We would love to have you come and visit Fayette County and see rural living at its best! All Rights Reserved. All of that was still in the air as Virettia, preparing for the first full City Council meeting, drove through town one day with her friend Aliska Hughes-Monroe, the new councilwoman from the traditionally Black ward, to see about a zoning issue. One Black person on the City Council. Local elections were coming up. Her first reaction was to consider quitting. I kept my yard up. Fayette is a city in Fayette County, Alabama. Ward One Councilwoman Linda McCraw is not seeking re-election. Hed never told her about the notes he got in his mailbox with messages like Shut your mouth, n-----. Or the restraint he had to summon to ask White colleagues who still used the term boy to refer to Black men: If you know the gentlemans name, would you please call him by his name? He had not told her about feeling like you werent there.. The Aquatic Center will begin taking Party Reservations on April 3. Virettia talks with a resident at the Mayfair Manor apartments in Fayette. ? her cousin wrote. 36101 334-544-0248 egrimes@montgomeryal.gov: DISTRICT 2: Brantley W. Lyons 4256 Lomac Street (36106) 334-557-4196 blyons@montgomeryal.gov . what black person have you seen come to my defense Ill wait NO ONE, she had texted her cousin in a moment of frustration. This new twist on the old idea of gerrymanderingcloaking old Elbridges original notion in the moral camouflage of the Civil Rights Movementis not that uncommon. The racial makeup of the city was 73.4% White, 24.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. She had imagined another version of the moment, one where she had turned to the camera and said to the whole town of Fayette, Why are you so frightened? Fayette has a variety of things to see and do during your visit. The Fayetteville City Council hosts work sessions on the first Monday of every month. The population was 4,619 at the 2010 census,[2] down from 4,922 at the 2000 census. Her father: nothing. Oh no, youre not going there, said the White woman. Pictured is the Fayette Civic Center, where the Fayette municipal elections will take place from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Four Black candidates were running for major positions, something that had never happened before in Fayette. She got up and followed the sound outside where she found a tenant she knew as a veteran with PTSD, saying over and over I did a lot of bad things, and so she had held his hand for a while, saying We serve a God thats a forgiving God until he calmed down. Check out the Gas Board website. (Jared. Hes sick. My trailer is paid for, cash. The age distribution was 22.9% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 23.0% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% 65 or older. With a beginning as one of the earliest settlements in West Alabama, Fayette grew with the region to become a provider of initiatives that have enriched our people with an environment of willingness to dream. Rioters were going to target downtown Fayette, where the Garden Club had planted flower beds and people gathered on holidays in the courthouse square. Tornado activity: Fayette-area historical tornado activity is slightly above Alabama state average.It is 134% greater than the overall U.S. average.. On 4/3/1974, a category F5 (max. The multiracial tenants include fast-food workers, veterans and elderly and disabled people. A & E Family Restaurant has opened in the old Cruze-In location in The Triangle. Citizens are both stockholders and customers; the elected body represents the board of directors and the manager is the chief executive officer responsible for the daily operations of the corporation. Fayette Mayor Jeremy Dawson can be reached by phone at (660) 248-5246 or by email at jdawson@cityoffayettemo.com. Im going to meet with Kip tomorrow at 11, she said, referring to the airport manager. . Virettia had always thought of her town as a nice place to live but a hard place to be anybody unless your granddaddys uncles cousins a somebody. For a while, her father had been somebody the citys first Black councilman but that was long ago, and she had always wondered what to make of his silence about the experience. He lives near Boston and has three children. Originally known as "La Fayette", it incorporated on January 15, 1821. She pretended like she didnt see me. It might look better than yours. Aliceville was like Fayette 25 years ago, he said one afternoon, launching into an interpretation of history that had long fueled the fiercest White resistance to change, one in which Black progress meant White loss White flight, White fear, a kind of White death. Thornell authors economic development book. Fayette City Council certifies election results. Someappointees must have special licenses ormeet certain professional requirements. Im telling you this is the best Ive seen him.. State officials In May 2000, voters approved the current election system of nine Council members elected by single-member districts and a voting mayor elected at large. Bevill State Community College has a location in Fayette. The mayor acts as the official head of city government and presides at City Council meetings. City government works closely with the local community college to provide employee training and programs for several companies that supply the region, nation and world with products in a variety of fields. You not ready for the next level if you allowing this pettiness to get to you, her cousin had texted back. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. I worked for that spot. 433 Hay Street She listened as the mayor opened the first regular meeting of the new council. The park will serve residents of the city and surrounding rural areas, offer a recreation area for people coming to work in LaFayette, and provide a gathering place for families, friends, and out-of-town visitors. She checked to see if the judge had ruled on the case; still nothing. The Civic Center will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary on March 25th. When I get through with it, its going to look nice. You may not use this site for the purposes of furnishing consumer reports about search subjects or for any use prohibited by the FCRA. There were 11 provisional ballots counted in the final results of the Fayette municipal election, and four provisional ballots cast were ruled ineligible to be counted. Virettia also manages Valley Cove. I dont have anything tonight, she said, looking out at the faces in the audience, and then at the mayor. The population density was 530.2 inhabitants per square mile (204.7/km2). Hes been out, so we scheduled a meeting for tomorrow, so next meeting, Ill be able to bring an update on the airport.. Its a lot of language about us in the Constitution of Alabama thats been there since 1921.. The mayor is avoting member of the Council. LaFayette, Alabama maps, city districts, nearby cities, location See complete story in The Times-Record. One on the abatement board in a town that was roughly 73 percent White and 24 percent Black. People think we dont have a problem, but we do. 32.8% of households were one person and 14.0% were one person aged 65 or older. This is the position that Mayor Pro-Tem Wilson will vacate to make a run for the mayors job. Hed run for the wards City Council seat against her best friend Aliska, losing 244 to 51. 35.5% of households were one person and 19.0% were one person aged 65 or older. Get your date and time reserved early while they are available. The per capita income for the city was $15,553. The Rot Beneath Green Labels on Forestry Products, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Few people will say what I say, but people in this town were scared to death. Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. The local radio stations are WLDX Big Cat and WTXT. It was a resident from somewhere in her ward, telling Virettia that her son was in the county jail and was in need of medical attention. BOTTOM LEFT: Residents sit outside Mayfair Manor. Fayette operates under the Mayor-Council form of government. Again. It wasnt just the house she had bought in another ward, he said, explaining why he opposed her election. We are conveniently located 40 miles from the City of Tuscaloosa and approximately 90 miles to the City of Birmingham. The Council consists of seven members who are elected on a non-partisan basis in odd-numbered years. These are just two of the companies that had had their beginning here. Virettia also manages Valley Cove. She started organizing tenants in the two apartment buildings she managed, Mayfair Manor and Valley Cove a multiracial coalition of fast-food workers, former addicts, veterans, the elderly, the disabled and a few who kept declining to fill out voter registration forms until it became clear they could not read. I was in the next window. In the row behind them, Virettia sat with Ericka, a hand on her shoulder, thinking this would not be happening, not in this way, if Ericka were White. What bothered her was not Scottie Porters lawsuit or social media postings exactly, but the silence. Laws were meant to be amended. After upending a racial norm in the rural South, a Black councilwoman contends with defiance from a community she wants to serve, The Fayette City Council with members Tommy Williams and Virettia Whiteside meets at City Hall in the small Alabama town in January with Mayor Rod Northam in attendance. Virettia took a deep breath. Like many other Mayfair Manor residents, Zach supported Virettia during her council run. Hes the only Black.. It was officially shortened to "Fayette" in 1898. When a rumor started that her candidacy was illegal because she had recently bought a house in another ward, she explained that yes, she had bought the house she hoped to live in someday but as her tax returns, voter registration, bills and sworn oath indicated, she lived with her sons in an apartment at Mayfair Manor. Her third chance came after the mayor went over the budget. Please enable JavaScript in your browser for a better user experience. Posted-By: City of LaFayette, Alabama City Council: Meeting-Date: 2/1/2023 Meeting-Time: 4:30PM: Notice History: Meeting-Location: 50 Alabama Avenue West P. O. Citizens only vote for a candidate running in their respective districts. Were you a slave? yelled her daughter, getting up to leave as the meeting degenerated into a tense silence, and when it was over, Virettia called Cedric. Check back often to see our calendar of upcoming events and our latest county job openings. Mine will be a home too, once I get through with it.. Despite aging buildings and the occasional downed sign, Fayette has been trying to revive its downtown area. She read the post again, which gave her a feeling that reminded her of a time when she was a little girl and living for a while in a tough part of Detroit after her parents got divorced. City Council - Fayette, Alabama All Events This event has passed. She was raising two sons. The only municipal election within the county this year will occur on Aug. 25 in the City of Fayette, with every position on the ballot being contested. Fayette is a city and the county seat of Fayette County, Alabama, United States. [10] Incumbent Jason Cowart did not qualify for re-election in Ward Three, leaving qualifiers Brad Cox and Tommy Williams to battle for the position. They have breakfast at 5 AM and dinner as late at 8 PM. All members of the City Council are elected to represent you. The Fayette City Council held a public hearing concerning property abatements and later voted to charge the owners for the city's costs for cleanup at six of the abated properties. I love you, but you owe me $77, Virettia said. You will be surprised at what you can achieve here. After she won, she spoke only of being humbled and grateful, even as she worried about what else could happen. Posted-By: City of LaFayette, Alabama City Council: Meeting-Date: 2/28/2023 Meeting-Time: 5:30 PM: Notice History: Meeting-Location: FARMERS FEDERATION(ALFA) BUILDING 1006 AVENUE A SE LAFAYETTE, AL 36862. Jeremy Dawson . Climate Normals Quick Access", "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013", "Art by Lois Wilson, known for work on found objects, to be shown starting Monday at BPL (Video)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fayette,_Alabama&oldid=1124978588, Lois Wilson, Outsider artist subject of the documentary, This page was last edited on 1 December 2022, at 15:19. The building houses government offices, including the Fayette legislative body, and provides public records, government services, and information about Fayette services. City of Fayetteville The median age was 40.2 years. I believe it with all my heart.. (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post), A corkboard at Mayfair Manor displays a newspaper clipping about Virettia's council election win in November. speckle park bull sales 2021 847-461-9794; fayette, alabama city council. We talked about it, Cedric said. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice. But no one wants to talk about race in this town, she said. Third party advertisements support hosting, listing verification, updates, and site maintenance. Shown from left: Councilman Cedric Wilson (sitting in chair at far left), Councilman Jerry Nichols, Councilman Jason Cowart, Mayor Ray Nelson, City Clerk Dawn Clapp, Councilwoman Linda McCraw and Councilman Eddy Campbell. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.88. Elections are held separate from state and federal elections. Can You Prove Those Colonists Weren't Witches? She is the newly elected City Council member for Ward 1, which includes the complexes she manages. Learn more about our 15-man engineering crew and view their contact information here. All ninecouncil members are elected from singlemember districts and only citizens withineach district may vote for each district seat. Council meetingsare held in the first floor Council Chamber ofCity Hall, 433 Hay St. Our history of is one of people with the vision and daring to achieve outsized goals for a town our size. At the 2010 census there were 4,619 people, 1,924 households, and 1,206 families living in the city. Stand behind me show up! Virettia had texted then. The residents have got protection because weve got ordinances, said the mother, going on about declining property values, until Ericka finally stood up. Just have a conversation with me. Take the high road, people kept advising. Learn about the county commission that cares for our region of Alabama. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. From 30,000 feet we look at Aliceville and we know 20 years ago it had a White mayor and now it has a Black mayor, and a Black council, and its got s--- left, he continued. Virettias mother had shopped at his store. For every 100 females, there were 81.4 males. Welcome to Fayette, a city of opportunities and beginnings. Pictured is the Fayette Civic Center, where the Fayette municipal elections will take place from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The Fayetteville City Council is the electedgoverning body representing the citizens ofFayetteville. .css-umdwtv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:.0625rem;text-decoration-color:#FF3A30;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:background 0.4s;transition:background 0.4s;background:linear-gradient(#ffffff, #ffffff 50%, #d5dbe3 50%, #d5dbe3);-webkit-background-size:100% 200%;background-size:100% 200%;}.css-umdwtv:hover{color:#000000;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;-webkit-background-position:100% 100%;background-position:100% 100%;}In her latest work, McCrummen tells the tale of a Black woman named Virettia Whiteside, a member of the city council in a place called Fayette, Alabama. (Jared Ragland for The Washington Post), TOP: Despite aging buildings and the occasional downed sign, Fayette has been trying to revive its downtown area. Phone-Number: 334-864-7181 Meeting-Type: regular Submission-datetime: 1/23/2023 . In the afternoon, she read a complaint that a constituent had posted on Facebook: asking for my neighbors and friends in ward one now that the new City transition has taken place who can they ask about someone fixing a water leak., Hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!" At the time, two Black women were organizing Black voters to try to change that when they were accused of absentee ballot fraud, convicted by all-White juries and given the maximum sentences of four and five years in prison. [5], According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.6 square miles (22.4km2), of which 8.5 square miles (22.1km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2km2), or 0.95%, is water.[2]. She walked by the men chatting in the corridor and took her seat next to her colleagues, wondering if they had supported Scotties lawsuit. I think Fayette dodged a bullet.. Ox Bodies, now a division of TBEI, is a world leader in truck dump bodies, Fayette Fabrication, founded in 2014, provides custom carts, racks and skids for the automotive industry across the southeast. Under the council/manager form of government, the Fayetteville City Council performs the legislative functions of the City, establishing laws and policies, sets strategic priorities and adopts the annual budget. She is the newly elected City Council member for Ward 1, which includes the complexes she manages. The former councilman from that ward was running for mayor, and soon rumors started flying. Then came her last chance, the part of the meeting where the mayor asked each council member for updates on their own committees or anything else happening in Fayette. Fayette County was founded on December 20, 1824 by an act of the Alabama Legislature and was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero General Marquis de Lafayette. [4], Fayette is located in west-central Fayette County at 334131N 874956W / 33.69194N 87.83222W / 33.69194; -87.83222 (33.692068, -87.832358). So, when Whiteside won her council seat, in which she represents a mixed-race district, and a friend of hers won the traditional Black seat, there were two Black citizens on the city council of Fayette, Alabama, which proceeded to lose a bit of its mind. Their combined presence changed the longtime makeup of the council. At thesemeetings, Council receives information andasks questions. [3] When Fayette County was created in 1824, the town's name was officially changed to "Fayette Court House", though it was also known as "Fayetteville", which was the name shown on maps and on the U.S. Census in 1880 and 1890. County Office is not affiliated with any government agency. Eddie Williams is on it, Cedric said. Please join me, the Council and others of our community as we strive to make Fayette an even better place to live, work and play. These are informal meetings. Sign up for Weather Alerts because seconds matter. Rod, Jerry, Eddy, Tommy, and at the far end of the dais was Councilwoman Virettia Whiteside, now writing something down to keep herself focused. Of the 1,924 households 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 18.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. Fayette municipal election is Tuesday, Aug. 25. (McCrummen won a Pulitzer in 2018 for her coverage of Judge Roy Moore, the Gadsden Mall Creeper, in Alabama.) CountyOffice.org does not provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
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