10: Your Zip Code Doesn't Define Your Destiny

Our latest conversations with members 
of Yakama Nation, a community on the eastside of the Cascade Mountains in Washington state, provided us with unique stories and perspectives on the interconnectedness of policy, place, 
and people. Hear from some of the Yakama Nation members we spoke with as they describe their community in one word.

As we wrap up Zip Code Economies 1.5, we want to know how young people are faring. So we reconnect with Nefiso and Najmo Abdi, twin sisters we met as high schoolers from San Diego's tight-knit Somali community. Now in college and navigating the intersection of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests, they recognize you can't put a timeline on change. Instead, they focus on what they can—learning from this time of turmoil and making sure their voices are heard.

We reconnect with Mr. Sanchez, the 10th grade English teacher at Firebaugh High School, who is the definition of an essential worker in the pandemic. Racial and economic inequities have always existed in Firebaugh, and recent events have only magnified this reality. As lack of internet access threatens to cut students off from his class, Mr. Sanchez fights to ensure continued access to education as an act of social justice.

If the intergenerational transmission of hope is a journey, Lahela Williams is an ideal guide. A Native Hawaiian, she discusses the effects of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement in Honolulu, while drawing parallels with the fight to protect the sacred mountain, Mauna Kea. Through it all, we learn that from great chaos comes great change, and we have the "kuleana"—or responsibility—to maintain hope.

In our continued search for answers, we check in with Will Unga, a Pacific Islander raising his young kids in the predominately white, religious community of Salt Lake City. He walks us through his experiences, reminding us of our obligation to continually cultivate hope for the sake of both past and future generations.

In the first episode of Zip Code Economies 1.5, we reconnect with someone who understands how to nurture hope in others, even during the most difficult times. Pastor Paul Bains is a tireless advocate in East Palo Alto, especially on issues of justice and equality. Like tulips, we learn that hope can be buried for a time, but returns with patience, love, and perseverance.

Why do you still hope? That's the question we found ourselves asking in the middle of 2020 as the pandemic spread and our country reckoned with social injustice. To answer it, SF Fed CEO Mary Daly returns to some of the most memorable voices from Season 1—the ambassadors of hope who inspire us with their resilience in the face of adversity. The result is Zip Code Economies 1.5—a project we never intended to make, but that we can now never forget. Please join us for this special bonus series.

How can you change the narrative when the odds are stacked against you? We wrap up this season of Zip Code Economies back in San Diego, with a look at how education is creating new opportunities for not just students, but entire families. As a new generation moves forward as contributors in society, they're determined to not forget where they came from, while also embracing that zip code doesn't define their destiny. Interviewees: Katherine Field Reality Changers students Chanel Bradley Jacqueline Guan Sara Boquin Barrio Logan College Institute students Adelita Jasso Connie Snowden Organizations: Monarch School Reality Changers Barrio Logan College Institute

On our last stop this season, we land in San Diego facing a chicken or egg dilemma: Do communities create economies? Or is it the other way around? To help us solve that puzzle, we talk to the manager of a nonprofit, a hotel CEO, a Colonel in the Marines, and a Spanish teacher—people who might not seem to have much in common, but who have found a shared home in this fluid, ever-changing part of Southern California. Interviewees: Kristen Walker Colonel Jason Woodworth Robert Gleason Dan Watman Organizations: San Diego Workforce Partnership Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Evans Hotels Friends of Friendship Park

When you ask residents what makes Hawaii such a special place to live, one word comes up over and over again: "ohana." But what is "ohana"? In this episode of Zip Code Economies, we return to Honolulu to find out. Join us as we walk away with not just one definition of ohana, but many—all of which we hope to carry back to the mainland.  Interviewees: Michelle Kauhane Michael Bruno University of Hawai'i at Mānoa students Lahela Williams Shantel Jones Organizations: Hawaii Community Foundation University of Hawai'i at Mānoa Hawaiian Community Assets