GARRISON, Texas — The town of Garrison is making history by having its first Black Mayor elected into office. Dr. Keith Yarbrough, a Garrison native, has dreamed of becoming mayor for his hometown.
"Back in the early days when I was a cop here in town like I said, that was always kind of in my mind," said Yarbrough. "I always told myself that if I ever had the opportunity to be mayor, that's absolutely what I was going to do."
Yarbrough also made history prior to becoming mayor. He made history by becoming the first Black cop in his hometown.
During his time of service, he faced challenges and doubt from those superior to him.
"I was told that I would never be a police officer for Garrison, Texas," Yarbrough added. "To be told, by leadership here in town, that I would never be a cop in this town. It is that kind of stuff that hurts you to your core."
Despite the challenges he faced over the years, he never let them shake his faith as he remained focused on God's vision.
"I never gave up on what the Lord told me, you know, and that 25 years later," Yarbrough added. "I prayed for this back in the early 90s, you know, it's like, we never know what God has for us."
As Yarbrough prepares to take office he already has an agenda of issues he's ready to solve.
"We have a lot of issues here in town, we have issues with the roads, with the water system and with our sewer system," said Yarbrough. "We have to be in a situation to get those things fixed, that we need to have fix in order for the city to run."
Yarbrough also hopes to turn a divided town into unity, making everyone's voices heard.
"We got to be unified all these separate Black, White and Hispanic, no it's going to be one Garrison," said Yarbrough. "I intend to do what the Lord has me here to do, which is to try to make our town a better place for everybody to live."
Dr. Keith Yarbrough will take office at Garrison City Hall on Monday, May 9th, 2022.