I'm Kai Wright, this is the United States of anxiety, and we've been thinking a lot about

what motivates each of us to get involved, to try and make some kind of positive change

in our own communities.

We think it's got a lot to do with our own stories, what we've experienced, how we think

of ourselves, who we are, what we value.

So over the next several months, we want to meet people from all over the country,

who have stepped up in their immediate communities in some way.

We want to hear their stories, learn how those stories propelled them to try something new,

especially things that haven't quite worked out yet.

As always, we want to hear from you.

If you know someone we should meet, let us know.

But tonight, I want you to meet Michael Tubbs.

He was elected mayor of Stockton, California at 26 years old, making him the youngest

mayor of a major U.S. city ever, and the first black mayor of Stockton.

Everybody from Oprah to National Democratic Party operatives fond over him.

He was a Stanford graduate with this up from poverty personal story, the bright political

future, and a record of trying out bold ideas in a city that has faced many economic challenges

for many years.

But then he lost his reelection, by a lot.

There were political post mortems, of course.

But I think he tells the most interesting story himself.

His memoir, published last fall, is called The Deeper Roots, a memoir of hope and home.

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