Savannah Parker, Summer 2015

Picture this: walking into a room with pictures of Cleveland’s history painted onto the walls, a couple of couches and tables with candy, a Black Lives Matter book and hat, a shoe decorated according to Cleveland sports teams, and other mundane everyday items. When you look at the clock hanging over the mantle you can almost see the history it holds through its ancient elegance and smooth curves. Then your eyes are drawn to the desk that holds what are, no doubt, important documents mixed with funny items that say ‘It is what it is.’When you hear the slight drawl of a voice that commands the attention of the room, you turn around to see the 56th Mayor of Cleveland, Mayor Frank G. Jackson.

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This summer the Youth Communications Team [YCT] had a chance to interview Mayor Frank G. Jackson. It was a surreal and exciting moment for the team to be able to pick the Mayor’s brain on several topics.The Mayor is always a gracious host and he answered every question that was asked in an open fashion.

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YCT: Where did the idea for the summer youth employment program come from?

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Mayor Jackson: When I was in school we had a summer youth program...I only worked in it one year and when I became Mayor there was always talk about why young people didn’t have things to do during the summer. What we wanted to do was find as many opportunities as we could to employ young people for the summer. That’s how it came about.

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YCT: What do you think is the most important lesson you can take from this program?

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Mayor Jackson: That if you give young people the opportunities to succeed and give them opportunities to be exposed to something different, they’ll take it.

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YCT: What would you like to add to the program?

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Mayor Jackson: Probably more kids for a longer period of time. I have another program with the recreation center [City of Cleveland Parks and Recreation] where there are 22 recreation centers and we have slots for 5 high school kids to have a temporary job year-round. Some work more and that’s an opportunity for 110 kids to work all year-round on a part-time basis while they’re in high school and many of those kids when they graduate, they also want to go to college. So they’re easy to identify as people who want to move ahead and be successful. I would like to have something similar in the public utilities [City of Cleveland Department of Public Utilities] where you have exposure year-round and have more consistency in the program.

‍YCT: What do you see as this program’s biggest accomplishment?

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Mayor Jackson: It has given exposure to young people. I imagine that there are people who went through this program over the years that have had a change of mind or heart about certain things, whether it’s government or whether it’s work habits. It’s the fact that they can learn something new or be successful and do better in school.

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YCT: Do you ever see this program expanding beyond the summer?

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Mayor Jackson: Yes, I would like the program to be a year round program and have a number of kids to be involved year round. They could work while in high school and have year-round experience, year-round income, year-round work so they can put that on their resume and hopefully, since we are civil service [as a means] for employment, this would give them some credit if they decided to work for the City of Cleveland and they take a civil service path.

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YCT: Did you anticipate on this program becoming as large as it is today?

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Mayor Jackson: No, I didn’t know where it would go, I just knew that it needed to be done and what you’re [the youth communications team] doing is not what was envisioned when I started the program. It started off with people painting fire hydrants and it got to people doing rain gardens and then there were rain barrels, things like that. So what you’re doing is much broader than I expected but it’s good because it gives you exposure to things that you would not have exposure to but for [working with] the program. It may give you an idea of how you want to proceed in your life, what career you may want to take.

YCT: What was your first job?

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Mayor Jackson: My first job that I had coming out of high school was I worked in a factory. I went to Max Hayes [High School] so I took the trade of the machine. I left Max Hayes and worked in a factory operating machines.

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YCT: What was your biggest struggle growing up?

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Mayor Jackson: I don’t know if there was just one big struggle or not. Getting through school was a big one. I knew I would finish but I did have a difficult time not because I couldn’t learn, I just wasn’t inclined to learn. So that was the one major thing I had to overcome but I eventually graduated from Max Hayes and went to community college and then Cleveland State University.

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YCT: What advice would you give students that are the first in their family to go to college?

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Mayor Jackson: To take the opportunity, to do it. We live in a world now where people pay you for what you know and what your experiences are and the minimum qualifications for most jobs that have any career path to it at least [requires] an Associate’s degree. So going to college is not a luxury anymore it’s a necessity.

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YCT: Cleveland is growing and changing at a fast rate, what’s your favorite new thing about Cleveland?

Mayor Jackson: The fact that people are energized. The fact that people are hopeful. They’re not, as before, clinically depressed where everything is wrong and the world is coming to an end and we never win, but now Cleveland, the attitude of Cleveland, is more upbeat, people are more confident and people tend to have a better feeling about Cleveland.

YCT: What do you plan on doing after when you’re out of office?

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Mayor Jackson: Nothing. Its a nice thing to not have to do anything unless you want to do it. So I’m not planning on doing anything in particular. I just know I have a choice to do whatever I want to do, if I decide to do it.

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The Mayor was very generous with his time and even helped one of the youth accomplish a personal goal. Sean Fine, a recent high school graduate on the videography team, collects business cards and the Mayor was more than happy to give him one of his. The Mayor also gave advice to the youth saying, “Stay the course, stay focused and actually look to accomplish something rather than being part of something negative.” That seems like sound advice that all Cleveland youth can follow. Meeting with the Mayor was definitely an extraordinary and inspirational opportunity for the Youth Communications Team, one they will not forget anytime soon.