tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight we look ahead at president obama's state of the union speech with erica garcetti . his speech will include addressing income inequality, something that affects all of us. zones,s about promise government funding and illuminating anti-equality. with toddll talk toner of chideo, designed champion causes -- of celebrities.

us.re glad you joined ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ tavis: president obama is set to deliver a state of the union speech tomorrow night.

it will include the rising inequality. visited three -- he has named three cities as promise zones, guaranteeing significant federal funding to eliminating inequality and poverty. joining us now, this is our mayor, eric garcetti. good to have you on this program. >> good to be here. it was said many years ago all politics is local. after the president gets a speech tomorrow night, what really matters is how it goes down in the city. what are you expecting? >> i am expecting some good empowering. you don't always have to wait for others to take action. but also to look not just to washington, d.c., but do find answers in our cities, to find .hem

i think it is incumbent on the cities of america to save bc now. we have seen recovery but not recovery for all. . think it is a personal thing i have heard the passion. i have heard him speak probably a thousand times. it was one of the best speeches i heard about a young man just like him in harlem and the pathway they have two success because people believe in them. tavis: in this chair not long .go set ben barber he wrote "mayors ruled the world ." >> that the great title. tavis: that's the point you made that it is time for cities to save the state of our nation. how do they go about doing that? wax los angeles is one example -- >> los angeles is one example. we are building infrastructure. the best light rails in the

country are breaking ground here. we just broke ground in crenshaw and south los angeles. does become catalysts for economic development and jobs. we are not waiting. angeles river, which we are revitalizing, or 10,000 new jobs i want to divide this summer. we cannot go with an empty hat. we might come with a two thirds or three quarters filled hat, but if we are sitting around waiting for this congress to gather, i think you are going to be waiting for a long time. tavis: what is your sense of how progressive cities are going to be and their leadership and public policy? is getting all sorts of ink these days about what people hope and expect. the west coast with our new young mayor eric garcetti. people are hoping your policies

are going to be more progressive than your predecessor. we are trying to get a sense for you of what you think this moment holds with progressive politics. >> this is a very big moment. we gathered 16 mayors who were elected. --i saw you and the block io next to eaching other. >> we have a sense of the camaraderie that the progress of work we do in this country has to come out of our backyard. whether it is use investment, whether it is infrastructure, whether it is trying to do environmental breakthroughs or international global trade. i am the mayor of a town that has the largest port in the country and the largest municipality.

it is going to come here in los angeles. i think all of us can share our best practices across the great cities. i think our best days are still ahead of us here in america, but it will come from the grassroots outward, not from washington. tavis: how do you do that when the federal government has made it abundantly clear states ought not to look to the federal government for funding? here in california evernham a good speech at the end of the year -- evernham brown just gave a big speech at the end of the year about trying to overturn the california economy, but cities are not getting what they used to get from states in the federal government. how do you do this? >> you have to be creative. you have to be an entrepreneur. you have to go out there and hustle. i have had ceos say, we love to hire 5, 10, 20 youth. you have to put it together

yourself, and you also have to look at your own municipality. we have been testing them your cell -- ourselves. we have been voting with two thirds majorities because people are tired of seeing a nation that won't reach the ladders of opportunity to our neediest neighborhoods. i think the american heart is still good. i think the american mind is still sharp. we have to make sure our cities do it on their own. don't think it is going to get much better anytime soon when people turn on cable channels and it is all about killing each other. tavis: if this is a do-nothing congress, no matter what the president says, what ultimately happens if the president is saying one thing and congress is not inclined to do much of anything? >> the president has a pen. the president has a phone. the president has executive power. sure, he can do more.

i had to introduce a motion and wait for it to go through committee. two or three years later i might have a new law. how i pick up the phone and tell someone to do it. if they i say, why not? the president has the power to do something. his approval rating is not that high, but it is still higher than congress. we will see a sense of optimism because we have been so down for four or five years. this president must lead with the optimism that the fines this country. tavis: there are two issues you raised that have been in the zeitgeist of political discourse of late. one is this notion of optimism. david and i were guests on abc a week or so together. we were discussing this on and part ofogram,

what has happened is people are shaken by the fact he didn't sound so optimistic. doing anything he was dialing back to power the presidency really had. let's talk about if he is as optimistic as he needs to be. >> he has always been a realist. he hasn't always given me the speech i want, but he has given me the speech i need. and i look at the inaugural speech, he said, this is the work we need to get done. i know he has been able to pull out things that move this nation . we had mitch mcconnell and ran paul, because kentucky was one of the areas chosen. the mayor of philadelphia -- those folks together all listened to this man talk about the personal experience from his heart of who he is. i think if he brings that -- it is not optimism. it is about getting the work done and saying, we don't have

to divide ourselves and think the best days are behind us. we know they are ahead. tavis: the other thing about this president, the critique that he has not used those tools pen, thehe phone, the executive privilege, the executive authority. your thoughts about why he has not used that as much as he might and why that is going to remain for his second term? >> i can only talk about my experience, but as a mayor i have never seen a guy that liked what he saw in december. he gave us an hour and a half with the mayor of chattanooga and the mayor of jersey city and the mayor of los angeles. each talked about what it feels like in their city right now. they kept in touch about these issues. i cannot speak to the past. i can only speak to my experience. i think he understands the clock is ticking. there is a sense of urgency and

promoting the middle class, and i think this will be a tipping point to get those things done. tavis: i started getting calls from communities. i don't just do talk shows. i am a business owner. i am an entrepreneur. my business is on crenshaw boulevard. since i live and work there, everybody calls me and said, make sure you ask the mayor about these thomas zones. there has been great talk in the african-american community that -- i amis was done asking what you say to those persons who live in the neediest neighborhoods in the city, those black and brown neighborhoods, any of which were left out of the problem zone. int do you say to black folk l.a. who live in these needy neighborhood to our left out? they are our

initiatives across the city. the crenshaw line in l.a. people in high poverty areas say, when his hours coming? other say, why not us? this will be great for all of .a. promise zones give us additional points when we apply the money. as you said before i got there that area had not been designated for a qualifying grant, so we could not apply it, but i am determined to make sure some of the money would go to other parts of the city to connect into that, south l.a., the eastside. so i understand this is not replicated across the country, how does an area as needy as south-central -- we all know about east l.a. -- how do areas like that not qualify? >> this was a technicality.

we had to have a previous spending grant before we could apply for the promise zone. for the first grant. for the second or third i believe they might change the rules. you don't just apply for the grant for one part of town. you could apply for multiple pieces. this will bring money to south l.a., east l.a. tavis: your comment raises the next question. what does it matter if the promised loans promise everything but money? asked isestion you there is no new money nbc the small thing about promise zones is it layers different things. if a smart person dropped out of high school it may be the neighborhood, bad transportation, no afterschool programs, no health care. instead of the shotgun approach in multiple places, let's concentrate to the harlem children's zone did and see if we cannot get pathways out of poverty.

the first grant we are applying for is going to go to two high schools in the promise zone. we will look at services so the young person we know who might drop out of school because of a bunch of issues he or she faces will finally get a chance to graduate and go to college. to me that is what is different. at a time of no new dollars they are finally getting smart about how to spend it. york is these new media capital of the world and expectations have been raised so high, this has become a national conversation about where cities are heading and whether policy will be more progressive in responding to the needs of everyday people who are suffering from the growing gap between the rich and the rest of us. howlasio had a platform for he wants to be judged. i close by asking how do you want to be judged in four years?

>> i would like to see los angeles as a great global it way the world looks to as a platform to ring jobs, business, and international trade, culture -- to bring jobs, business, and international trade, culture and commerce. we used to be there. we would not down any barrier to make sure something was tested here first. i want to bring science technology, and education so that we develop not just in the wealthy areas but our poorest neighborhoods. i want infrastructure that gets people to their job and doesn't get them stuck in traffic. i want to make sure we reduce unemployment and the long term unemployment, those 40% of people who have been out of work for more than a year, whether they are coming back from prison, with her they are veterans, or youth graduates for the first time, that they find their way to a job, a career in

the middle class. welcome the mayor. i hope to see you a few more times. good to have you on. coming up, a conversation with todd wagner about a new project. it is a digital platform for changing the world. it.will want to hear about stay tuned. we are back in just a moment. ♪ finding a new way to engage and encourage people to change the world for the better has promoted movie producer and internet on the north hot wagner to greet a digital platform called chideo, which is all about raising money for causes of celebrities. he will -- a short video will introduce the project, and we

will talk to todd about how it works. kind with is one-of-a- a conscience. chideo. >> you are going to love what we do. >> watch things change. i am excited to have you on the program. i jumped so fast because i am so excited about what i think this can do, how revolutionary i think chideo can be. let me start with the beginning. what is chideo? >> it is charity and video smudged together. i think of it as kind of an old- fashioned phone booth where people are calling in -- you have got 60 people standing by

the phones and waiting to hear what it is him and he wants, so it is as if, what do i want to somebodyhat it is wants, so it is as if, what do i want to know? byis like having celebrities the phone saying, what do you want to know? what i like about this platform is it is about fan empowerment. if there is one thing i like about this it is that the consumer is in charge. the beauty of this platform is they decide the things they want these celebrities they passionately follow to do, but it is all in the name of charity. tavis: the marquis reference does your friend, that would be mark cuban. here is my chance for a plug. you know the indiana university connection. go hoosiers. back to what we are talking about. we know what city it is.

it actually works for fans. >> it is kind of depending on who it is. you can search for a celebrity you follow or a charity. it is also a chance for you to ask a question to a celebrity. then i can come and vote on it. the idea is the celebrity goes, that is something people want to know about. that is something they are interested in. for don henley it could be a drum lesson. it could be condoleezza rice saying, what was it like to give president bush bad news. it is like getting this fun vicarious thrill, but you are also giving back by doing it. we think of it as democratizing todraising, taking it out the masses. fundraising has been stuck at

two percent of gdp for 40 years. online giving, even though we have had the internet for a long time, is that eight percent of total giving. we are saying, what if we thought about it differently? what if we made it fun? i call it the smiling child. instead of trying to guilt you, let's entertain near. >> you think this has the capability not just to democratize but to innovate a way we fund raise? >> i absolutely do. when i met with president clinton i got about halfway through the pitch of what we talk about, and he looked up at .e always two steps ahead of everyone. >> he asked me all kinds of things because he saw what the potential could be. the same thing with condoleezza rice. she had an interesting story andt learning a piano piece

the small amount the event actually netted. there are all these stories that every celebrity who is very passionate about the cause has when they have gone through the rigors of fundraising, what it might actually net, so the whole idea is what if we could make it fun? that is the point. tavis: i guess that speaks to why there are so many celebrities who have already jumped at this opportunity. i was just looking at this list. i am pleased to be one of the ambassadors. i get why celebrities are jumping at this opportunity to do some good, because it is fun. it is innovative. there is an ees that -- an ease that makes it doable. give us an idea of the range of celebrities who signed up for this. >> we have over 60 celebrities. we will probably announce

another 10 tomorrow. it is everyone from bradley cooper to morgan freeman to president clinton to chefs, two nascar drivers, two usc fighters. the whole idea is everyone is a fan of something. the bull something they are interested in and allow the to participate in process. the job was complicated. our job is to make it easy. the celebrity can push two buttons and be able to interact with the fans. for the fans we hope it is fun. we hope they say, this is entertaining. last year $3 billion industry for social gaming online -- you have in itunes industry that is $12 billion and growing. people are used to pushing a button and one dollar 99 goes away. the behaviorp into

people have to be entertained, do something good with it. instead of trying to push somebody or guilt them, let's try to make them have fun doing it. tavis: people like you and mark cuban don't do anything just for the fun of it. there is a greater good you are trying to accomplish here. give me more of what you think you can accomplish and how revolutionary. you can do think here? how revolutionary can this be for fundraising? >> i think it has the potential to be a big thing. we haven't done anything yet, havee have a spent -- we spent a year building the platform. i am going to try really hard to make this work. aretime you entrepreneurial about something, people first reaction is no. then it is, let me understand it, and then they adjust to it.

fundraiser, we shake a few hands, we do a meet and greet. this is a whole different way to think about it, that i view it as the future. it is no different from amazon. they were selling a few books online, and people said, i can already buy the books over here. technology is a funny thing. it never goes as far as you thought it would in five years and further than you thought in 10. sometimes you wake up, and it happened. i am not saying this is the answer, but i do think it is the future. anyone with a smart phone or a connection to the internet anywhere in the world is a potential donor. if you are someone who has fans around the world you have the ability to reach them because they are not going to be able to buy that $10,000 table at a charity event. that is the point of this, getting it out to a lot of people and letting them feel part of the process. tavis: anything he puts his

hands to pretty much turns to gold, and i am predicting big things for this new ,undraiser tool called chideo charity and video. forth to thego fundraising community that there is a new tool to try to do some good to make the world a better place to live. -- launches chideo tomorrow. go online and check it out. i think you will be as impressed as i am. thanks for having you and for your work. that is our show for tonight. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation wijd po writer -- for a conversation with

cheetah rivera about her one- woman show. that's next time. we will see you then. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

♪ hello and welcome to "this is us." i'm beca king reed. this week we're at the emma prush farm park in downtown san jose, a working farm from 1870 to 1969 and a great place to bring kids to get that farm experience. we'll play with some animals, not just these guys, real farm animals and we'll give you a look at life on the farm. we'll also meet two local human rights advocates who spent their lives battling injustice, playwright and film director luis valdez, the man behind "zoot suit" and "la bamba." who grew up near here, the child of migrant farm workers. you'll also meet ais