Black man elected mayor of Alabama town -- then white locals changed the locks on town hall: lawsuit

A Black resident of the town of Newbern, Alabama is alleging that he was blocked from assuming the role as the town's mayor after being elected in 2020.

CNN reports that Patrick Braxton says that he ran for mayor unopposed in 2020, thus becoming the first Black man to ever get elected as mayor in Newbern's history.

However, the joy from accomplishing this historic feat was short-lived, Braxton alleges, after white residents conspired to stop him from taking his post.

"The lawsuit alleges the locks on the town hall were changed so Braxton could not get in, adding he was denied access to the post office box used for official mail, and a local bank would not let him see the town accounts," writes CNN.

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Braxton said that he first noticed something was amiss when he started canvassing local residents to see if they might be willing to serve on his town council -- but all of the white residents he spoke with declined.

Braxton then alleges that the town had a secret special election that resulted in the selection of previous Mayor Haywood “Woody” Stokes III to another term.

"To prevent Braxton from appointing a majority black Town council, the Defendants... agreed to hold a secret meeting and adopt resolutions to conduct a special election," claims that lawsuit, which says that white councilors claimed they simply had "forgotten" to qualify to run for election that year.

Read more about the lawsuit over at CNN.