A Black Man Was Elected Mayor in Rural Alabama, but the White Town Leaders Won’t Let Him Serve

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.

I was going to say "I am shocked, shocked! Well, not that shocked." until I read this. Jesus Christ, I'm legitimately shocked.

Absolutely fucked.

This quote really is the icing on this turd of a story:

“He went through a total of five attorneys prior to me meeting them last year, and they pretty much took his money. We ran into some big law firms who were supposed to help and they kind of misled him,”

This country is a goddamn pyramid scheme, and everybody's selling.

Here the PayPal donate link from the article. I threw them $20.

https://www.alabamalove.org/

That’s pathetic. The town elected him as mayor. Let him do his job!

I feel like the firefighters who refused to help with the fire or go to the heart attack victim's house should be criminally prosecuted at the least and should definitely lose their jobs.

Here's what I don't get... town is 85% black and only has 275 people.

That means a 234 to 41 split black to white. 5.7:1 ratio.

If those 41 people really are that racist and regressive, you haul them all out of their homes, tar and feather them, and ride them out of town on a rail.

https://youtu.be/SMFWqh6oHx0#t=1m20s

"systemic racism isn't real" Counterpoint:

This is so cartoonishly evil I have a hard time believing it’s real in 2023.

If that's not a case for him NEEDING to be Mayor I don't know what is. This timeline is fucking horrifying.

The line about the officials claiming qualified immunity really makes me angry. Qualified immunity is such garbage. The actual law says they can be used, but the courts made up qualified immunity so they could ignore it.

Genuinely horrifying. The firefighters not responding - and actively preventing the fighting of fires near black peoples homes. Disgusting.

You mean a state run by Republicans that gerrymanders to make sure black people are underrepresented has a horrifyingly racist rural town?

This is the sort of thing conservatives conserve.

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.

That last part is kind of significant. I don't doubt there's a racial component here but I also think anyone that just assumed an office through paperwork would face resistance in a small town.

That was a fucking depressing article. How can they be this evil?

This is so sad and infuriating.

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”

Well this seems like the problem right here lol. Can't the federal government intervene and force the state to actually hold elections?

Also with that population split - 85% black people - how on earth does what has happened there make sense? How can a town that is overwhelmingly black be being controlled by a small handful of racist white people?

USA is the land of the free, right?

I dont understand who the fuck wants to live in Alabama 🤷‍♂️

As a white ex-FF, now Paramedic. I'd be glad to jump on Mr.Braxton's fire truck for a response and hand him the keys to Town Hall when we get back to the station. Disgusting, pathetic, and embarrassing display of humanity.

It's crazy that this kinda shit is normalized, and I didn't bat an eye, however I am frustrated that humans are this gross. Everything I hate about myself, my biology, that i fight to excise, is paraded and celebrated by these kinds of people.

Fuck Alabama

Well. That's some fucked up shit. These past 10+ years have been real eye opening to just how much racism is still around.

It is impossible to both sides this so it is ignored.

Why hasn’t the state police righted that situation?

They're jealous that he has more teeth in his mouth than they have at a family reunion/wedding. An Alabama-shaped hole in the country would provide more utility than the state since at least we could use it as a nuclear waste dump. Better attraction for visiting toursts too.

So that was horrifying.

Which John Grisham novel is this from??

Damn, that's nuts. I hope this guy and his allies get the justice they deserve.

wtf is this the 1930s?

I hope He is able to bring change to the community, because that story is fubar.

Why do people do this??? ~Cherri