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-("God's Plan" by Drake playing) -God's plan. God's plan.

♪ I can't do this on my own ♪

♪ Someone watching this shit close ♪

Michael Tubbs: I think God's plan is something

you have a hint of, but you can only see in hindsight.

There's no way I could've scripted this.

I think the lyric of the song says,

"I can't do this on my own."

It's like, "Someone must be watching this close."

Particularly for me, that's incredibly true.

(all cheering)

Anna Nti-Asare-Tubbs: The night that Michael was elected mayor is the same nigt

that Donald Trump was elected.

And so, it was this very direct conflict

in what they were both running for.

This victory is yours.

If you look at this room,

this room is what Stockton looks like.

(cheering and applause)

You're 26 years old. The youngest and the first

African-American mayor of Stockton...

Tubbs: Almost every interview or conversation I have

begins with my age.

He is the 27-year-old Democratic mayor...

Reporter 1: You are 28 years old.

Reporter 2: Stockton's 29-year-old mayor..

Tubbs: I didn't just become this

because it's the flavor of the month.

I've been talking about

this stuff since I was in high school.

The message I received a lot growing up was that

the options I had, that I was in fact set up for two things.

Prison or death.

You know that saying, "the personal is political"?

I really believe that.

Growing up in Stockton,

I lived in four out of the five areas that have

a lot of our city's violent crime issues.

-Good morning. -So, my mom, she had me when she was a teenager.

She was 16 when she was pregnant.

My father's been incarcerated

for 25 out of the 27 years I, I, I was-- I've been alive.

Good morning, good morning.

Some of my best friends that in fact today

are either in prison or dead,

and that was almost my end.

But luckily, and thanks to God,

I was able to go to Stanford on a full scholarship.

I was able to work in the White House.

I was able to have lunch with Oprah Winfrey.

And I don't say that to brag,

but I say that to say

all the quote, unquote, "success"

has been motivated by a central question.

How in the world did I make i?

And how do I empower other people

from backgrounds like mine

to upset the set-up?

Mike Fitzgerald: Stockton is a fascinating cit.

There is no place like this city.

I know you only hear bad things about it.

Underneath the bad things here, I should say

there's a wonderful community.

And what a community!

There are people here from all points on the globe

to a much greater degree than in other cities.

(crowd cheering)

In one quarter,

between 2007 and 2008,

the value of homes here plummeted

by as much as 80%.

Reporter 1: Traders say this is the craziest day

they have ever seen in these markets...

Reporter 2: Foreclosures are still climbing,

and Stockton has the worst rate...

Reporter 3: Stockton is now the nation's number one city

for foreclosure activity.

Fitzgerald: This was the most foreclosed upon city

in the United States,

and it was real economic carnage.

The only option was municipal bankruptcy.

And Stockton became the largest city,

up till that time in American history,

to declare bankruptcy.

Tubbs: My senior year in high school in 2008,

we were foreclosure capital.

We were beginning the layoffs.

We were beginning to lead to the issues

and the problems that caused me to come back

and run for office in 2012.

In that backdrop, I decided to run for city council.

What is that moment where it clicks in and you say

"I'm running in 2012"?

I was at a community meeting

'cause there was a spike in homicides.

And one of these activists, organizers,

a dear friend of mine, who I really look up to.

We were talking, said, "What are you gonna do after graduation?"

I was like, "I don't know, I'm still figuring it out."

He said, "Well, how many more people have to die

before you feel ready to come back?"

Interviewer: That's a lot of guilt to put on you.

Lot of pressure to put on a 21-year-old, right?

But, it worked!

Tubbs: You need Band-Aids or anything?

Stockton's not the only community

with a homelessness issue.

Stockton's not the only community

with a violent crime issue.

Stockton's not the only community with a poverty issu.

I'm tired of talking about where we've been.

I'm more interested in discussing where are we going

-and then how do we get there. -(applause)

Thank you.

Daniel Lopez: Oh, I feel like this is the beginning of a long week.

What's today, Monday?

Got a problem with the printer.

It needs paper. (laughs)

See, around here, we get things done.

All of the team works right here,

so if one person gets sick, we all get sick.

It just comes with the territory.

The mayor's office is right next door

where he works out of.

In 2016, Mayor Tubbs gave me a call.

He had two positions, so I said I'll think about it.

Before that, I had a really good gig at the state capital.

I had a staff of about 12 to 14.

I don't know, so they convinced me

this was the right place, right time.

Started pulling at my heart, my hometown,

and the work that could be done here.

I knew what I was getting myself into.

Coming over here, if you want

a coffee, if you need to send an email,

you gotta do everything.

You got to take out the trash in Stockton.

We're trying different things.

We've had the opportunity now

to bring in programs that are, you know, unconventional.

We have a program called Advance Peace.

The goal of this is to reduce gun violence

and increase public safety.

We have a thing called universal basic income,

or guaranteed income, and the Stockton Scholars program

where we're giving young people that scholarship

'cause we're hoping that they go out,

get a degree, and then come back to Stockton

and find ways to help the city.

That's a way of paying it forward and then paying it back.

So, those are the solutions,

some of the bigger ones that we're looking at.

And I think, for the most part, people get it.

They're excited.

They've never had a mayor like this before.

Tubbs: For so long, the narrative of Stockton

has just been all negative.

And now people are looking to us

as a place that's happening, that's moving.

There's something happening here.

And people are trying to figure out what that is.

You have something called universal basic income that you--

It's a pilot program, right?

UBI, they call it, but it's basically,

it's a fancy way of saying we're gonna give some people

-free money. -Well, it's interesting--

-How's that working out? Do they like free money? -(studio laughter)

Tubbs: I knew it was a Stockton issu, but I was really shocked

when I read that one in two Americans

can't afford one $400 emergency.

And I was shocked because that's not just people in poverty.

That's a lot of people.

So, I sent my staff an email,

and I said, hey, you guys, give me something

I haven't heard of, like, what's the craziest thing

you can come back with?

Two days later, they came back

with you can just give people money.

So, I said, that-- that, that's crazy.

I said, there's no way a solution this complex

can be solved that simply.

We are testing a bold social experiment

in poverty alleviation

in a space and a place that really mirrors a lot of trends

that we see across the US.

Tubbs: So, we're testing out

the Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration,

known as SEED, and we partnered with a group

called the Economic Security Project

that gave us a million-dollar grant to figure out

what would it look like to provide the income floor

for people in the form of a basic income.

So, $500 a month, no strings attached, for 12 to 18 months,

depending on how much more we're able to raise.

We're doing a calendar, a schedule, figure out, okay,

when are we doing our community engagement stuff,

when are we planning disbursement, when are we gonna meet with people.

Lori Ospina: We will do kind of a two-step process.

So, the first step is

we'll filter out all of the neighborhoods

in the city of Stockton

where the area median income is at or below

$46,000, and then we will

randomly choose addresses,

and we'll randomly send mailers out

to potential recipients across those neighborhoods.

Tubbs: What's exciting about this project is that

it's giving us a chance to really interrogate

our values as a country and as a community.

Are those values really put into action?

I don't wanna live in a community

and I don't wanna live in a nation where people

are working two jobs and can't pay for rent. I don't.

Host 1: It's a silly idea.

You never wanna pay people not to work.

Host 2: It's like why a utopia is never going to be possible.

The same reason why universal basic income isn't going to work.

Host 3: It's becoming an excuse

for companies to not pay

a living wage to their workers.

Host 4: It's liberals that are doing this, liberal management,

liberal, liberal cities like Stockton.

Tubbs: I was shocked at...

not even just the amount of criticism,

but just how nonsensical.

Just like really not rooted

in anything true. And how...

personal the criticism.

Reporter: Twenty-three homicides in Stockton so far this year,

three in the Weston Ranch neighborhood alone.

The latest man shot dead is 22-year-old Julius Batiste.

Batiste was gunned down Friday evening.

Investigators for the Stockton Police Department say...

Lopez: There is an area called Weston Ranch

on the far south area of town.

(upbeat brass band playing)

They actually had a police service station out there,

and then when the budget cuts came,

bankruptcy, they closed down that police service station,

and now, recently, they had like three homicides.

So, we're planning for this town hall tonight.

The mayor, the council member, the police chief

will all go in there, be on a panel,

and get questions from the community.

You know, there's a lot of emotions mixed out there.

-Okay, I'll have you go in and then go in behind you. -Alright.

-Just follow Brian. -Okay.

Woman: No idea is stupid, silly, wrong.

Nothing's bad.

Anything that you think of that comes to mind

that you talk yourself out of saying

could have saved a life.

Resources for our kids here in Weston Ranch.

Scholarship programs, okay.

Woman 1: Police presence within the neighborhoods.

There's prostitution, there's drug deals...

Robberies, people get their purses snatched...

Woman 2: Lack of employment...

We all need to do our part.

We cannot depend on just one person

to come and save us all.

Tubbs: Eight years ago, my cousin was murdered

at Kelley Drive at a house party.

So I was in Palo Alto at the time,

and that's what brought me back.

It was that feeling of pain,

of anger, of being really upset and feeling powerless.

That's the reason why I came back in 2012,

and why I still do the work we do today.

Because the issues, not just in Weston Ranch,

but in Stockton are bigger than one town hall,

one tragedy, and one meeting,

but it's gonna take continually meeting

like this all the time, in good times and in bad times,

until we see some progress.

To make the choice to take someone's life,

there has to be a sense of nihilism.

"My life doesn't matter, your life doesn't matter,

"and nothing's gonna change it. What do I have to lose?

"In a community where everyone I know is broke,

"everyone's anxious, people can't pay rent.

"Because of mistakes I made in the past,

"I have a criminal record. I can't really get a job.

Or if I do get a job, it's going to be very difficult."

It's a lot.

Kenny Guyton: A lot of those kids is just living to die.

People are scared of 'em, but we're not scared of 'em

because we look at 'em as our kids,

our children, people that's lost.

A lot of people look at 'em as animals

-and threats to the public. -Tubbs: Are they in school still?

Some of them in school, but they don't participate.

They're straight-F students. They go in there just for lunch.

Burnice Redil: We gotta figure out something for them to do, man.

-They need to have some kind of outlet, something. -Like what?

I mean, that's not a question

that I can answer. I gotta ask them, you know what I mean?

Basic strategy is to go into neighborhoods and talk to people

that no one else has been able to talk to.

Tubbs: I remember last time we talked, you mentioned

kinda this area downtown being kinda most area of interest.

Is that still the case?

All of the traditionally troubled spots,

I think we've got people in all of those places, it'd be safe to say.

No less than 15 gunplay engagements

were mediated within the first 90 days.

Get a lot of stuff squashed that way, man. Whole lot of stuff.

Nuri Muhammad: Allow people to save face.

-(murmuring agreement) -Redil: I can tell

the relief that both parties had, you know?

Afterwards, they're...

"Oh, man, this ain't trippin' on me no more.

Woo, I ain't gotta be worried about it."

You know what I mean? And another one, too.

"Oh man, look, man, yo, man, thank you." You know what I mean?

So now y'all can ride in traffic and can see each other,

and you ain't gotta worry about it no more.

Y'all a stone's throw away from each other.

You gonna see each other eventually, you know.

But they happy that it's over.

Reporter 1: The program is called Advance Peace.

It hires convicted felons

to court suspected criminals with offers of cash.

Reporter 2: Participants who reach certain benchmarks

will be paid up to $1,000 a month.

Reporter 3: Criminals are paid not to commit crime. I'm serious.

Lopez: When we first put a tweet out about this,

the very next morning, this guy,

he's in front of City Hall, 7:00 AM shot, and he's like,

"Find out why the mayor of Stockton

wants to pay criminals money." It's like, "Watch this."

So, everybody's upset, and online, everyone's like,

"You're not gonna use my tax dollars. Not my tax dollars."

-How many times-- It's not tax dollars. -Mm-hmm.

Jeez, it's, it's private funds paying for this.

So, if you're talking to a group,

and they say, "So, tell us what is Advance Peace,"

you're gonna say the goal of it is just to reduce gun violence.

At the bare minimum, this is just how you talk about it.

And then how it's done,

daily check-ins, internships, social services,

they have an elders circle,

transformative travel, and stipends.

Basically, we're gonna get the active shooters in Stockton.

That means less than one percent of the population

is responsible for the majority of the shootings.

And in a nutshell,

they're gonna be part of an 18-month fellowship.

So, is it about 20 fellows that'll be in there,

or is it just 20?

-Lopez: It's 25. -Twenty-five.

Lopez: It's a tough job though. Like they --

They got some real serious dudes on that.

Teen: I don't know if you heard about the murder right there

that happened at McDonald's.

-The murder from-- Oh! -The drive-thru, the drive-thru, yeah.

Raymond Aguilar: So my name is Raymond Aguilar.

I'm 43 years old.

I just got through serving a 26-year prison sentence.

I've been home two years now.

(train horn blaring)

Yeah, since high school.

I went to right here, Franklin High School.

I didn't last too long.

Coincidentally, this is where I committed my crime right here.

The victim robbed my grandmother,

kicked the door down, took the money that she had,

and her necklace and other stuff that she had,

and he got out. I confronted him. We talked.

He started walking down this way, and I was on my bike.

I ended up shooting him,

and he fell dead right here. This was a crime scene.

When I pulled that trigger, it was like all in slow motio.

And I seen the bullet hit him.

I could see his body

hit and jerk until when he fell.

And when he fell in slow motion and hit that ground,

and he looked at me, and he was gasping for air.

Twenty-six years ago, but it doesn't seem that long.

You know, it almost seems as though it was...

just the other day, you know? But, uh...

The kid that I was is still inside.

You know, he's still there.

But I'm now an adult, and I'm able to see

all the trauma that I grew up with.

-I used to make these go off. -(tapping)

Stockton has a lot of pain and a lot of hurt,

a lot of suffering.

But now, I come back,

and I'm trying to like heal.

It's a journey. A lifelong journey, I gotta say.

Tubbs: Good seeing you!

I respect you so much, brother. Thank you. God bless, man.

You're doing God's work, you know.

The Stockton story is this idea of redemption.

Man: Mr. Tubbs! How's it going?

-Tubbs: Great! -Nice to see you, nice to see you...

Tubbs: This idea of like redemption

and coming back and taking what was bad

and trying to make it good.

It's profoundly spiritual in many ways.

-Aguilar: And there he is. The man with the message. -(scattered applause)

Alright. Give it up for my man, Mr. Mayor, everybody.

(applause)

You guys can break the cycle

and be the change that you wanna see in this world.

He's done it, and you guys can all do this as well.

A lot of the individuals that I work with, I did a lot of time

with a lot of these kids' fathers. And so now,

I find myself, 26 years later,

coming home, mentoring their kids.

-Go ahead, Peter. Give me one core value. -Peter: I don't know exactly

what the word would be, but like to be open.

-Student: Accountable? -Accountable.

Being accountable for your actions.

That's one of our core principles

as an honorable person, right?

Tubbs: I met Raymond in 2016,

when I was running for mayor.

And the story is we're at this meeting at Fathers and Family.

And at the time, I began to have

just security concerns in general.

So, we're at this meeting, and Raymond just kept

touching me like he knew me. He kept touching me,

and I don't like being touched anyway, so I'm looking.

I said, "Bro, I'm sorry. No disrespect.

"I'm on city council. I know I'm running for mayor,

"but have we met? 'Cause you're acting like

we're real familiar." He was like, "Oh! I'm so sorry."

I was like, "Yeah, everything cool? I was like, you good?

I thought you were trying to provoke me. We good?"

He's like, "No, I was your dad's cell mate for 10 years."

I was like, "Oh, wait, what?"

Aguilar: And so, growing up in South Stockton,

Central South Stockton,

I ran into Michael Tubbs. He was a good homeboy of mine.

"Wack," they called him "Wack."

He's from South Mob, you know, 2300 block.

He was a good kid just like I was a good kid.

We just had a lot of trauma.

And I end up being cellies with Michael Tubbs Sr.

And so now, coming home,

I seen all kinds of signs, "Elect Mayor Michael Tubbs" or whatever.

I'm like, "What the fuck? What Tubbs is this?"

I was just in the prison system with Michael Tubbs.

I know he ain't beat me outta here, you know?

-And I was like, wow, this is my boy's son. -(crowd chanting)

I gotta support this cat, you know what I mean?

Tubbs: I'm sure there's parts of your story that are similar to mine.

I remember being hungry.

I remember having to hold my mom while she cried.

I remember hearing gunshots at night.

I remember all that stuff.

I remember how hard it was to grow up.

I think that quote, "Be the change

that you wish to see in the world"

is super important

'cause I think, oftentimes, people get scared to try

to make change because it's like, what if it doesn't work?

What if I look stupid?

What if I sacrifice all this stuff and nothing happens?

I think the bigger question is,

what happens if you don't do anything?

A lot of people say, oh, "Michael Tubbs the mayor

"is not from the neighborhood.

"He grew up privileged. He has an education.

He doesn't have those experiences."

Bullshit. His father was a gang member,

and was out there committing crimes.

He grew up without a father.

(bell ringing)

Tubbs:

Gone was the mirage of the invincible man.

The man who would protect me once I found him.

At the age of 12,

I finally saw my father,

looking weak and vulnerable.

The conversation with this stranger

was cordial, albeit distant.

Michael Tubbs Sr.: Michael came to visit me.

Me and him, we walking around, we talking,

and he asked me a question,

and it blew my mind. He said, "How did you and my mom meet?"

I was like taken aback because I'm figuring

like he should know everything about me.

But it made me start reflecting like, here's my son,

he don't even know who I am, so.

I couldn't even give him the answer 'cause I didn't know who I was.

Tubbs: Before I ran for mayor,

I didn't tell anyone. I just went to visit him,

just to talk for a little bit.

It was good. I think the older I get,

the more I recognize, like, you know, people are complex.

The choices people make are complex.

Tubbs Sr.: It blew my mind the things he accomplished at a young ag.

Like we wrote over the years, we communicated,

but like it wasn't really a connection there,

and it blew me away

'cause that's a simple question.

"How did you and Mom meet?"

Me and Racole met in 1989.

We were at the skate rink. My cousin come up like,

"My girl wanna talk to you."

So, I call Coco up. The next day,

I go meet her at her mom's house and, uh,

at that time, I was a gang member.

It was in the enemy neighborhood,

so I was kinda afraid to go over there.

I'm like, oh, it might be a set-up or something.

But I went over there, uh, we hooked up.

And then, we started-- we started messing around almost every day.

Racole Dixon: Me and Michael's father, yeah, we were dating off and on,

but he was always in and out of jail.

And that's my problem, you know,

I'm a good girl. I went to private school,

but I still wanted that thug bad boy.

And of course, that was Michael Tubbs' father.

And a couple of months later, Barbara, which is her mother,

called my mom, said she wanted me and my mom to come over.

So, I was already scared.

My mom, she doesn't believe in abortions.

She said, "Don't get an abortion 'cause you don't know

"what you're carrying.

"You could be carrying a lawyer, doctor,

mayor, you don't know who you're killing."

Barbara Nicholson: I couldn't believe it. I was really in shock,

disappointment...

angry. (laugh)

Because I'm really involved in the church,

and it kind of happened

maybe a year or two after I got a divorce.

When I received the divorce,

seemed like the family started going haywire.

Tubbs Sr.: Once I ended up in the youth authority,

my counselor's the one actually telling me that

Coco had Michael. She called me in the office.

She said, "You have a son named Michael Derrick Tubbs.

You should be proud." And I was like, "I am."

And it blew me away. And I went back to my cell.

I never cried before in prison or jail or anything.

I went back, and I just really cried.

Like it was tears of joy though.

And I remember he was like two weeks old

the first time I got to see him.

It's a trip. I'm looking at him.

He got a little mustache already, little curly hair.

I'm like, "This is amazing. Wow, this is my son."

I felt like I got something to live for.

(birds chirping)

-Nti-Asare-Tubbs: Did you get your license? -Tubbs: I have an appointment.

-You've been saying that for months. -Yeah.

(laughs) When are you going?

-The day of the appointment. -When is that, Michael Tubbs?

-Soon. -(opening envelope)

-Huh? -What?

-You know we have to update that for our insurance. -Yeah.

(paper crinkling)

Alright. We'll have the same conversation next week then,

if that's what you'd like.

(running water)

Nti-Asare-Tubbs: When we bought this house,

they told us that they painted it red

'cause this is the room of love,

and you can never fight in the room of love.

Right, Michael? Mike, where you at?

I'm about to fight in the room of love.

(laughs) You're so weird.

So yeah. We never fight in this room.

This is our wedding book. This is my favorite picture

'cause Michael's crying.

You see that little tear? They captured it.

Photoshop work is lovely on that.

(laughs) You were crying so hard, Michael.

So hard. And I remember I said to you--

Remember I was like, "You're gonna cry"?

And you were like, "I'm definitely not crying."

-And I was like, you're for sure gonna cry. -No way. No way.

-And then I walk out, and you were boo-hooing. -I had allergies...

-You were crying so hard. -It was the heat.

Nti-Asare-Tubbs: When Michael and I met, we were in undergrad.

So I was a sophomore,

and he was a senior at Stanford.

And I had never heard of Stockton.

I didn't know anything about Stockton.

This is Michael's favorite part

which is ironic 'cause he doesn't know how to swim.

-I can't swim, but I love it out here. -(laughs)

-This is my thing. It's my place. -It is good.

I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but I left

when I was two years old.

And my mom, dad, brother, sister, and I

moved to Dubai for four years.

And then we were in Estonia for a year.

We were in Sweden for a few months.

We were in Mexico,

Azerbaijan.

-What are we gonna do tonight? -Watch a movie, eat.

-We're gonna go out to watch a movie? -I don't know.

Nti-Asare-Tubbs: But when I decided to move here, so many people,

unfortunately, said, "Don't go to Stockton.

Why are you doing this? This is gonna be the end of your career."

But, as you know, when you meet Michael,

you're gonna fall in love with Stockton, too. You have to.

(laughs) If you're gonna love Michael,

you have to love Stockton. It's a two-for-one kind of deal.

(light rain falling)

Lopez: Yeah, I'm here with Mayor Tubbs for an event.

-He's speaking to some students. -Guard: Oh, okay.

-Lopez: Can we park in here or-- -Yeah, you can park anywhere.

Lopez: Okay, thank you.

-This high school looks just like it did 20 years ago. -(chuckles)

(school chatter)

Tubbs: So literally 10 years ago,

before I was mayor,

before I was a council member, I was a senior

at Franklin High School. Don't hate, don't hate.

(scattered laughter, jeers)

Listen.

I remember being stressed and worried because I wasn't sure

if I could go to college

because I didn't know if we could afford it. So the idea

behind this-- Listen!

The idea behind this scholarship program is that we want

you to know that your city is investing money in you

-and your future. Listen! -(light laughter)

And you don't have to-- it's not-- Wait, wait, wait.

Why are we laughing? What's funny?

So, I'ma tie them afterwards. Is that funny?

-We're juniors. That's not funny. -(indistinct)

All we're saying is apply to college,

and you get a guaranteed $500

or $1,000 for four years, okay?

Cool. Any questions?

No questions?

-(chattering) -Any other questions?

(silence)

Any other questions?

Tubbs: I was getting ready to strike. I ain't coming back.

(laughing) He's like, okay. If one more person

makes a noise, no scholarships for anyone.

Tubbs: My senior year, there's a "Record" article

that said lowest in literacy, highest in crime.

And I remember reading that and feeling

such a dislike for the city.

Like, really? This is so embarrassing.

So, I remember that being like more motivation.

"Oh, I'm gonna get educated. I'm gonna get out of here."

Lange Luntao: We know that many of you

living in Stockton, going to school in Stockton,

are being raised in conditions that are difficult.

So, we are here to inform you of a gift that is waiting for you

at graduation. It's special that we're talking to you all

as the class of 2019 because you are the first entire

class that will benefit from this gift.

So, I know I have a big check. Where's my check?

-(cheering) -Reporter: It's all thanks

to a $20 million anonymous donation

secured by Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs.

Tubbs: Evan Spiegel, he's the founder of Snapchat.

We had gone to Stanford together,

and we had tutored kids in South Africa together.

So I was telling him, "Hey,

"I have this program I really wanna do.

It costs $100 million. What... can you help?"

Lopez: And then, he announces that he has $20 million.

A donation that was given from the private sector so students

in Stockton for like a generation now will be able to get

about a $4,000 scholarship in total,

about $1,000 a year for four years of college.

We are coming at you from the South Stockton Education Hub,

where we're here about to celebrate the first

Stockton Scholars college admission of the year.

Stanford! Ah!

-(air horn blowing) -Lopez: Yes!

-(laughing) -All the hype, all the hype.

Luntao: So, there are a lot of kids that are still gonna be

graduating this year, and for some reason or another,

will not be going on to something after high school.

And so now, my focus is how do we reach all those kids?

In a place like Stockton, where we still don't yet have

a public four-year university in our community,

I think that this is exactly where scholarship programs

like this need to, need to take root.

Tubbs: Lange and I went to Denver in 2015.

I was still on city council, and we met with

the Denver Promise, which is a very similar program.

And then Oakland announced an Oakland Promise.

So since then, I've been obsessed with

how do we make this happen in Stockton?

Luntao: You may not know this, but Mayor Tubbs has been out

on the road, talking to people about Stockton.

Did you know that in Stockton,

only 17%

of the folks over the age of 25 have a college degree?

We need to be better educated, right? If we're gonna attract

businesses, if we're gonna attract

the sort of investment we want in our community...

Tubbs: If certain people hadn't invested in me

and created opportunity for me or mentored me,

I wouldn't be where I am, and I get really excited

thinking about what if we did that not just for one student

or two students, but for a whole city?

(horn blaring)

(rap music playing)

Marc Levin: What do you know about the mayor?

I was actually in some of his programs for Stockton Scholars.

He was talking about how they got a lot of scholarships

available for us, so, yeah, I was volunteering

for a lot of his things he was hosting.

Roscoe Brown: Yeah, Tubbs is a good guy, man. Good guy.

Mike Marangu: And they say his dad is locked up. He's in Folsom.

-He used to be on the block. How... -Yeah...

-What's that like for you? -Yeah, I...

I don't really know his-- I don't really know his dad like that,

but I heard a few things about him, and he was really out here.

He was a monster, you know what I mean?

That was the boogie man. We all went through,

you know, the gang life and the street life,

so our main focus is now

watching these kids flourish in sports

and keeping them out of trouble.

(rap continues)

Isaiah Evans: Now, I ain't never had a childhood.

I never got the chance to...

play hide-and-go-seek, or none of that type stuff.

I never did that.

It was always serious in my childhood.

I grew up, I grew up, in the streets.

-Levin: Have you lost friends? -Yeah, I lost plenty of friends.

Most definitely. I lost plenty of friends.

Look at that face!

Brown: I just hope he can go away to college and make that change.

I mean, he's a good athlete.

He just gotta-- I say he just gotta get away from here and go to college.

I don't care where I go. I just wanna go.

(crowd yelling)

-Student: Yeah, we in the building! -Students: Woo!

-Yeah, we in the building! -Woo!

(chanting continues)

(crowd cheering)

(chanting continues)

(music playing)

(crowd chatter)

(screaming)

(cheering continues)

Evans: My first two years here,

I was super goofy.

I was just being myself.

The myself that I ain't get to be

when I was younger.

That's why I'm, like,

hecka energized, goofy, friendly right now

'cause I'm just being me, the person that I've been wanting

to let out back then, but I couldn't let it out

because of the type of lifestyle I was living.

(crowd cheering)

Go, team, go!

Announcer: Number 10, Isaiah Evans, catches the punt at his own 3.

He breaks a tackle. Zay is turning on the jets.

He's at the 40, the 30,

cuts it back, 20, 10,

he's taking it all the way! Touchdown!

Zay Money scores a big-time return!

(crowd cheering)

Evans: I never really grew up with a father.

Hey, Zay, good job!

Evans: But then, when I had

Lavelle Hawkins come into my life,

that just turned my whole

world of thinking and everything different.

-(whistles blowing) -(field chatter)

Lavelle Hawkins: Isaiah has been a guy that I brought into my home

'cause they said he was gang- banging and all this stuff,

but I'm like, he don't seem like a bad dude.

He just needs some attention.

-(field chatter) -You know, Zay calls me Dad.

That's kinda weird to me, but I accept it.

Blue 18!

Hawkins: Basically, man, Zay came and spent the night

one night at my house, and I feel like he never left.

I don't wanna put him out 'cause he was doing so well.

Teacher: Alright, just correct it, just get that done.

Put your name on it at least, Luis, please.

Put your name on it.

Evans: It's a big step for me to graduate.

But, to be honest, it's a little step for me 'cause I got bigger goals

than to graduate. Graduating ain't nothing.

We're supposed to do that.

That's what I feel like I'm supposed to do.

But college, that's all I'm worried about.

That's the next step. That's the next level.

Tubbs: High school was interesting.

I've never been a real docile person.

I think now, as mayor, that's cool and it's like,

"That's why we like him. He's bold."

But as a teenager,

and particularly a high schooler, it was all bad.

I was in the International Baccalaureate program, the IB program.

Think I was one of two Black males in the program my year.

I remember just feeling a lot of tension.

I remember always feeling I had to fight.

So, I would get papers back, and I would have to make my teachers

regrade them 'cause I felt I wasn't graded fairly.

And I would literally have to go through and compare sort of

how they marked my papers versus how they marked

some of my friends' papers and find discrepancies.

Like, every single paper.

And it was like, "He's disrespectful,

he's defiant, he has an attitude."

I really just respond to

what I perceived as injustice

or, or tacit racism.

Nicholson: There was certain injustice

that he just wouldn't tolerat, so he would fight for.

He started out by being a little activist.

He wanted everybody to know in that class, you know?

Tubbs: I would do silly things like purposely

sag my pants right before I walked into class

'cause they'd talk about all the "saggers," so I'd come in,

sag, and get the highest grade with my pants halfway down.

Tubbs Sr.: I was pretty good in school.

I didn't even go most of the time, but I passed school.

I graduated on time. I was pretty smart.

My favorite class was economics.

I played basketball a little bit, football. I did sports,

but nothing held my interest, really.

Back in the early, mid '80s,

crack cocaine, that hit real big.

Stockton was the ideal spot for bigger city people to come out.

Gangsters in LA started migrating that way.

-The Crips had took over Stockton. -(police siren blaring)

I joined a gang, really caught myself having hometown pride.

Okay, they all Crips, I'm gonna be a Blood.

I'ma do something different than them.

(prison chatter)

Once I got involved in the streets a little bit,

it kinda took over, became my second home.

I created my own family within the streets.

I was just lost for a minute.

Jasmine Dellafosse: The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration

was leading a project to bring three murals to the city.

An artist did a mural of me,

and his goal was just really o do a person from the communit.

But no one told me I was going on this big old wall.

My name is Jasmine Dellafosse,

and I'm with the Stockton Schools Initiative.

My purpose and my calling is doing youth justice work

to dismantle the school to prison pipeline.

-Tubbs: Are you pushing that? - Yeah.

-Have you guys been going to board meetings? -Mm-hmm.

I have folders, folders

of just, like, kids.

These are all mostly Black and Brown kids

who've just gone under the radar,

who are all failing like at least

five or more of their classes,

and are not gonna be ready for A to G

when it comes to getting them to...

-Stockton Scholars. -...Stockton Scholars.

We had 40 kids who tested out using the app to do...

-To help them? -...just to like identify where trauma is.

Our biggest goal is telling kids like, "Hey,

"if you tell me you want to go to college,

based off of this, you're not gonna get there."

(indistinct chatter)

Tubbs: That group's probably our most important investment,

that the kids who are in the honors class

because it's important. I want everyone to know that

Stockton Scholars is for everybody,

and everyone includes them.

Michael. Nice to meet you, man.

Michael, nice to meet you, man.

(high school chatter)

Y'all good?

-Evans: Hey... -Tubbs: What's up, man?

Evans:

Oh, it's probably be zero.

But if you haven't filled out your FAFSA,

you gotta do that FAFSA thing first.

That's the thing 'cause you can't fill out

-the Stockton Scholars form till you do this thing. -The thing with FAFSA though was

I wanted my mom to be here because you know how you need

-the tax thing? -Yeah, you gotta do it with your parents.

Yeah, we're not gonna be able to fill it out, though.

-Are you emancipated? No? -Evans: No.

Tubbs: My mom was a senior when I was like one.

So when she was walking across the stage,

her friend brought me over.

So, there's a picture of me and my mom on stage.

Like she got her diploma, then she got me.

-What's your baby's name? Jeremiah. -Jeremiah.

Joy Almendarez: Oh, Jeremooty!

Here you go. Here you go.

I found out, and I was dating her at the time.

-Lemme see, I'm trying to look at your face. -Oh yeah, yeah, yeah...

-Can't go too far into it. -Ooh, ice cream.

Almendarez: I didn't tell her directly. I was like,

there's something in my stomach. Like, something you gotta know.

(indistinct)

-And I said, you pregnant? Like... -(laughs)

I wasn't mad that she was having a baby.

I was mad she cheated on me, and now she having a baby.

-I was cheating on her or whatever. -Right?

'Cause I'm not gay. I was going through a little phase.

-(Banks mouthing) -She was a little friend.

We still talk. Not like talk like that.

-Not like that, you know. -Yeah.

So...

This is his apples. I got you some apples.

I got you some apples. I was thinking about you.

Eugenia Nunez Coilton: It was hard at first,

and it really hurt me on the inside because she was young.

But I told her, I said your main focus is to finish high school

and graduate, and then after that,

we'll just roll with the punches.

Almendarez: I just thought my life was like over.

I didn't know how like the home study stuff worked,

so I was like, am I gonna keep going to school?

Then I told my mom. She was really, really mad,

but she doesn't believe in abortion, so.

She, like, told me to keep it and everything-- him.

(laughs) Keep him.

Crowd (singing): Happy birthday to you!

♪ Happy birthday, dear Michael ♪

♪ Happy birthday to you ♪

-Yay, Michael! -Blow out your candle!

Dixon: What made me continue to go to school was because

I knew people were talking about me.

Like, "Oh, she might as well give up.

You know, she's pregnant, so why go to school?"

So, when someone tell me what I can't do,

that motivates me to do it,

so I had to prove the world wrong.

Woman: Come on, Michael.

-You know how to blow. -I'm blowing!

Dixon: I thank God for my mom and my sister because we have

different personalities. I'm the strict one. My sister,

she's the nice one, and Michael always goes to

when he wants something.

Man: They're restraining Michael. He wants his birthday cake.

-(indistinct) -This brother is ready to eat.

Tasha Dixon: So, I always made sure we did fun things,

so we either went to the library,

the student story times.

We'd go home and I'd read to him all the time,

or I had the TV on Learning Channel.

And I never forget this. One time,

I had it on the Spanish channel

thinking that he was gonna learn some Spanish.

I didn't know it, but I figured the TV would teach him. (laugh)

But, I was trying to raise him, too.

Just wanted to make sure that they would be smart kids.

Nicholson: The three of us that really kind of

brought him up.

I would be more of the spiritual part.

When I came in and gave advice,

I would always make sure that they understood that

there is a God, that he's alive,

and, you know, what would God do.

Dixon: When he was born, I'd just see magazines and see TV shows,

and I'm like, "Why I can't have a child like that?

"If they could do it, why can't I do it?

Why can't I raise a child to become someone great?"

Chanting: 'Cause I am somebody,

and I won't be stopped by nobody.

I got my fist in the air, movement in my feet.

I got love for my people, and it starts with me.

Su voto !

(cars honking)

Tubbs: Winning and losing has real consequences.

Like, Hillary Clinton losing means kids are in cages.

Or the Republicans continuing to win seats

means that there's assault rifles gonna be at the church

or at the mosque or at the movie theater,

and have a tragedy happen.

So, I think the stakes are life and death in many respects.

Samuel Nunez: This is the most important midterm election

of our time right now.

We're gonna be choosing our school board in a city that has

the lowest literacy rate in the state,

the third worst in the nation, and that's important.

And the stakes are huge right now.

This is what democracy, as they say, looks like.

Tubbs: When I go vote in the ballot box,

I just remember the scripture when

Jesus says, "When I was hungry, did you feed me?

"When I was naked, did you clothe me?

"When I was in jail, did you visit me?

As you do to the least of these, you do unto me."

What Jesus didn't say is, "You have a preexisting condition,

so we're not gonna give you health care."

He didn't say that, "You didn't earn food, you didn't earn shelter,

you made too many mistakes." He also said

how we treat the least of these in our communities

are how we literally treat him.

Today's not just about today. It's really more about tomorrow,

what happens after. If we do that,

we'll make this city continue to come alive. So again,

thank you all for your leadership and your work.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results of it tonight.

(cheering and applause)

(TV chatter)

Tubbs: Scott Walker's losing. Hey-hey-hey! Turn it up.

How is Stacey Abrams doing?

Lopez: That was not looking too good earlier,

but a lot of room to grow.

Tubbs: It shouldn't be this close. People are crazy.

Reporter: Ted Cruz will remain in the Senate for another six years.

-Lopez: Gross. -Ugh!

Oh! I'm gonna cry!

I'm literally going to cry if Andrew doesn't win!

Oh, I'm gonna cry! Oh, that hurts.

I thought for sure he was gonna win!

Lopez: They're calling it. Democrats win House.

At least they don't have the House and the Senate.

They used to have the House and the damn Senate.

So look, I'm counting my blessings.

I think James Carville said it best when he said

anybody that was anticipating

a blue wave tonight's not gonna get it.

Maybe you get a ripple, but I certainly don't think

that there's a blue wave.

Tubbs: Election night, I was filled with a lot of guilt.

I remember seeing some of the results,

some of my council candidates who lost.

But, if you look at the vote totals,

it wasn't that many votes. And I was like, man,

if I had hosted three phone banks.

And then, nationally, good friends like Stacey Abrams

and Andrew Gillum not winning.

I just felt that maybe, my read on the world

or society or the city just wasn't really in line

with what people were actually feeling.

(clippers buzzing)

Barber 1: I've been cutting his hair since he was a kid, right?

He used to come and knock on the door.

We knew what time it was and who it was.

Every time he came and knocked on that door, I was like, man,

-it's this kid! -(laughs)

This guy got his haircut,

and he'd just be quiet the whole time!

Just quiet! I didn't know he was just being quiet

because he was thinking. I thought he was just quiet

'cause he was shy. (laughs) You know what I mean?

So, one day, man, I was thumbing through the internet,

and I was lookin',

and I seen him talking!

I said, man!

I feel cheated! (laughs)

Yeah, I was like, man, I feel cheated, man,

because I found out that you could talk like that

all of this time, man, and knew what you were doing.

So, he was just sittin' up there absorbing.

So, it really turns out that all the time, he'd been listening.

-(buzzing) -Barber 2:

Yeah. They can look and see where he came from,

look at his background,

his father, and stuff like that.

You can still do it. You know?

Tubbs: I remember being 12 and going.

I remember being on the bus with all women

because always the women who go to visit,

whether they're mothers or girlfriends.

I remember the guards looking at us

as if we had committed a crime.

134!

(prison chatter)

But what I remember most like leaving and just seeing how sad

everyone was. Like for 30 minutes, everybody was happy,

but then as we all left,

you hear the babies crying and the girlfriends crying

and the men are like really sad.

I just really told myself that I didn't wanna go back,

not because I didn't wanna see my father,

but I didn't wanna put myself through--

It was like a traumatic experience.

You have people living in cages.

It's like a perverse zoo in a way,

so that meeting stuck with me because I vowed to myself.

I said, I will never...

put myself, or I'll do my best not to put myself

in a situation where that will also be my destiny.

Tubbs Sr.: So, he come to see me.

I'm at Mill Creek State Prison at the time.

He's 12 years old.

He come in the visiting room. We sit down.

I tell him, I said, "Look around, tell me what you see."

And he said, "I see people visiting they family,

their loved ones." I told him, I said, "Well,

"me, I see, 'cause the society tells me,

"that you gonna be my cellie or somebody else's cellie

"because you're from a single parent home,

"your dad's in prison,

you're Black, you know," I scared him, I said,

"The deck is really stacked against you.

What you gonna do to show 'em different?"

And he told me, "I ain't never going to jail. Watch."

And every year since then, I got every report card he ever had.

Straight A's, couple B's,

just real proud, so, whatever, whatever,

whatever resonated in that conversation

really stuck to him 'cause he already made his mind up.

I don't if it was resentment toward me for not being there

or whatever, but he made his mind up

that he was never comin' to prison.

Protester: From Palestine to the Philippines...

Protesters: Stop the US war machine!

Protester: From Palestine to the Philippines...

Protesters: Stop the US war machine!

Tubbs: My freshman year in college,

I took a class on the civil rights movement.

And I was so moved by the activists

and the way they had sacrificed.

(cheering)

But they weren't necessarily in the halls of power

to make the decision.

So, the activism was dependent on someone

in office or with authority to make the change.

I remember I told my friends, I'ma take one for the team.

Brenda Vasquez: Monies from undisclosed

contributors is going into Mayor Tubbs' non-profit.

Woman: I'm not paying all your taxes,

and I sure as hell ain't paying it

for you kids to get scholarships

to go to college.

Tubbs: Governing is different because it's not as pretty,

it's not as fun, it's not as flashy.

We gotta remember that God knows every thought,

every act of every human.

(inhales) Suck it deep into your lungs and hold it.

I wanna invite you to eliminate

pornography from your lives.

Is there a motion to approve?

Motion carried six to zero.

Move on to item 13.1.

Lopez: We try to capture a lot of what the mayor's doing

through social media, but it's a challenge right now,

especially with this Trump era.

Because the negative stuff is just what gets the clicks,

gets the likes, gets the shares, and the positive stuff

isn't all that interesting sometimes.

So, it really is a struggle.

(shouting, arguing)

Ma'am, stop cussing in my chambers.

(shouting continues)

Lopez: Thinking back to when

Michael Tubbs became Mayor Tubbs,

those first couple of council meetings, they were ugly, man.

(indistinct shouting)

(shouting continues)

They were upset with Mayor Tubbs

for two situations that the cops had been involved in.

Well, both of those cases happened

way before Mayor Tubbs was even in office.

One speaker talked about,

"The haters are coming for you," speaking to me directly.

I didn't feel threatened, but let's make no mistake.

-Threats were made. -Lopez: And then when the protesters

stopped showing up, the media stopped showing up

'cause there was no story to tell.

But they made him look bad, and that was the ultimate goa.

Do hereby intend to recall Michael D. Tubbs

who has, and continues, to waste city money and resources.

Lopez: And then those same folks

come up with another idea later on.

Let's have a recall campaign.

And they're supposed to collect 15,000 signatures.

But when it came time to turn in the signatures,

guess how many signatures they turned in? Big fat zero.

I know when I'm on Fox News, I get all these tweets from

bots and people with zero followers about how

I'm ignorant and stupid and scum and socialist.

I fundamentally do not care. That stuff doesn't bother me.

I am incredibly inspired by the turnout from the community

for our point-in-time count of those who are homeless.

This count's important because it will help us

create solutions to the issue we have with

folks who can't afford housing or on the streets, etc.

What I love is policy and problem solving, and getting things done.

What's exciting, we have this coming where we have a bunch

of minor league teams here in downtown.

We have housing coming online next year.

We have new microbreweries, so downtown

is finally becoming a downtow, slowly but surely.

(crowd cheering)

I think they only thing bigger than my grin

and the grin of the council members, is the Amazon logo.

People are looking at Stockton not as a place to run from,

but a place to invest in and partner with.

If someone came here with some services, would you accept them?

Like if someone said, hey, I could put you in a program here.

You will?

My mom just texted me and said,

"You guys still need help counting the homeless?

I can call in." (laughs) It's like, no, Mom.

Good morning!

The issues we're trying to solve,

mainly violent crime, poverty,

and housing, and homelessness,

is gonna take more creativity and more collaboration.

And also more of a willingness to take some risk.

Reporter: 1,200 letters going out to Stockton homes offering

a chance at getting 500 bucks a month?

It's part of a universal basic income study.

The guaranteed income idea has its opponents.

Conservatives against government handouts,

and labor unions who want well-paid jobs,

not small payments with no opportunity for advancement.

Tubbs: I'm gearing up for disbursements in February.

-That's gonna be an interesting moment. -Oh man.

First we gotta get there, that's the interesting part.

They have some sort of algorithm that's going to

actually send out letters, so there's no application, thank God.

So, the computer will spit out letters

-to 1,000 people. -Andy Stern: Right.

They'll respond in kind, and from that group,

they'll create a treatment group and a control group,

um, and that should be done by December, January?

So then February, we can start

seeing what happens and start raising the floor.

It's amazing how much is happening here.

Tubbs: Slowly but surely, we're trending in the right direction.

-Yeah, but you... -Fast momentum.

(indistinct chatter)

Tubbs: To the students of the first

class of Stockton Scholars. You guys represent

a $2 million investment over four years.

You are truly your ancestors' wildest dreams.

For some of you, your parents left their homeland

and immigrated here and left everything behind for this day.

For some of you two, three generations,

your parents toiled in the fields,

dealt with racism and segregation

and being spat on and seeing signs in the city that said,

"No Blacks, no dogs, no Filipinos,"

but endured all that for this day,

and not because today is an ending,

but it's a beginning.

It's the acknowledgment that your future

is incredibly bright, and we cannot wait

to see what you do,

as you continue to grow and plant more seeds,

so that 10 years from now, 20 years from now,

every single kid in the city that you come from,

the city of Stockton, knows what it means

to be a Stockton Scholar. And is proud and says,

"Yes, I'm from Stockton."

And like a rose, we all grow from concrete.

So, thank you Stockton Scholars. I'm so proud.

-I'm looking forward to everything you guys do. -(applause)

-Thank you so much, man. -Tubbs: What are you gonna major in, graphic design?

-Photography. -Photography, awesome.

I think my plan is to go to photography,

and then get my credentials, and then probably come back

to Edison and teach photography.

-I'm in. Let me know how I can help. -Yeah. For sure.

Enjoy your day, man. Proud of you.

I'm speaking at your graduation, too!

Rogelio Vivero: Tubbs grew up in Stockton,

not always having money. Money was hard to come around.

I can just relate to that struggle.

My mother and father are both immigrants.

My dad is from Mexico, Mexico,

and my mom is from Sinaloa, Mexico.

It's very hard for them to make ends meet,

especially with my dad working in the fields.

He works in different fields in the mornings,

and then later, he goes to the onions at night,

you know, essentially working two jobs to make ends meet.

Stockton Scholars will make a difference for me

because then I don't have to worry

about my parents trying to help fund me

to go to college.

How many of you, show of hand, know what Stockton Scholars is

or have heard about it?

Basically, this scholarship is waiting for you.

Now, all you just need to do is just graduate.

Obviously, that's a long time from now.

You guys are still in eighth grade. You guys still haven't

made it to high school yet, but you guys will be there.

Rogelio was here,

sitting in the same spot here,

and now he's gonna go off to college.

I want you to see him

and I want you to believe in yourself

because this is you four years from now.

(indistinct)

Vivero: It's crazy how I got introducd into Stockton Scholars.

Two classes were chosen to go to the launching of the event,

and my class happened to be one of them,

and I actually tweeted at Tubbs, like,

"I can't wait for the event on the 16th,"

when they launched it.

And he DMed me and he was like,

"That's a secret!" And he followed me back,

-and I ended up getting in touch with him. -(laughs)

And through that, Lang reached out to me,

and he was like, "Tubbs asked if you wanted to be

one of the students on stage with the check."

And I was like, sure, why not? And then just ever since then,

I've been more connected with school than I ever have.

I'm holding you to that becoming a boomerang,

staying and coming back, getting your education,

coming back, and making our place better.

Not only a better place,

but a better world for our community.

Tubbs: I was in eighth grade in 2004,

so that's only 14 years ago.

If you had told me when I was an eighth grader

that in 14 years, I would be mayor of Stockton,

I would say you were crazy.

If someone in this circle said, "I'ma be mayor in 15 years,"

-would y'all believe that? -Girl: No way.

Right? 'Cause it seems like, how?

But you're looking at it. It happened and I am

no different than each and every one of you.

Oppression exists, like things just

aren't fair, things are unequal.

There's evil people in this world, and all that's real.

But, what's also just as real

is that your ancestors,

the folks that made you who you are,

they conquered all that and more.

And I think it's our responsibility,

especially in the next coming years,

to kind of live out their wildest dreams and be unconquerable as well.

Anthony Rodriguez: So if you have any question

you wanna ask the mayor of our city at this point...

-Alright. -(kids giggle)

Alright, um...

Can you ask the school board to make the school lunch better?

Tubbs: Yeah, eighth grade was never my jam.

Chill in the stands! Go to the stands!

Tubbs: It takes a special individual to teach eighth grade.

Go to the stands.

Tubbs: Anthony's a good friend.

I thought he was from Stockton.

Can we wait until you get, like, you're for sure in college,

-and my heart is okay? -What do you mean for sure?

-I'm going to college! -Thank you!

Tubbs: I said, wait, you're not even from Stockton, bro?

He's like "No, no, I'm staying

because I believe in the vision. I'm here."

He's a real soldier.

And then I also realized that

particularly this first class of Stockton Scholars,

a lot of them were in his eighth grade class.

-(glasses clinking) -Man: Cheers, guys.

Rodriguez: Here's a fun fact about me. In Santa Barbara,

when I was 18 years old, my friend just said,

"Hey, you wanna go skydiving this weekend?" I was like...

sure.

She said, "I'll pay for it." I was like, "Alright, let's go."

First time I got in the plane, I jumped out the plane.

-I would never go skydiving. I promise you. -Come on! Come on!

-I'll be down on the ground watching. -I would be down...

Luntao: What adventure thing would you do?

Live every day in America.

I'm not kidding, bro. I don't do none of that stuff.

-Wait, for sure? -I do meetings.

That's my adventure for the day.

I'm not-- No. Life is too hard.

We need to go skiing some weekend.

Rodriguez: I think we just need to do something real quick

'cause we're looking at number two here, man,

so we're brewing. We don't know, I don't wanna--

-Luntao: Let it be organic. -Yes, so--

Well, quietly, me and Anna are starting to try.

-Yeah? -Yeah.

Okay! Get it in before 30?

Tubbs: That's beautiful.

Drinking to Hasan, Martin, and me

being the most attractive uncles

-in the world. -(cheering)

And to some great fathers!

Tubbs: As I think about fatherhood and what that means.

I'm just even more impatient

with the way things are.

That's my wife. "Really?" she said.

"She was so nice. She took down my personal statement."

Aw, she's super sweet.

Tubbs: We're in Washington DC,

and she wasn't feeling well.

And she was like, "I think I might be pregnant."

I was like, "Yo, it'd be cool

if we found that out on Valentine's Day, right?"

She's like, yeah. It was like 10:30. "Let's go to Walgreens."

So, I call an Uber to Walgreens.

And it was funny 'cause we were all super dressed

and buy a pregnancy test.

And I remember joking saying,

"At least we're adults with jobs who planned this.

Like at least--" 'Cause it still felt weird.

But it's like, we're married.

This is a normal thing. It's not like something

to be ashamed of or something to be stressed about.

I was like, how'd y'all find this green juice place?

I didn't cry till I saw the ultrasound for the first time.

And then I was like bawling.

(crowd chatter)

Coach: Walk it out, Joy!

They keep their momentum, they could be good.

(chatter continues)

(whistle blows)

We're like, hey...

-Evans: I got a court date. -Can the coaches do something...

I did something back in the past

before I found myself, and it caught back up with me.

(scoreboard buzzer)

The charges are from a burglary.

-Levin: From how long ago? -Uh...

was it-- probably like two years ago.

I thought I was living my best life. (laughs)

I go to court, and they just put the ankle monitor on me.

It's house arrest.

But, if I'm at school, you know,

there's gotta be some good in that, so. (laughs)

That's why I'm at school 24/7 now.

Hawkins: But what happened with the ankle bracelet?

Tell me about that. How did that come about?

-Evans: Like, what's going on? -Hawkins: Yeah.

-Is this old stuff you said? -Evans: Yeah.

Hawkins: Old stuff? Like how they gonna bring up old stuff

if you been doing so well in school?

Evans: It's like them getting like a tip.

Like, say out of nowhere, somebody left outta town,

came back, and they gonna give them a tip on something.

-Hawkins: So when is the court date? -Evans: On Monday.

Hawkins: Oh. Well, you already know, man.

Like I keep telling you over and over and over.

It's your life,

but I think everything gonna be alright.

Evans: Yeah, I mean, the maximum

is 18 months,

but with that being said,

when it come down to it, you ain't gonna--

pretty much you have to do no time.

There gonna be a lot of community service.

-But you don't wanna do none of that. -I know. No, no, I don't--

You don't ever wanna be put on any papers with these people,

'cause once that thing start, it keep going. You feel me?

Dellafosse: Unfortunately, Isaiah doesn't understand that he's facing

serious charges, and so...

as we're putting our portfolio together,

um, I wanted to connect with you all here.

Does he have any more cases prior to this one?

-He had a prior. Armed robbery, too. -Had a prior?

-Home invasion. -Oh, so it's twice.

And then he also had a gun charge in 2017.

-That's what's gonna be hard. -2016.

-But that one was dropped. -Is he looking at a life sentence?

-He's looking at a life sentence. -Oh, wow.

-No one was killed though, right? -No, just on a robbery.

-Home invasions carry... -Kidnapping.

Kidnapping carries a life sentence.

-That's what it was. -We were talking about Michael Tubbs.

His dad didn't kill nobody. He's got, uh,

robbery with kidnapping or something.

And that's what he got, a life sentence.

-It's crazy how it's like very similar. -Yeah.

Tubbs Sr.: It was 1996.

I was doing a violation at that time

for a drug-related violation.

My ex-wife at the time was pregnant.

When my daughter was born, Makayla was born

February 14th, '96.

They called me to my counselor's office,

and they was like, "The doctor wanna speak to you."

So I knew something was wrong then. And, uh,

the doctor told me my daughter was born with, uh, birth defects.

She was blind, deaf, had a hole in her heart,

cleft palate, and he said that she probably wouldn't make it.

And maybe a week later, they end up

letting me out early on an ankle monitor.

I wasn't working at the time.

Didn't have no income whatsoever.

And, um, then one day,

like maybe almost a month later, the doctor called.

Was like, um, "She's not gonna make it. This is probably the last day.

We're gonna take her off the machine."

So, I get there. I wanted to take her outside.

She never left the hospital, never had fresh air.

She was always on the respirator.

So, I grabbed her in my arms, me...

and my two little brothers, we went outside.

And she died in my arms.

And, um, that night, I cut the ankle monitor

'cause they let me out on an ankle monitor.

I cut the ankle monitor off my leg, and, um...

I needed some money to bury my daughter, and I ended up...

some guys I knew that was in the drug game.

I ended up robbing 'em.

I didn't know it was a kidnap robbery.

We just moved them from one spot to another

to get some money, and I buried my daughter.

I ended up with about maybe $3,700.

It was 13 days after Mike's 5th birthday.

Coco didn't want him to go to the funeral at first.

And I talked to him. I was like, "Do you understand what's going on?"

And he did. He was like, "Yeah.

My sister's going to Heaven. I wanna go." And, uh,

when we rode in the limo, he's sitting next to me

like a little man. He had his little suit on.

He was like proud. He cried. It like...

I was happy and sad that day. I was proud of him for being

strong enough to know what was going on and understand it,

and I was proud of him for going with me, and I was sad

because I was burying my daughter,

so it was like a tough day for me.

And I've been in prison ever since. That was '96.

Tubbs: How's everything with you?

How's the youth organizing stuff going?

What happened?

Who?

(somber music playing)

Isaiah.

Tubbs:

I know.

He was already on probation.

-What were his priors? -Gun charges.

That little boy?

What? He's the sweetest little, he's...

When I came and spoke,

-he was like my little staffer! -Dellafosse: I know.

-He's like a sweetheart. -Yeah.

(sobs)

Bailiff: Be seated and come to order. The court is now in session.

The Honorable Gus Barrera presiding.

Alright, thank you. Good morning, good morning.

Let's go ahead and call the matter of Isaiah Evans.

Isaiah is present before the court.

Council, Mr. Hillenbrand,

Council for the people and probation.

This matter is open to the public pursuant...

Dellafosse: What's at stake is that life for a young person,

they get out at 25.

Life for an adult, like, is life.

Like you're there forever.

Tubbs: What's interesting about Isaiah's case

is it's the same DA's office that prosecuted Isaiah

also prosecuted my father and my uncles.

Just fascinating how, 29 years later,

you got the same DA's office,

similar circumstances.

Judge Barrera: Gonna come back on Wednesday and coordinate

with the co-responsible's attorney and then

figure out where we're going.

Tubbs: It's also interesting 'cause my dad was

in that facility when I was born.

So, it's also like kinda time travel,

going back and like talking to him,

even though it's not really him, if that makes sense.

If you look at the folks who are in our prisons,

most of them come from povert.

Most of them come from neighborhoods with bad school.

There's a bunch of things that correlate

to them individually being incarcerated.

I think the biggest challenge is that as a society,

we have to understand that people make individual choices,

for sure, and people should be held accountable

for their actions. But, at the same time,

we also need to be held accountable as a community

for the policy choices we make that create such

unequal neighborhoods and unequal inputs for people.

But that's much more difficult than locking somebody up...

-Thank you. -and locking them away so we don't have to see them.

Half those men in there have kids,

and they're all 19, 20, 21. Their kids are 2, 3, 4, 5.

So that was like, wow.

The cycle continues.

-(siren blaring) -(police radio chatter)

Reporter: Glass shattered,

three lives taken after gunfire

on Finland Avenue and F Street shortly after midnight.

Two people were dead inside the car:

18-year-old Tiffany Connary and her brother,

19-year-old David Connary. A third victim,

a close friend of the siblings,

18-year-old Remilio Castillo,

was transported to a hospital, but died.

Tubbs: Remilio was actually a student

in the Summer Success and Leadership Academy,

a program I co-founded at UOP.

So, I had lived with him for a week on campus.

This is deeply personal,

which is why I'm a little bit crazy about it

because it's like these aren't just random people

or random people's kids.

These are kids I grew up with or I taught.

Woman: How do you actually defuse

the violence and deescalate the violence?

Because I have never seen a community this stressed.

Eric Jones: We've got two very acute

paths we're on on this. One, solve the case.

The other one is preventing retaliation.

We don't want any more.

Christian Clegg: Peacekeepers and Advance Peace

have been all hands on deck,

and it's a hair-width away from retaliation...

-Tubbs: Hmm, yeah. -...some of the time and these--

these great-- these great outreach workers are just

holding the line.

(siren blaring)

Aguilar: We're really trying to save our community,

and how we do that is reaching out to our young ones

that are losing their lives. How old are you right now?

-Man: 20. -He's 20 years old,

seeing a young homie that just lost his life was 18 years old.

I got people calling me from prison, from youth authority.

I got at-risk kids, and I take them to Advance Peace,

and we get information from them

like what's going on in the streets.

Tubbs: Stockton's much more than tragedy.

And I think what makes Stockton so great

is that even when bad things happen,

we always find a way to rebound,

whether it's going from bankruptcy to being

the second most fiscally healthy city.

Whether it's having more homicides per capita

than Chicago and Afghanistan.

We always bounce back.

Aguilar: Stockton has been a victim

far too long of gun violence.

You know, a lot of us have lost loved ones

and family members and friends.

Thank you for the people that are being brave in coming here.

Some of us have just lost family members.

It's hard to have this conversation.

Rodriguez: Give me a situation,

especially to young teenagers here in Stockton,

that leave us shocked, okay? Mia.

-Mia: Death. -Rodriguez: Death.

I think us understanding that shocked

is something for us to really dig deep with

because of this whole thing with teens dying.

I've lost three kids this year,

and just thinking that one of them

was in my class,

hearing these lessons, sitting in my circles,

met Mr. Tubbs when he was a council member.

And now just really understanding that these things

really could happen to them.

Dellafosse: I think this is why we do this work, right?

Um... aaah!

I wasn't expecting to see Remy's mom here today.

What a tragic yet very sad thing

to happen in our community.

(chattering in Spanish)

And I when I think about Remy, I think about his resilience

and his amazing character that he had

and that he showed in our program.

And we were very honored to have him.

(chatter continues)

It's gonna take more than just elected officials.

It's gonna take all of us

to really change what is happening in our community.

(train crossing bell ringing)

Aguilar: Back in the late '80s and the early '90s,

Stockton was at a very low point,

and we had contributed to that.

Now, we're in our 40s coming home

after 20-something years in the prison system,

and little or nothing has changed,

and even now the violence has gone up.

How can we now make a difference

and try to like really let our community know

that we're not here to cause destruction?

We're here to cause healing.

(indistinct chatter)

Iyanla Vanzant: The trauma that we are experiencing is genetic.

It's historic.

It's ancestral.

And it's coming up to be healed.

So, I'm happy to be

in a government office that uses

the word "healing,"

-as opposed to "fix," "change," you know. -(murmured agreement)

It really is about healing to make whole again.

Woman: Our city is running rampant.

-Our children are running rampant, like you said-- -Vanzant: No.

-Let's re-language that. -Okay.

Vanzant: You are now becoming aware

-of where healing is required. -(murmured agreement)

-That's what you're seeing. -Okay.

Vanzant: So, we see the need for our children's healing,

and... (chuckles)

And we see...

the absence of our Black fathers

and our Brown fathers.

What do you have for your matriarchs?

What can-- What wisdom can you leave us?

It looks like the men are absent,

but at the same time,

their absence is causing the women to rise.

-A man is who his mother makes him. -(snapping)

A man is who his mother makes him.

Because her heartbeat, her voice,

is the first sound he hears.

(murmuring)

So, it starts from womb time,

her being able to

plant seeds that ultimately grow.

Yeah. So, don't-- don't despair.

Don't despair.

Nti-Asare-Tubbs: We put out a 160-page report last year.

It was the first ever report on the status of women in Stockton.

So that we know exactly how women are doing

compared to the rest of the women in the county,

the rest of the women in our state,

and the rest of the women in our country.

-(laughs) -You just blessed me.

Nti-Asare-Tubbs: There's huge intersections

between the SEED program and gender equity.

And when we think about single mothers

not having access to affordable childcare,

they might use that $500 for something like that.

And when we think about

victims of domestic violence

and their inability to leave an abusive partner,

$500 a month can really make a difference for them.

The biggest thing that I think Michael has said quite often

with SEED is the reason there's not

a training around what they need to do with the $500

is because we trust that they know what they need to do

to make their lives better or feel more secure

or reach for whatever goal or dream they have.

And I think especially in women's stories, we're gonna see that.

Reporter 1: We're getting the first batch of data

on a free money program in Stockton.

It started earlier this year, providing low-income residents

with $500 a month...

Reporter 2: According to the first data released,

40% went to food, 25% to merchandise,

and another 12% to pay utility bills.

Recipient 1: I paid down some credit card debt, got rid of a couple.

Recipient 2: It helps me get diapers, baby wipes.

Recipient 3: Paid all my bills. That was the biggest stress relief.

Recipient 4: Get a battery for my car.

Recipient 5: My son wanted to go to a football camp.

Recipient 6: I saved most of it, trying to find a good use for it.

Recipient 7: I can pay, finally, for my books that I need.

Recipient 8: I have a sick sister in Orego,

and I can't afford to always go to see her.

Recipient 9: Insurance won't cover it.

It's a huge burden off of our shoulders.

Recipient 9: My daughter's birthday just passed,

and it felt so nice to ask her what she wanted.

Magdalena Taitano: I saw it on TV,

and then I read it in the newspaper.

And we got this

letter and I looked at it,

and I said, "Oh my God.

Of all people in Stockton, they have my name."

(laughs)

I called them up and I said, "Is this real?" You know?

This is not the time for me to...

to refuse.

(voice breaking): My husband recently...

became disabled,

and-- I'm sorry.

And he cannot remember anything.

And he's...

you know, so right now, SEED is a big, big help

for me, for my-- for my everything.

Tubbs: I think I really enjoy having Stockton be centered

and ground zero for a discussion

that's not rooted in bankruptcy or foreclosures,

but it's rooted in like what could

a future social contract look like.

And then when that data's don, for the rest of history,

Stockton will be part of that conversation.

Whether you disagree or agree,

you're gonna have to cite the findings from Stockton,

the stories and people of Stockton.

Stockton's gonna help inform national thinking

about how do we create a fair economy.

Vivero: I'll be at San Joaquin Delta College,

majoring in photography.

I gotta do this for my family

because not only is it important to me,

but it's important to them.

Especially for my dad, who didn't finish high school,

and my mom as well.

(speaking Spanish)

Sí.

Almendarez: I'm going to MJC, which is in Modesto,

so I'm just gonna do two years there, and then,

after those two years, go to a university.

I think I'm gonna major in kinesiology

to be an athletic trainer or probably a PE teacher.

I think I will settle in Stockton 'cause I don't wanna leave my mom.

Hawkins: Isaiah was here, I wanna say, for about a year,

about a year and a half.

I had no problems. Zay'd go to school, went to practice,

and did what he was supposed to do, and everything was fine.

I mean all I know is it's pretty serious,

and I heard some things about them

trying to charge him as an adult.

Zay has been in some trouble,

but we gotta be honest about the situation.

As a young Black man,

I don't wanna say-- to use the word "war," but, dude,

it's tough out here for us.

And at the same time, I don't wanna feel sorry for us neither,

but that's why we gotta be

on top of our stuff twice as better.

And that's what I try to get Zay to understand is,

you got so many people that care about you.

It's not just me, you know.

It's a lot of people, from the principal

at Edison High School, the counselors,

to the people in the community and all the stuff.

And I've always told Zay, "Dude...

this is bigger than just you."

(cheering and applause)

Tubbs: I was first introduced to some of you guys

in eighth grade at Marshall Elementary School.

This year, I met some of you on Twitter.

And I am so incredibly proud.

I'm proud because I know for many of you,

you're the first one in your family to graduate high schoo,

much less college.

I'm incredibly proud because for many of you,

you've overcome poverty and obstacles

to get to where you are today.

(cheering)

I'll leave you with my favorite quote, and it's this.

"They tried to bury us,

but they didn't know we were seeds."

When I think of that quote,

I think of students like Emily and Joy,

who, in high school, made the tough decision

to have a child like my mothe,

and today, are walking this stage

as proud parents and proud graduates

on their way to higher education.

Emily and Joy, they tried to bury you,

but they didn't know that you were seeds.

And for every single graduate in this class,

growing up in South Stockton, know this.

They tried to bury you,

but they didn't know you were seeds.

Act like you know that.

Everywhere you walk belongs to you.

It's your house. We need you, and I expect to see

great things from you all, and congratulations.

(applause)

-Principal: Joy Almendarez. -(cheering)

Almendarez: The mayor's mom, you know, she had him at a young age,

and she walked the stage with him,

and he's like doing big things.

So, what I want for my son

is for him to get an education

because he's gonna be a young Black child growing up in Stockton.

Principal: Rogelio Vivero.

(cheering)

-Rihanna Vontealtine. -(cheering)

Clinton James Washington.

-(cheering continues) -Desiree...

Vivero: My parents had a lot of euphoria.

They were just glad.

They just wanted to see me walk that stage

'cause walking that stage is a big accomplishment,

and especially with all these killings, you know, the homicides.

You know, I lost some people, too.

And just to be able to walk that stage along with my friends

who I've known that lost people, too.

You know, it was just a great feeling.

(crowd chatter)

Dellafosse: Isaiah's name was in the program.

-(inaudible) - To know that

he wasn't physically there was a little overwhelming,

but I was cheering him on in spirit. He was in my heart.

(quiet chatter)

Tubbs Sr.: I dedicate this

to all the women who helped shape my life.

Without you, I would be lost.

My two boys, Michael Derrick Tubbs and Anthony Tubbs,

this is something for you so you will know

who your dad really is as a person.

The book I'm writing is called "Truth Be Told."

It's really a memoir to my sons.

It's my truth, and I gotta tell my son,

gotta let him know who I am.

When Audri came into my life, she was the one

who made me really see myself for who I really was

and not what I thought I was.

So then when Mike first got married, my wife said,

"You're gonna be a granddaddy soon." I was like, nah. I said,

"He got a plan right now. He's sticking to his plan."

She's like, "You gonna be a granddaddy soon."

So, it's happening. I'm proud. I'm glad.

That's what I'm looking most forward to,

meeting my grandchild.

I'm hoping I'll be able to go visit them.

(indistinct chatter)

Tubbs: I would rather the conversation happen

not in a prison, frankly.

But as I think about starting my own family,

having some sort of, like,

restart of a relationship, now that I'm a, I'm a man,

would probably be helpful.

I'm sure my child will realize that his grandfather

is in jail, but my hope for him

is that he's able to meet the person

behind the caricature or the character,

and have a relationship that's different than the relationshp

I had where that's just his granddad.

Dixon: I'm just so proud of my son Michael

and I'm so proud of Anna

that she's carrying my grandchild.

I know for a fact that

-my grandchild gonna be smart. -(laughter)

I'm just happy. And, you know,

with you carrying my baby, it makes me more connected to you--

-I mean my grand baby. (laughs) -(laughter)

(applause)

Tubbs: Being a father has been incredibly humanizing

in helping me understand both of my parents, actually.

Fosters a deep, deep, deep appreciation

for the work, particularly my mom being single,

and how hard it had to have been.

For my dad, just how difficult it must've been

to be like away from your son.

I don't like it when I'm on a business trip for three days,

much less 25, 26 years.

I'm sure that must've been terrible.

Evans: I've been stressed out so muc,

so much put on my shoulders that I just gotta deal with.

You know, a lot of kids, they got so much anger

built inside, especially when you lock down.

When you lock down, so much anger.

It's not nothing to bring me down.

It's just gonna make me work harder.

Like, I really wanna be a big help in my city,

and I'm saying this is, this is, this is a real story for me.

Dellafosse: For Isaiah, what we're hoping is that he goes to counseling.

He's still eligible for Stockton Scholars,

which means he can still obtain the $500.

He's eligible for Delta classes,

and we're enrolling him as we speak.

Evans: I love Jasmine on a whole 'nother level.

A lot of people, they done turned their back on me,

but Jasmine, no matter what, she was here for me

every step of the way.

Dellafosse: When Iyanla came to Stockton,

someone asked a question about how do you know when the work is done,

and she said, "When you die."

Regardless of who's gonna be here

in two years or four years,

that this work will still continue

because we're putting things in place

for folks to continue this work.

Nunez: Can we just hear it for Common real quick?

Show some Stockton love to Common?

(applause)

Common: This is inspiring for me to be here.

Like I really wanna say salutations to Stockton.

'Cause this is a good example of what

a city, um, maybe, hopefully, a state

and a nation, can be.

I come to communities and try to listen.

There is this school-to-prison pipeline

that exists in Stockton, and there have been

many people at the table who've been working to really

fight to dismantle that work,

and we're looking to shut down youth prisons across the state.

Aguilar: You know, I've always wanted to love this city,

Stockton. I love the city.

-And-and the city didn't love me back. -Common: Mm.

You know, as a kid, at 8 years old, I was already inside

foster care and the juvenile hall system.

By the time I was 15, I was already being tried

as an adult and sent to prison.

I ended up spending 26 years in the penitentiary.

And so, the system raised me when I wanted my city to love me.

Common: It wasn't on our minds to know to go to Stockton.

I'm just being real with you. It wasn't on our minds

until they pulled our coattails and said,

yo, we gotta hit these places,

and there's stuff going on here.

This place is being overlooked,

but it's issues, and it just

makes me know that like the leadership

can come from anywhere.

Y'all are really showing

a transformation on a holistic level.

-Photographer: Two, three, say Stockton. -All: Stockton!

("The People" by Common playing)

Tubbs: The phrase "upset the set-up" I stole from a friend.

I remember texting her like, "Yo, I'ma steal that for a speech."

It's an interesting play on the words.

It acknowledges that there is a set-up, there is a system,

there is a way things are designed.

But it's not fatalistic. It's not saying,

"Because of that, you can't do anything,"

or, "Because of that, we're stuck."

As Jasmine said, the work we'll be doing

for the rest of our lives, really,

is how do we upset the set-up?

We'll continue to push for a world

that gives everyone a chance.

-(crowd cheering, applause) -(indistinct)

...for everybody. For trans people,

for gay people, for straight people,

for Muslim people, for Sikh people, for Indian people,

for Black people, for white people, for Latinos, for Asians,

for every single person in this city.

We don't believe, but we demand justice,

and for that, tonight, we party.

(crowd cheering)

♪ This is street radio for unsung heroes ♪

♪ Riding in the regal, trying to stay legal ♪

♪ My daughter found Nemo, I found the new primo ♪

♪ Yeah, you know how we do, we do it for the people ♪

♪ And the struggle of the brothers and the folks ♪

♪ With lovers under dope, experiment to discover hopes ♪

♪ Scuffle for notes, the rougher I wrote ♪

♪ Times was harder ♪

♪ Went from rocky starter to the voice of a martyr ♪

♪ Why white folks focus on dogs and yoga ♪

♪ While people on the low end trying to ball and get over ♪

♪ Lyrics are like liquor for the fallen soldier ♪

♪ From the bounce to the ounce ♪

♪ It's all our culture, every day we hustlin' ♪

♪ Trying to get them custom rims ♪

♪ Law we ain't trusting them, thick broads we lust in them ♪

♪ Sick and tired of punching it ♪

♪ I look on the bus at them ♪

♪ When I see them struggling, I think how I'm touching them♪

♪ The days ♪

♪ Have come ♪

♪ Now we ♪

♪ Are one ♪

♪ Just take ♪

♪ Your time ♪

♪ And then ♪

♪ You'll find ♪

♪ This is street radio for unsung heroes ♪

♪ Riding in the regal, trying to stay legal ♪

♪ My daughter found Nemo, I found a new primo ♪

♪ Yeah, you know how we do, we do it for the people ♪

♪ The people said that I was sharp on TV at the Grammys ♪

♪ Though they tried to India.Arie me ♪

♪ Got backstage and I bumped into Stevie ♪

♪ He said no matter what, the people gon' see me ♪

♪ Can't leave rap alone, the streets need me ♪

♪ Hunger in they eyes is what seem to feed me ♪

♪ Inside peace mixed with beast seemed to breed me ♪

♪ Nobody believe until I believe me ♪

♪ Now I'm on the rise, doing business with my guys ♪

♪ Visions realize, music affected lives ♪

♪ A gift from the skies to be recognized ♪

♪ I'm keeping my eyes on the people, that's the prize ♪

♪ The days ♪

♪ Have come ♪

♪ Now we ♪

♪ Are one ♪

♪ Just take your time... ♪