Stockton Is Magnificent?

Original Piece 2019

If one were to think of the state of California, I can almost guarantee that Stockton does not come to mind. Major cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco are what act as our representatives in this state. That is not to say that Stockton is non existent to the outside world. No, I am sure we have not gone unseen. The violent streets and increase in gangs throughout the city have landed us on the list of America’s top 10 most dangerous cities. Many of us here in the city limits have called Stockton home for many years. Love it or hate it, this is where our history lies. This is where our stories are told.

Up until recently I never knew how well-known the city of Stockton was to the rest of the country. Unfortunately, it is not well-known for the best reasons. I recently became hooked on the Netflix original serious, On My Block. I was shocked when one of the characters was giving another character a pep talk and told her to be like a “fiery 19-year-old from Stockton.” I’d just like to point out the context to this scene was when the protagonist was trying to illegally smuggle money that did not belong to her. It was this act that she felt that she needed to act like she was from Stockton.

Lovely.

Being a Stocktonian for 20 years, I had never personally experienced an account of violence or financial instability, but I know it exists. I know that Stockton will always have its reputation. It will always be the place where the deadliest US school shooting of the 1980’s took place. It will always be the place where threats of gang violence terrorized the lives of innocent people. It will always be the place where we the locals struggle to find hope. These ideas lead me to wonder about how Stockton came to be this way. Was it always like this? Or did some significant event of the past forever change the future that Stockton would hold?

During the 1800’s, Stockton took part in the great boom that was the gold rush. Located just south of Sacramento, where an abundance of gold was found, Stockton was in the perfect location for miners to pass through. However, Stockton’s founder, Charles M. Weber, decided to turn the settlement into a commercial center to tend to the needs to the gold miners. It was from this time in history that would lead the city to be a convenient trading and commercial center location. Perhaps the presence of gold miners in the area led the way for the future population of Stockton. From the knowledge I have about the gold rush, miners had very slim chances of finding enough gold to consider themselves wealthy individuals. Even so, they continued to work hard in hopes of finding even the slightest amount of gold. According to the City of Stockton website, “Stockton has been culturally and ethnically diverse since its beginning as a muddy-street gold-rush camp.” Maybe this was the event that started it all. If this town started as a “muddy-street gold-rush camp,” then it's no surprise that the concept of prosperity would always be an issue.

If there is one thing I remember from years of learning at my elementary school, it is that I spent the entirety of fourth grade learning about the adventurous days of the gold rush and the harsh lives of the miners, who we referred to as the “49er’s.” Our history class consisted of us reading countless words from our textbooks about the “striking it rich” movement that shaped California and watching movies about Hollywood’s take on this era. I remember the highlight of being in Mrs. Rainwater’s fourth grade class was the trip to Coloma she would take every year. Not only was it the first time I was able to leave home for more than one night, but we had the chance to visit a goldmining sight and experience it as if we were miners. The comical thing about all of this, however, is that it was not until recently that I even knew Stockton played a part in the Gold Rush. I spent a whole year learning about all the different aspects of this time in history and not once was Stockton mentioned. Was it simply because this city was never mentioned in textbooks and therefore never thought of as important to mention? Or was it because there is an underlying sense of shame or embarrassment when it comes to discussing the town that all of us in that fourth-grade class called our home?

Following the Gold Rush, Stockton needed a new industry to focus their economic growth on, so they turned to agriculture. Due to the “combination of rich peat soil and a temperate climate, ...Stockton [has become] one of the richest agricultural regions and dairy regions in California.” Not only did the land make Stockton an ideal place for farming, but the growth of agriculture led to some major advancements in the industry. Some of the most used farming technologies and techniques were actually invented locally. The Stockton Gang Plow was invented by the Holt Manufacturing Company right here in our own backyard. The invention of farming machinery and the growth of other industries made Stockton, “one of the most industrialized cities in California by the end of the nineteenth century.” Once again, Stockton’s location and environment has allowed for a booming industry as an industrial and transportation center. The delta waterway allows for massive ships and barges to come into the port every day, transporting goods from all over the world. Not only was this development successful for the city itself, but it paved a way for the industry to grow throughout California, as it was the first inland port ever to open in the state. So, if it appears that Stockton was so profitable in its earliest days, what happened? Why is the word “bankrupt” one of the first adjectives used to describe the city?

Growing up I constantly heard my parents at the dinner table discussing the issues of Stockton and how each year it was closer to reaching bankruptcy. I was not very concerned with the issue at the time until one day I heard my mom finally say it.

“Stockton filed for bankruptcy.”

This idea did not affect me personally, being a student who did not participate in the economy, yet it was still disheartening to hear. It turns out that acts from the late 1990’s eventually caught up, leading the city to face financial despair. In 1996, “it was a decision that gave firefighters full healthcare in retirement.” When workers in the union began to request higher wages and health care benefits, the leaders of the city made the mistake of believing they could help more than they could. Rather than providing higher wages, they made an agreement to provide healthcare benefits. Unfortunately, over the years, healthcare has only increased in costs. Therefore, led Stockton to eventually grow into deeper and deeper debt. This situation has been related various instances to the “Ponzi Scheme,” which does not provide a good reputation for the city.

However, for some, Stockton is not always seen in such a bad light. The city, along with its leading members, are making efforts into improving its most pressing issues. The Business Council of Stockton is striving to make a change for the community and businesswoman, Leticia Gutierrez, is taking part in this mission. Unlike many, Gutierrez has hope for the betterment of not only the city itself, but how outsiders perceive it. She admits, “every city has good and bad things about it,” and that while there may be some negative connotations about the city, “Stockton has a lot of opportunities.” It is Stockton, California where Gutierrez was able to start her own business and successfully grow it over the course of the past 10 years. While having the role as a business owner in a struggling city is difficult, Gutierrez understands that, “change cannot happen overnight. But Stockton has so much potential.” It is opinions such as these that leave me conflicted. I am very much aware of the idea that Stockton has many good aspects to it, yet I do not always think about this city in a thriving manner. If there are those who have significant experience in participating in Stockton’s economy that have hope, then what is the issue?

I fear it’s the violence.

When the city made the decision to provide more benefits and higher wages for employees, they needed to cut back somewhere. Unfortunately, that cut back was made on careers like police officers and firefighters. It’s no wonder that it seems as though every week there are cases of shootings or robberies in the area; the city has been forced to limit its protection. The current situation has turned into a scare for the residence of the city. However, the reality is this: “the police force has shrunk by about 100 officers, or about 25%, in the last two years. Residents report long wait-times after making 911 calls, and police only respond to emergencies.” It has come to a point where Stocktonians simply cannot rely on their own city to provide the safety every citizen deserves.

If the leaders of the city know the source of the dangers that occur amongst the streets, then why is this situation not getting any better? Should the mayor be blamed? On May 5, 2019, 30 individuals had been shot in the last 30 days. That is one person shot every day for 30 days straight. According to the 209Times, “homicides have increased 67% this year compared to the same point last year. No press conference has been called. No statement from the police chief or district attorney. Nothing.” This is why there is a desire to get out or why there is a lack of hope in their own home. This is why people want change; why on every social media post #reinventstockton stamps every picture that refers to the city.

It was 1989 when Stocktonian Peter West shot fire on innocent school children at Cleveland Elementary School. Before shooting himself to death, West killed, “Five children between 6 and 9 years old, all of them refugees from Southeast Asia, … and [wounded] more than 30 people.” It was on this day that Stockton would make history. Stockton is the site of the first inland port in California and it was the site of a large gold miner commercial center. Yet, those points of history might as well be forgotten. Stockton will forever be known as the city where the deadliest shooting of the 1980’s occurred.

Within these walls as the shooting took place was my grandmother, Maria Robles, working as a teacher’s aide at the time. She says that the biggest impact that this event made on the city was that it made, “people more aware and cautious of the violence that really occurred throughout the community.” When Robles moved to Stockton in 1973, she described the city as, “humble, quiet, and non-progressive.” However, now, in 2019, she describes the city as, yes, “bigger”, but also with “an increase in crime.” It appears the first thing people think of when they think of Stockton is its abundance of crime. It's sad really. Over the past several years, however, the source of the crime has shifted.

Yes, there are mass amounts of shootings each year that affect the lives of thousands of innocent people. But the source of the violence, specifically gun violence, today in Stockton stems from gangs. More specifically, gangs that work in the drug business. How did Stockton attain this issue? It is because, “we are a warehouse to the Bay Area. Some drugs come to us from Mexico. Others come from rural areas to us. Methamphetamine and Marijuana come from Northern California and Washington along on Route 5, just like a lot of other things." It is no wonder that Stockton made number one on a list known as “The Top 20 Most Miserable Cities” in America. Not only are the true major industry products that are completely illegal, but these products are causing conflicts amongst the gangs that sell them, which in turn harm the rest of the city’s population.

I remember I was in my F period choir class when my teacher, Mr. Tanner, received the alarming email. As we waited for the class to begin to practice the array of musical notes we had been taught to perform at the end of the year, Mr. Tanner rushed to the door to quickly lock it. He asked students to help him tape papers to the walls so that no one from the outside could see us, helpless students, on the inside. While he tried to remain calm, we could all see it in his face; something was wrong. We later learned that we were on lockdown, as an individual was spotted with a gun near campus. I remember hearing my religion teacher outside yelling at students to get inside. The individual was later found to not be a threat. It wasn’t even an extreme incident. Yet, we were all so quick to believe that we were all in danger. We were in Stockton; the violence was not hard to believe. After this incident a major campaign started to fence the school so that no outsider could easily get in.

I recently paid a visit to St. Mary’s where I saw my old high school that had been a staple institution in the Stockton community for over 100 years be constricted by metal fences. Even they have lost hope for a safe community. If what was supposed to be the safest high school in the area has fallen to a great fear of a lack of safety, then I genuinely do not know what the future holds for this community.

My goal is not to bash Stockton and point out everything that is wrong with this city. While I have struggled with my feelings towards Stockton, I do not hate it. If anything, it is the opposite. My goal is, however, to bring awareness to those who also call this place home. Living here for all these years has introduced me to the true feelings Stocktonians have on their own city. We have the potential to change this. It is up to us to make a difference. If I can convince even one person of the potential this city holds, I have succeeded. The future is in our hands and we can do with it what we want. We just need to decide how much we truly love our city, our home.