America’s Youngest Mayor
Youngest mayor in US visits Malvern church in honor of Black History Month
The youngest mayor in America paid a local church a special visit on Sunday, in honor of Black History Month.
Jaylen Smith, an 18-year-old African American male who successfully ran for the mayoral seat in his rural Arkansas hometown in December 2022, came this past weekend to Calvary Church of God in Christ, located at 610 J.W. Harrison Street in Malvern, to take part in an early Sunday service that was centered on celebrating Black History Month and highlighted by a moving message from the church’s leader, Bishop Robert E. Rudolph, pertaining to the awesome nature of God’s love compared to other forms.
“On this morning, we are celebrating Black History. We’re celebrating the accomplishments of those who have come before us. And because of the bridge that we have come over, we now have a young black man who happens to be a mayor in the city in Earle, Arkansas,” Rudolph said during his introduction of Smith.
Smith grew up in Earle and spoke about why he chose to stay close to home after graduating high school to invest in the future of his hometown, rather than looking for opportunities elsewhere.
Smith had no idea in his youth that he would go into politics, let alone become the youngest African American mayor in U.S. history.
“I grew up loving and caring for people, but at the time I was growing up, I didn’t want to be in politics,” Smith said. When he got to high school, classmates persuaded Smith to join the Student Council to help advocate for kids in the school district.
“I went home, and I thought about it, looked in the mirror at myself, and I asked myself, do I believe in myself?” Smith shared. He went to school the next day and promptly joined the group, which would later morph into what is now