ron mott, nbc news, new orleans. >>> actor wendell pierce jones me in the studio now. can you see him on "the michael j. fox show" on nbc. thank you for taking the time to be here and congratulates on what you have done. it's really amazing. >> thank you. >> what strikes me is you found these food deserts. clearly, other people know about this but didn't think the demand was there. you look eight and say, no, there is demand. >> first of all, it came from the response to katrina. my community was destroyed. i started to realize the commercial districts weren't coming back as well. i put out a call to action and once we demonstrated that it was coming back, american industry would gladly tap into that market pleas. i realized there were so many areas not just because of our disaster but for whatever reasons american industry was risk adverse and they weren't coming in. i thought that's not true. i know those communities. i know how they are populated people who demonstrated loyalty to your product and brand and traveled the distance to get to your store to demonstrate t

now, wendell pierce is a high profile foodie and food centric new orleans.eal life role bringing much needed action to parts of his home town. launching a chain of grocery and convenience stores. >> i'm glad they have those things in here. >> in places where fresh food can be hard to find. >> i said to my partners, it's an opportunity to do well and do good. so let's go into the grocery store business. that's how sterling farms was born. this is my house where i grew up. >> after katrina flooded his wi childhood home, the actor got busy rebuilding pontchartrain park. among the country's first middle-class enclaves for blacks, but critical services like grocery stores remain elusive, a glaring problem pierce wants to solve, adding scores of jobs in the process. >> he's a roll up your sleeves kind of leader. he's not your typical celebrity pretty face who threw money at a deal. >> sterling farms is opening in what is called a food desert. a neighborhood where it's over a mile to the nearest supermarket where there is a lack of private transportation. he's addr

tonight, conversation with wendell pierce. he is currently costarring in the new nbc comedy series "the michael j. fox show" and is reprising his role as antoine batiste on the emmy-winning "tremÉ." he returns to hbo this sunday for his final five episodes. a conversation with wendell pierce coming up right now. ♪ ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: wendell pierce, a successful career means taking on a wide array -- wide array of diverse characters. he is on "the michael j. fox show." essedays a ratings-obs producer. he also plays in "tremÉ." it's final season on hbo. before we start our conversation, a look at a scene from "tremÉ." >> i love it when dan comes in on the vocals. they used to do that a lot in the old days. it always cracked me up. >> call and response? >> yeah, that's right. the guys in back go, we love all. ♪ ♪ [laughter] says: i said a moment ago, it ain't so, but as it turns out, this has been a pretty good run for a series that come if you looked at it on pa

[ cheers and applause ] >> we're back with wendell pierce and don lemon.us is chef roy choi. he's the author of the book "l.a. son." >> you're not a bad son, actually. i was surprised. >> no, i'm not. it seems nowadays somebody with a gun is shooting somebody. as many people in red state and gun country america, they like guns. i have to admit. i like guns. i like holding guns. i like shooting guns. i don't think i necessarily want my neighbor to have a gun, but i'm ambivalent. can the two -- this is more than anything else, i felt as i've come to know my own country, can the two americas be reconciled? this is a cultural thing more than really about the issues. there are now 2.5 million ar-15s in america. we clearly love them. and similar weapons, similar-type weapons. you've got 4 million. is that necessarily a bad thing? i'm going to ask you, roy choi, because i know of all the people i know you are the most good hearted, peaceful, socially conscious. i suspect you of leftyism. i don't think you're a buddhist, but you live a buddhist-like life in which

wendell pierce?thing you think about -- >> i think -- first of all, it shouldn't come down to economics. but it makes economic sense. you know? it creates an economic engine right there. first source hiring. it actually mines the wealth and talent that you have in your community and also mines the resources that you have in your community. we were actually an agrarian community in louisiana, in new orleans. you would go at any hour of the night -- one of the greatest moments i had as a child was to make up in the middle of the night and say, can we go to the french market? that was just to buy some creole tomatoes or some zucchini or watermelon or apple. >> i feel bad about your childhood. >> no -- >> making me hungry. >> but that was like christmas to me. the idea that produce got you that excited in the middle of the night, i'm glad i grew up. but it showed you that we actually had a sustainable system that was already there. and that has slowly gone away. and i think what she was attempting to say

wendell pierce? >> i think -- first of all, it shouldn't come down to economics. sense. it creates an economic engine right there. first source hiring. it actually mines the wealth and talent you have in your community and minds the resources you have in your community. we were actually an agrarian community in new orleans. one of the greatest moments i had was waking up in the middle of the night and say can we go to the french market. that was just to buy some tomatoes or an apple. >> i feel bad about your childhood. >> making me hungry. >> but that was like christmas to me. the idea that produce got you that excited in the middle of the night, i'm glad i grew. one but it showed you that we actually had a sustainable system that was already there. and that has slowly gone away. and i think what she was attempting to say is let's tap back into that. let's exercise our right. and best practices. >> well, i think more to the point when you're talking about local, what's interesting in keeping business local. it costs taxpayers over $7 billion a year because 52% of

tonight, conversation with wendell pierce.is currently costarring in the new nbc comedy series "the michael j. fox show" and is reprising his role as antoine batiste on the emmy-winning "tremÉ." he returns to hbo this sunday for his final five episodes. a conversation with wendell pierce coming up right now. ♪ ♪

join me next time for a conversation with actor wendell pierce about the return of "treme" on hbo.otecting the world's oceans. find out why legendary marine biologist sylvia earle thinks we may have only a few years eft to save what she calls "the blue heart of the planet." >>> and it's one of history's most enduring questions -- are we alone? see why a radical new radio telescope being built near mount shasta may be closer than you think to finding the answer. >>> major funding for "quest" is provided by --

wendel pierce, the factor. to exhale" and other hbo shows. there will be a comedian. oh, here sft-bomb. this is the first too many i have dropped an f-bomb on tv. how do i take this, rosey? >> take the shot glass out and slam the other side. >> okay, take the shot glass out and slam the other side. okay, here we go. oh, my gosh! what is that? that is atomic. and that will make you want it say the f-book. oh, there are viewing rooms outside. we will take you up on the roof a little bit later on and show you where people used to come up here and watch. again, this is downtown vegas. this is a resurgence town. this is being popularized again. this place stood standing while downtown las vegas didn't do very well for a long time. but it stayed open for the most part. so we're going to honor this place. me, neither and a bunch of people up tonight. at 10:00 p.m. eastern. right after the 9:00 finale of "parts unknown" detroit. marty, back to you. >> remember, what happens in vegas, you keep there. >> it stays right h