Meet Jaylen Smith, an 18-year-old college freshman, who became the youngest Black mayor in U.S. history after being elected mayor in the town of Earle, Arkansas.
Smith has been elected mayor of Earle, a small town in Arkansas with a population of 1,831. He reportedly received 235 votes while his opponent, Nemi Matthews, got 185 votes, according to CNN. He will be officially sworn in as mayor during the first week of January.
Smith, who just recently graduated from Earle High School, said he decided to run for mayor at the start of his senior year in high school. Having held various leadership positions in the school including being president of the student government association, he has always been passionate about serving his community.
“I didn’t run to make a name for myself,” Smith said. “I ran because I wanted to help my community and move my community in the direction that it needed to be moved in.”
As a mayor, Smith says that he plans to focus on public safety, transportation, and jobs for the youth. He also wanted to rebuild the city by removing abandoned houses and building a grocery store.
“I feel my purpose from God is to advocate for the ones that are scared and afraid to advocate for themselves,” Smith says. “The ultimate goal is to provide help, love, and care. With that being said, I am a youth leader in my community. With this position, I try to pull young adults into my program/organization and talk them into being leaders of their communities. The reason I do what I do is because I grew up loving, helping, and caring for people that find it difficult to care for themselves. I always tell people, “I believe in you.” This is meaningful to me because not many have heard this. I want everyone to know that you can do any thorn you put your mind to.”
