From Liberian Refugee To Mayor Of Helena, Montana, Wilmot Collins Discusses His Journey To The American Dream On Brad Show Live

NEW YORK, May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilmot Collins was elected as Helena, Montana's first official black mayor in 2017. Now, he is running for Senate in the 2020 race against incumbent Republican Steve Daines. Mayor Collins' successful career in American politics might have seemed impossible two decades ago, when he was fleeing his home country of Liberia to stay alive.

"The rebels systematically took over the country," Collins said in an interview on Brad Show Live. The rebel invasion - which spiralled into a 14-year, bloody Civil War - forced him and his family to leave the capital city of Monrovia and board a refugee ship with 10,000 other Liberians.

"My family and I ran out of food, and I lost two brothers. The war got so bloody that other West African countries sent peacekeepers and ships," Collins recalled. Upon escaping and arriving in Ghana, he saw a 92 pound man, dying from starvation, staring back at him in the mirror.

Immediately admitted to a hospital where he stayed seven days for treatment, Collins slowly recovered, and worked to establish a new life for him and his wife.

"My wife was in medical school," he said, "and after a few months, my wife said she wanted to come to America."

After enrolling in the nursing program at Carroll College in Montana, she packed her bags and left, he remembered. Wanting to join her, Collins registered as a refugee with the United Nations. And "the process took two years and seven months before I was able to meet her," he described of the drawn-out immigration process.

Finally arriving in Montana with a green card, Collins reunited with his wife, and obtained a janitorial job at the local elementary school. With dedication, hard work, and giving back to the community, he transitioned from a janitor to a teacher before being elected mayor.

Collins said, "America is the great equalizer. If you work hard, there is no way you won't make it. I encourage other immigrants to work hard, stay clean and do the right thing. Because if you can do those things, there are brighter days ahead." 

Catch the full interview on YouTube and Facebook with host Brad Bernstein! Brad Show Live is a 2019 webby honoree that airs Monday-Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET!

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Contact: Jill Gould, jill@bradshowlive.com

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SOURCE Brad Show Live