Jaylen Smith: Mr. Mayor Gen Z
As the new mayor of Earle, Arkansas, the 18-year-old college student is the youngest Black mayor in the nation. “It doesn’t matter the age you are, if you have a vision and goal you can achieve it, the negativity is just motivation for me to prove them wrong.” -Jaylen Smith
(Jaylen Smith/Facebook)
Jaylen Smith is wrapping up his first semester as a college freshman at Arkansas State University Mid-South. For his second semester, he will take on another challenge, becoming the youngest Black mayor in the United States.
On Dec. 6, the 18-year-old was elected mayor of Earle, Arkansas, a small town 30 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee. He recalled being excited after the results of the election were revealed but was confident that he’d win because of all of the hard work put in since announcing his campaign in January after being inspired due to his time in a student government association.
“As I was growing up I thought things would change,” Smith told YR Media. “But after I noticed things didn’t [change] under previous mayors and after joining the student government association in high school and doing great things in the community, I decided to run.”
Smith defeated his opponent Nemi Matthews by 235 votes to 185 according to CNN. Earle has a population size of 1,831 following the recent 2020 census and is predominantly Black with higher percentages of poverty compared to the state average.
His goals as mayor are to increase opportunities for citizens in the town, specifically youth and seniors, develop reliable public transportation to grocery stores, and increase public safety. However, the mayor-elect understands this will be a process that requires consulting from council members and the community.
He made a post to his Facebook declaring his victory, thanking his supporters, and stating that, “It’s Time to Build a Better Chapter of Earle, Arkansas.” While Smith has plenty of supporters there are also detractors out there that question his ability to handle being mayor because of his age.
Smith’s response is that we have to start somewhere in life. He decided didn’t want to wait until he was older and he hopes more younger people are inspired to pursue politics or any other interests they have.
“It doesn’t matter the age you are, if you have a vision and goal you can achieve it, the negativity is just motivation for me to prove them wrong.”