Svante Myrick appears to be a young, dashing, and hard-working African-American at his desk, as Mayor for the city of Ithaca, New York, at the young age of 29. But only he, and now the world, knows the disturbing and long history he’s had to wade through to get where he is.
Here’s a look at the inspiring life at the youngest Mayor of the city of Ithaca.
Myrick grew up in a homeless shelter with his single mother, three siblings, and grandparents.
“My mother went above and beyond. She sacrificed everything. She saved our lives. This is not the story of a self-made man. This is the story of a community that conspired to raise a child. That’s the truth.”
Myrick had a tough childhood. He grew up in Earlville, a village of about 900 people. His family had to constantly battle homelessness, and they could hardly get by with hunger. He suffered from asthma as a child and his father battled crack-cocaine addiction. They depended solely on food stamps. Myrick went through a lot of public schools and passed high school in 2005.
Myrick attended Cornell University and was active in public service programmes throughout, and even after, college.
Svante Myrick studied communication in Cornell University and went on to head a lot of student councils for multiple outreach and public service programmes. He entered the Common Council of New York in 2008 at an age of just 20. By 2011, he ran for the Mayoral office and won by a large citywide majority of 54.9%.
Assuming office at the age of only 24, the city of Ithaca won multiple awards like the Healthiest City in New York, and the Best City in 2015 under his mayorship.
Svante Myrick is one of the youngest African-American mayors in the history of the United States of America. He walks to work every day and has converted his assigned parking space into a mini-park, as his own contribution to environment and energy reduction. Ithaca and its people have earned numerous ‘Best Of’ awards on account of Myrick’s accomplished service.
Svante Myrick is now in his second term of office, and he has no plans to back down.
More power to you, Mayor Myrick!
Fact source: Wikipedia
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