lange luntao

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. I decided to host a Townhall Meeting and bring together as many of the voices featured in the radio documentary series to update the community and listeners on their work as well as engage with the community on issues and solutions.

Nicholas Hatten, founder of San Joaquin Pride Center and Michael Tubbs campaign manager for City of Stockton Council person seat who is featured in episode two of the documentary series and I also wanted to bring together the Nonprofit Social Justice All-Star Collaborative and the Collaborative's San Joaquin County Youth Council to develop the Townhall meeting into the State of Our Youth: A Stockton Townhall Meeting.

The Townhall Meeting provides both our voices of youth and adult community leaders an opportunity to share their work in the community, issues they want to see addressed and actions that community members can engage in to reinvent the City of Stockton.

The Nonprofit Social Justice All-Star Collaborative and the San Joaquin County Youth Council proudly announced their Youth Manifesto, a collective groundbreaking pledge towards equity and resilience for Stockton area youth.

Longtime Stockton Record newspaper columnist Michael Fitzgerald emceed the three-hour event, which featured, two-panel discussions and spoken word performances at Franklin High School’s auditorium in the City of Stockton.

Stockton native spoken word artist Brandon Leake performed the opening and closing of the Townhall event. Michael Fitzgerald delivered remarks on Stockton, present, and future. Fitzgerald then moderated a panel of Youth Council members. The young leaders related what they are doing to better the city and further efforts needed.

The second panel features the activists who appear in the radio documentary “From Bankruptcy to Reinvention – The City of Stockton California:” Included are Lange Luntao, president of Stockton Unified Board of Trustees, Jasmine Dellafosse, senior regional organizer for The Gathering for Justice,founding member of RSSC and the Stockton School Initiative, Sammy Nunez, executive director of Fathers and Families of San Joaquin, Fred Sheil, administrator of STAND, Dillon Delvo of Little Manila Rising and others.

Stockton poet laureate Tamma Brisbane, Rhodesia Ransom and Sammy Nunez with Youth Council members presented the youth manifesto.

The goal of producing the Townhall event was to identify the issues facing Stockton, the solutions that people have been working on, as well as new solutions that people can come together with -- and most importantly for people in the community to step up and participate.

Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page 

Lange Luntao is the Director of the Stockton Scholars and the Executive Director of the Reinvent Stockton Foundation, a charitable organization that aims to expand opportunity and build hope by attracting resources into Stockton and investing in our city's people. A third-generation teacher who was born and raised in Stockton. Lange returned to Stockton in 2012 to work in public service and education - first as the Field Director for the successful campaign to elect Michael Tubbs to the Stockton City Council.

Stockton, California is a city on the rise. Once the foreclosure capital of America and the largest city before Detroit to declare bankruptcy, Stockton is now ranked the second most fiscally solvent city in the nation. But despite this progress, problems persist and the people of Stockton, especially our youth, remain behind the rest of the nation. Only 35% of our students are college-ready by graduation, and we have a youth unemployment rate that exceeds 30%. Get Involved and become a Student Ambassador http://www.stocktonscholars.org/get-involved/ You can also donate to the Reinvention of Stockton at http://reinventstockton.org/support/

Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page 

In this unedited 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. Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page