by Stacy M. Brown

Jaylen Smith, 18, understands the importance of civic engagement. He believes that improved public safety and less blight would benefit his small town of Earle, Arkansas.

Smith will now have the opportunity to put those changes into action as America’s youngest Black mayor. He achieved this honor by defeating his friend, Nemi Matthews Sr., the city’s street superintendent.

“I’m your newly elected mayor, and it’s time to build,” Smith declared after his election victory on December 6.
Earle, Tennessee, has a population of 2,164 people, according to the 2020 United States Census.

Earle was named after English-born Josiah Francis Earle, who owned land in the area, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

Earle had fought in the Mexican War as well as the Civil War with the Arkansas militia and regular Confederate cavalry.

Following the war, Earle became involved with the Ku Klux Klan, and on one occasion in Memphis, he was rescued by Klansmen before being hanged.

Earle died in 1884, leaving his substantial estate to his wife and four children. Earle’s widow built a small depot to encourage trains to stop there when the railroad through Earle was built in 1888, and she named it after her late husband.

The most recent train depot was built in 1922 and was decommissioned when passenger and freight stops were phased out in the 1960s; the old depot is now the Crittenden County Museum.

Today, the city has a lower unemployment rate (5.8%) than the national average and is experiencing recent job growth.
The cost of living in the city is nearly 27% lower than the national average, and the median home price is $68,400. Furthermore, Earle Public Schools spends $13,778 per student, which is about $1,300 more than the national average.

“It’s time to build a better Earle, Arkansas chapter,” Smith declared. He plans to improve public safety, demolish abandoned houses, and open a new grocery store.

“You are never too young to make a difference in your community,” Smith asserted.

Stacy M. Brown is a senior national reporter for NNPA Newswire.