Newbern
Newbern is a town of 275 people on 1.2 square miles in Hale County. It was incorporated in 1854 and named for New Bern, North Carolina.
Newbern is included as part of the Tuscaloosa Metropolitan Area. Auburn University's "Rural Studio" architecture program is based in Newbern.
Government
Newbern is governed by a Mayor and Town Council. Though state law requires those offices to be filled by election, in practice public offices have been filled by informal agreement, and have always been white.
In 2020 Patrick Braxton officially filed as a candidate for mayor at the Hale County Courthouse. Since no other candidate qualified, he took office as the town's first Black mayor and appointed members to the council.
Shortly afterward, members of the former council convened an unpublicized meeting where they organized a "special election" with only themselves qualifying. Once they certified the results, they voted to remove Braxton from office because he had not attended their meetings, and vote to appoint Stokes as mayor.
Braxton then filed a lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to prevent him from discharging his duties as mayor. He further alleged that the Alabama League of Municipalities provided advice to the white council members on how to remove him.
Demographics
The 2020 U.S. Census counted 133 residents in the town, of whom 64% were Black or African-American.
Newbern's Population, 1880-2010
year pop. %change 1880 | 454 | - | 1900 | 564 | +24.2% | 1910 | 515 | -8.7% | 1920 | 438 | -15.0% | 1930 | 389 | -11.2% | 1940 | 388 | -0.3% | 1950 | 367 | -5.4% | 1960 | 316 | -13.9% | 1970 | 286 | -9.5% | 1980 | 307 | +7.3% | 1990 | 222 | -27.7% | 2000 | 231 | +4.1% | 2010 | 186 | -19.5% | 2020 | 133 | -28.5% |
Notable people
- Frank Allen, former Major League Baseball player
- Anthony Bryant, former NFL player
- Herb Jones, NBA player
- Henry Watson Jr, owned a cotton plantation in Newbern
References
- Hedgepeth, Lee (June 5, 2023) "He became the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama. A white minority locked him out of town hall." Tread