Why this series?
When producer George Koster returned to his hometown of Stockton, California—a city that filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and was twice named America's most miserable by Forbes—he uncovered something unexpected: hope. Following the deaths of his cousin Wendy Willard-Peckenpaugn and mother Josephine Koster-Wyllie, both lifelong South Stockton residents, George found himself witnessing his city's remarkable transformation.
This comprehensive 16-episode documentary series captures Stockton's reinvention through intimate conversations with community leaders, activists, and residents working to rebuild their city. At the center is Michael Tubbs, who rose from South Stockton to become the city's youngest and first African American mayor, elected at just 27 years old.
The series spans over four years of production, from pre-election interviews in 2016 through townhall meetings and post-mayoral virtual discussions. Each episode dives deep into the strategies, challenges, and victories of grassroots organizing, urban renewal, and community-driven change.
Beyond entertainment, this documentary serves as a practical guide for communities nationwide facing similar struggles with corruption, economic hardship, and civic disengagement.
These stories have the power to inspire transformation in your own community. Share them with your networks and help amplify the voices proving that every city can reinvent itself.
Donate to Voices of the Community
Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. If you want to send us a check, please make checks payable to Intersection for the Arts and write [Voices of the Community] in the memo line of your check. This ensures that you’ll receive an acknowledgment letter for tax purposes, and your donation will be available for our project.
Episode 1: Series Highlights, Part 1
From From Bankruptcy to Reinvention, five takeaways emerge: family, faith and unity shaping; education pride and mentoring opening college doors (Phoenix Scholars); “own your destiny” inclusion and wins for LGBTQ+ youth; community-policing plus housing/commercial fixes replacing open-air drug markets; cultural preservation and youth-led efforts proving no one’s coming to save us.
Episode 2: Series Highlights, Part 2
In part two of our highlight compilation from our 2019 series, "From Bankruptcy to Reinvention, the City of Stockton”; This remastered episode features both the inspiring stories and discussions with the leaders, artists, and residents who sparked change.
Episode 3: It takes a Village
This episode features the City of Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs’ mother Racole Dixon, grandmother Barbara Nicholson and Aunt Tasha Dixon.
They share their own unique perspectives on Mayor Tubbs, and the family’s legacy of education, risk taking, spirituality, humility and community engagement.
Episode 4: Owning Your Own Destiny
Nicholas Hatten is the Founder and Executive Director of the San Joaquin Pride Center (SJPC). A proven leader and agent for change, Hatten has challenged the San Joaquin County and Central Valley to evaluate how it can best serve it's LGBT+ community.
Episode 5: All Your Preconceived Notions Are Wrong
In this episode we feature the voice of Fred Sheil the Administrator of STAND who shares his passion, insights and organization’s work over the past two plus decades in South Stockton to address, policing, neighborhood revitalization, slumlord abatement, housing and commercial development.
Episode 6: Be the Change You Want to See
In this episode we feature the voice of Lange Luntao a third-generation teacher who has taught at Aspire Langston Hughes Academy and is a self-proclaimed education nerd. Lange shares his passion, insights and organizational work with youth, parents and the school system.
Episode 7: Our Strength is Our Diversity
In this episode we feature the voice of Dillion Delvo, co-founder of Little Manila Rising. Dillion shares his passion, insights and organizational work around advocacy, education, arts and culture as part of Little Manila Rising’s efforts to revitalize the Filipina American community in Stockton.
Episode 8: Trust Your Voice and Story
In this episode we feature the voice of Jasmine Dellafosse who shares her experience working with Michael Tubbs as well as the Reinvent South Stockton Coalition and the Stockton Schools Initiative in organizing students to address the crime, safety, recreation, health and the education systems in South Stockton.
Episode 9: Doing the Work that Dr King and Malcolm X Left Behind for us to do!
In this episode we feature the voice of Anthony Rodriguez who is an 8th grade English and Math educator at Marshall Elementary, and works with the Summer Success Leadership Academy in leading the mentor training program.
Episode 10: Poverty Shortens lives by 20 years
In this episode we feature the voices of Barb Alberson, Benita Ortez, as well as Horacio Viramontes along with students from the Franklin High School Spanish Club.
Episode 11: How do you change a 40+ year long Negative Narrative?
In this episode we feature the voice of Hector Laura who is the co-founder and executive director of the Reinvent South Stockton Coalition as well as the South Stockton Promise Zone.
Listen & Learn More About This Episode >
Episode 12: Changing Stockton’s history by making history
In this episode we feature the voices of Tama Brisbane the City of Stockton’s first Poet Laureate and spoken word poet and youth leader / teacher Brandon Leake.
Episode 13: The Rose that grew from concrete
In this episode we feature the voice of Michael Tubbs. We have broken the episode down into two parts. Part one takes place back in the summer of 2016 when we caught up with Michael Tubbs who was at that time the youngest City Council member in Stockton history and one of the youngest elected officials in the United States. Part two takes place in the fall of 2018 and we revisit all of the work Tubbs was doing in 2016, his campaign promises and his vision for the City of Stockton.
Episode 14: State of Our Youth & Community: A Stockton Townhall Meeting
In the process of producing the documentary series, "From Bankruptcy to Reinvention The City of Stockton California", I wanted to provide our listeners with an update on the work of the community members featured in the documentary series.
Episode 15: Antwaune’s Story
This episode is an epilogue to our 14 episode documentary series on my home town the City of Stockton California. In this episode, our voices are Stephanie Hatten and Nicholas Hatten who share the story of Stephanie’s son and Nicholas’s cousin Antwaune Burrise’s death at the hands of the Stockton Police Department.
Episode 16: The Opportunity that is Stockton
This episode was the convening and conversation with City of Stockton Community Leaders after Michael Tubbs lost the 2020 Mayorial election. This was our final follow-up conversation from both our “State of our Youth: A Stockton Townhall Meeting” we hosted in May of 2019 and the original episodes 3 to 13 documentary series “From Bankruptcy to Reinvention - The City of Stockton” that we produced in 2016 and 2017.
“Youth are our greatest assets, In Stockton, every young person matters. I want to leave a legacy of increasing opportunities for residents of Stockton and the next generation.”