Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Derrick McDowell, right, who was sworn in as Youngstown’s 52nd mayor during an inauguration ceremony Thursday at East High School, receives congratulations from Mahoning County Auditor Ralph T. Meacham after the event.

YOUNGSTOWN — To better understand the city’s ability to reclaim its true identity and essence, it’s essential to view it as a tapestry of colorful fabric consisting of entertainers, small business owners, artists, athletes, entrepreneurs and the past, its newest mayor says.

“Those portions of our true identity will lead us to industry,” said Derrick McDowell, who was sworn in as the city’s 52nd mayor during an inauguration ceremony Thursday afternoon at East High School on Bennington Avenue.

Swearing McDowell into office was Judge Carla J. Baldwin of Youngstown Municipal Court.

Upon taking the helm at Youngstown’s top position, McDowell’s top priorities include listening to residents’ concerns, feedback and vision of their city, ensuring that city hall operates efficiently, making sure all departments are staffed with “top talent” and having consistent accountability between residents and city government to help Youngstown thrive, he noted.

Out of city hall “flows the life of the community,” McDowell added.

“My heart is pounding, because this is the city I love,” he said, adding, “I consider this community as no different than family.”

Calling them “the backbone of the city,” McDowell said that small businesses have always played a pivotal role in the city’s economic development.

McDowell recalled for the standing-room-only crowd that filled the auditorium, having moved back to the city from Birmingham, Alabama, when he was 14, as well as when he lost a brother to violence in 1995. One day, while sitting in a vehicle, he had an epiphany of sorts via realizing that, even though he was experiencing grief from his loss, the city had lost many people in such ways, and that caused him to see it was time for Youngstown to reclaim its identity and redefine itself, he explained.

In addition, McDowell, along with his wife, Nettie McDowell, and the couple’s children have spent time trying to model his ideals, in part by participating in citywide cleanup projects, he continued.

Another main priority is to work with “sibling cities” that surround Youngstown such as Canfield, Boardman and Austintown, McDowell said.

McDowell, an independent, beat Jamael Tito Brown in the Nov. 4 general election by 876 votes — 4,654 to 3,778. It also marked his first run for public office.

Suffice it to say that the new mayor has a plethora of others who have expressed a strong desire to work with him, including Youngstown City Schools Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor, who drew a direct connection between the welfare of the school system and that of the city.

“So goes Youngstown City Schools, so goes Youngstown,” Batchelor said in his remarks Thursday.

It’s critical that people get behind McDowell’s vision for a better city, but it’s also essential that residents work with one another to accomplish that purpose, he added.

“We know the job we have to do,” the superintendent said. “Derrick understands that we have to work together, so I say to you, ‘We have to work together.’ Youngstown is on the rise.”

Also during the gathering at which hundreds of community and religious leaders, elected officials, department heads and others attended, Miah Pierce, a social worker who’s also part of Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past, delivered a spoken word.

Far from having been a perfect or pristine city, Youngstown is striving to forge ahead as a place with a definitive purpose. That’s reflected in its fabric of people who call it home, Pierce said.

“History has its eyes on us,” she said, adding that achieving a vibrant future means putting aside differences and working to make “love our legacy.”

Other work that needs to continue includes ongoing efforts to strengthen and see value in all of the city’s neighborhoods and community watch groups, as well as blight remediation, McDowell said.

Despite the formidable challenges that lie ahead, the city of nearly 60,000 will continue to evolve and reclaim its true self, he added.

“We’re coming; we’re coming as a family,” McDowell said.

Also during the ceremony, the new mayor formally swore in Courtney Kelly as the city’s fire chief, along with Sharon Cole as police chief.