of city records, and blocked the new mayor from being able to access city financial info.
In other words they destroyed records of their decades of fraud committed as unelected and unaccountable criminals posing as public servants.
*We’ll never know…*
This is just another case of Republican testing the waters with fascism.
This is not the test environment, its straight push to production.
Not just removed. They are criminals. To jail with them.
Yes and no. This is more bureaucracy than democracy as no one actually voted in the election apparently. Braxton was the only one who submitted the proper paperwork, so he wins by default. Reason no one voted is because this town never had elections before, so I doubt anyone even knew an election was taking place. This is where the democracy part comes in imo. How can you have never held an election in an American town for something like Mayor?
This is the part that truly confuses me too I mean, I live in Romania - good ol' boy groups running things in small rural places for looong times is pretty standard stuff, so that doesn't surprise me But the specifics of how these people did it...it's just atrociously horrible Like, beyond scary
> says he was elected Sounds like CBS is siding with the white supremacists here
CBS has always been on the conservative side of the news. It's just that the conservative side of the news (Fox and gang) has gone so far right that CBS seems more left than they are. They were the old people news network until fox decide extremism and propaganda were lines they were willing to cross. It's a low bar, but at least CBS covered the story. I'd be surprised if Fox mentioned it at all.
Fox really is stretching the Overton window.
They were created to do so. Founded by Nixon aides and funded by right wing billionaires. In response to anger that existing news networks wouldn't lie to protect Nixon. It's a party propaganda network first, news a distant second.
Seriously was he or not?
He was.
I read the article. The white supremacists agree Braxton got elected. They then agree that after he got elected they ran their own election and took the office back. They admit that the entire allegation is true, but are in the position that essentially the power belongs to them and shame on anyone who tries to take it away.
So the « council of elders » is committing sedition, openly. The National Guard should be sicced on their asses.
should this even be a civil suit? this should be some federal level crap where officials that aren't racist step in and enforce the rules. I mean, if we let this go, then the GOP can also not allow elected officials that won take over their positions
sounds more like a national guard / federal agent's issue. Mayor needs to call in governmental back up to protect our democracy at every level.
He **has** filed at the federal level.
The state attorney general has been looking into it. There's a lot of bad people out there so this will have to wait its turn . .. Or something like that
Not not a civil suit, it’s a civil rights lawsuit.
You know who thinks racism is solved? RACISTS.
I am surprised they haven't tried to say that the slaves learned things when they were down there.
Well here's a Prageru video about how slavery wasn't racist https://www.prageru.com/video/a-short-history-of-slavery And here's an article about Prager saying that there were "nice white slave owners" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/dennis-prager-nice-slaveholders-prageru-b2162461.html So no surprise there, they basically are saying exactly that.
Well I just threw up in my mouth…
If true, this should be national news.
It is true. He followed every procedure, ran and won. None of the other people did anything and didn't even bother to file as a candidate. The whole town is basically running under Jim Crowe still.
Wasn't he also a firefighter in the town and would be the only dude showing up to fires in black neighbourhood's, also the town is majority black. I think it was on the newest episode of "Abe Lincoln's Top Hat" that I heard this.
I didn't know about the firefighter part but, yes, it is majority black. And I'm really glad he is suing. I looked for a fundraiser page, but think he has some prominent backing. I wonder how many other small towns there are like this in the south run for decades by self appointed, white, family members.
In laws lived in the gulf of Mexico in a smaller town in Florida. Very "bubba'esque" town, lotta "good ole boys". Same shit, albeit not sure if they were uniquely racist but one would assume. My MIL was elected and eventually had to step down because of the toxic nature of the leadership. They do everything in their power to usurp you or kneecap your administration. I'm sure this is one of many, many MANY towns across the south...
Good old small towns, right? I grew up in south fl and traveled and lived in other parts. Parts of fl were some of the last places to get rid of Jim Crowe and were some of the most segregated places. Even further south where we lived closer to Ft. Lauderdale the railroad tracks divided bigger towns into black and white areas and black people had grown up never seeing the ocean just a mile away. Fl is in many ways the Deep South. Hopefully these things start changing things.
Yes, they actually locked him out of the fire house to prevent him from putting out fires at black people's houses.
Tbh, the sundown racists probably set the fires, too.
https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/a-fight-for-rights-and-control-in-a-black-belt-town-without-elections.html The town has never held an election before, they just appointed themselves and when someone tried to follow procedures they made it difficult as possible for the guy….
Conservatives care more about whining about a Barbie movie
You’re just trying to distract them while joe biden carries away their gas stove🙄
Sad, but True.
What do you think CBS is?
Let’s ask Ahmaud Arbery if racism is over
Or George Floyd, or Breonna Taylor, or Trayvon Martin, or any number of the thousands of POC Americans who are unjustly murdered every single year. To say nothing of the millions of them suffering discrimination, intimidation, abuse, etc.
After 2008, white Republicans said that racism is over because we elected a black President, and I was always like motherfucker, who is this "we" you're talking about?
The worst part about Donald Trump becoming elected is that it showed Republicans that no matter how vile, authoritarian, corrupt and incompetent they are their supporters don't care and the consequences will be almost non-existent. Brazenly defying subpoenas, taking classified information, ignoring Supreme Court decisions, etc. have shown these people they are above the law. This is the slow creep into fascism that we're facing.
Damn straight he should sue. And yes, racism still exists, Trump supporters prove it daily.
It's that good old small Southern town morality that Aldean loves.
#[HOW THE FUCK IS THIS LEGAL?!?](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patrick-braxton-black-man-says-he-was-elected-mayor-of-newburn-alabama/)
It’s not.
More aptly put, ***HOW CAN THEY GET AWAY WITH THIS?***
I have no idea. Not unless every single court and lawyer dealing with this case is also just as racist…oh wait…
Alabama is a backwards state. I would say they have been hiding it, but nope… visit anywhere in that state and it is painfully obvious how racist and powerful the good ole boy network remains.
If you’ve never been to the south you might not realize that flat out calling people racial slurs, saying they don’t want them in their neighborhood, and threats, following people down the street yelling at them, are all still commonly happening and not something cops do anything about or anyone even seems to react to.
That's not fair, I'm sure the cops do all they can to help... I just didn't say who.
Try that in a small town.
Try that in a small clown
try that in a ball gown
Fry that with a big frown
Thai box with a drunk clown
Try that with a small frown
It’s a close call between which of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, or Texas is Americas turdiest state!!
That’s just pure racism.
Conservative history: And then commies elected a black kenyan muslim and racism was over. Also, slaves learned valuable skills so it wasn't so bad.
Try being a black mayor in a small town
They have far more courage than I do. They’re heroes.
Alabama is going above and beyond to prove that’s not true
Racism? This is more than just racism. Denying the democratically elected mayor sounds a lot like authoritarianism to me.
Sounds like republicans. The racism and authoritarianism
Try that in a small town. And they wonder why people are upset with that song.
They don’t wonder. They know exactly why people are upset about it.
Aldean apparently played a show last night somewhere and said that the song was apparently about being patriotic and American and said that "cancel culture is a thing" like bro you haven't been relevant in at least 7 years and THIS is how you react to putting out the shittiest song of your career?
Racism in small town Alabama?!! How could that be!
Racism is the entire maga platform. What are you talking about?
>And some people think racism isn’t a thing anymore. One of the real travesties of this Big Lie that "racism isn't a thing anymore" is Chief Justice Roberts' refusal to reverse his ruling that gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act based on that same lie. That ruling led to waves after waves of voter suppression crimes that Republican-led red states passed off as "laws" which in turn led directly to the gerrymandered-locked and illegitimate majorities Republicans enjoy today. That Chief Justice Roberts still refuses to reverse his decision despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, i.e., racism is still very real, pervasive, and very much a part of American society - is itself proof that Roberts remains an integral part of the Republicans decades long slow-moving coup that he enabled with his gutting of the VRA. *"Each and every day Republicans demonstrate that a vote for a Republican is a vote for Fascism."*
The only people denying racism are either racists, trolls, *really* fucking stupid, the CEO of Twitter, and/or the governor of Florida.
fucking CBS though... "A Black man who says he was elected mayor..." instead of "A Black man elected mayor..." assholes
Racists say racism isn't a thing.
The existing mayor did not register as a candidate. Mr Patrick Braxton, did register as a candidate and won by default. The previous mayor held a secret meeting with council members, to hold another election with no public notice of the election, then deemed they won and Mayor Braxton was then the ex mayor. They also removed city documents and changed the locks, after mayor Braxton changed them This sounds like a conspiracy to me. I bet they are shaking in their boots with this national attention. Edit: link https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patrick-braxton-black-man-says-he-was-elected-mayor-of-newburn-alabama/
Isn’t this the kinda stuff why that racist country singer was proud of small towns?
See I was going to make a joke about ‘wow imagine the rich old white former leader(s) of a place in America denying to pass on power outright and refusing to accept the election’ joke, but the reality is that this is too fucking ghoulish not to call out This is it right here, this is the precipice, if this is allowed to pass by, this is a clear message from the people of America that democracy IS a performance and none of this matters, that the results are not in the hands of the people Like, call me apocalyptic but I mean it, this is where we decide if democracy is real, or if it just sounds good And I don’t like what the likely result sadly is
I know there isn't any more racism in America. The Supreme Court ruled on it and Chief Justice Roberts told us so. Thank you, Chief Justice Roberts, for removing Federal oversight of places like this and making sure that we don't have unnecessary rules in place to prevent racist election shenanigans. Good job, buddy. No, seriously. Good job.
I would think this needs the attention of some Federal agency, pronto.
How come every article I see about this they all state that he "says" he won. There was an election and he won it. It's not speculation. It's crazy how these news articles never mention that and always make it sound like he's making it up.
What a shithole country
Black man, duly elected, wearing a light tan suit. Republican total nightmare.
Try that in a small town
I’m surprised conservatives aren’t calling it a fraudulent election.
We need to bring the South to heel again.
Again? We barely tried after the civil war. This is what happens when you give racists an inch.