-- monica pier historian shares the history of this landmark. >> we see 9 million people per year. that's people of all walks of life, all income levels. there is almost as many different reasons to come to appear as the people who come to visit it. ask what brought a person here, you get a different reason from each one of them. eastern on at noon c-span twos book tv. sunday at 2:00 on american history tv on c-span3. working with our cable affiliates as we explore the american story. a conversation with a hip-hop , they discuss the impact of the ledger pests on criminal

justice reform. >> i was powerful. i've learned so much today. i want to thank everybody that took part in this. every time i get to get the , thatation that should be everybody should have access to about what's really going on within our american criminal justice system, it's so moving. i got on the plane, i'm a filmmaker.

i made a documentary on the history of cannabis in america. this connects with america's music. a lot of it is born in new orleans. those jazz musicians smoked cannabis. the racism that was typical in america at that time. people didn't want to see people come together. that is what led to these draconian cannabis laws, it was criminalized in 1937. crew, wed about my decided to go to new orleans. we talk to his family. it was a moving experience when they talked about him. the family hit on a sad note when his father passed and how they wouldn't provide a vehicle for him to be able to go and take part in his brother's funeral. his mother and sisters broke down in tears.

it was a really sad moment. joy came a few days later. bernard was going to get parole. we got together, it took him three months. there were cameras rolling. it was a real special moment. great to see you, baby. yes, indeed. philanthropy is something that has been moving the situation in an aggressive way, moving it beyond our politicians. people whostage some are going to shed some very valuable light on that. meek mill, i want to start off with you. system caught up in the unjustly and it became a national issue. i want to ask you, what were some of the biggest issues in the criminal justice system that you witnessed during your time on the inside? >> so many, i don't even know

where to start. i was down with guys like bernard who got sentence for years for smoking now want to or having a dirty yard. just probation violations. i spent time with a guy who had 28 months in. his bail was $100. he did 28 months in prison. he wasn't even arrested for a felony. prison.i spent time in if i came to this today forgetting to notify my probation officer that i was coming to l.a., i would probably phase three or four years in jail. -- so many different platforms to speak about. is my personale experience of being on probation. accused of pointing a

firearm at a police officer. not one police officer, at least five at one time. no shots were fired. nobody was hurt. only person i came out her with me. -- hurt was me. i was be badly. at the time, that was my situation. that was a normal thing. that's what i saw in my neighborhood growing up my whole life. if you ran from the police and wouldhem work hard, you have 40 charges because you made them work harder that day. that was normal to me. when i gone probation, i got found guilty for all charges. probation,on everything was so high risk. i was off the radar. , no arrests.rt everything was going good.

probably 2014. i went to the dentist. done --o of my wit is wisdom teeth pulled. i took percocet. i got addicted to taking opioids. philadelphia, in city probation, it's more intense than a suburban probation. suburban probation, you would probably have 100 probation us coming in the week. in the city, you get 200 per day. in,ou come in with 30 year , you could be sentenced to five years just from being addicted to drugs. philadelphia, i never wanted to admit to my probation officer that i was addicted to opioids because

that's like admitting myself. bernard was talking about being shackled, locked up. people stabbing. animal mentality. i didn't have a choice. later on in my life, i finally graduated from living in lower class. i was living in extremely lower class. i moved to a middle-class neighborhood. my probation changed to a different type of probation. i'm on montgomery county probation. i went to see my probation officer before, she asked if i was addicted to drugs. i emitted it. -- admitted it. she found the rehabilitation. she put me in therapy for two months. even on the road, i had to fly back and do my therapy because that's what my probation officer recommended. it was two different scenarios. in the city, you go straight to

jail for years. in a suburban area, they put me on probation. that was something i was used to. there are so many different levels. i could talk forever about the different levels of injustices within the system that key people trapped inside the system for a very long time. i caught this case when i was 18 years old. i was not guilty. do you think i pointed a gun at five police officers? and not get shot? not even a shot fired. i caught that case when i was 18. i was found guilty. i say to mike, when i have friends that don't come from where i was, you think this really happened? it wouldn't really be a big deal. i know he would probably believe me. to me, it was a big deal. this is not the type of person i am.

where i come from, we never point a firearm at a police officer. it's suicide. you have to be mentally ill to do that. i know you don't want to lose your life. i caught that case and 18. i'm 31 years old right now. to prison forg that same offense without committing a crime. i've been to prison for times since 18 years old without ever committing a crime against. the last time i went to prison, the da suggested i go to prison. my probation officer who got me rehabilitation recommended that i didn't go to prison because i was doing good. i employed people. i had a job. i take care of my family. , they couldone flaw snag me on it. that's what they kept doing. i've been on probation my whole

adult life. old, i was sentenced to a four-year sentence. friendtually was my three years before. we used to hang out a lot. i told him, you should just come and see how court works. you come from a different world for me. you should check it out. he was like, there's no way you could do prison time. i was like, mike, in your world it's impossible. in my world, we go to jail for this at alarming rates. we went to court. by the time it was time to leave court, i was leaving with shackles on me. i was dropping tears. mike couldn't believe i got a two-year sentence for just popping the woolly. i was arrested in new york for

that. that was initially a traffic ticket. they charge me with an f one felony. the case got dismissed without me going to trial. it wasn't really a charge. the judge still sentenced me on that. if you catch a case on probation in philadelphia, if someone was to drop a bag of weed on the ground and i got locked up for sentencedd still be just for police contact. police contact is a violation of probation. you don't have to commit a crime. you don't have to do anything. you could just have contact with the police and you are in violation. mike seeing that, he could really break everything down. that was good to be the next question. tell us how you too became buddies. -- two became buddies. >> we had a pretty normal

friendship amongst boys until that day that changed both of our lives. we met four or five years ago now at a basketball game. we were just sitting next which other, it was the all-star game. my daughter was talking to meek 's girlfriend. it, we werenow talking about business. >> how you make all that money? [applause] deal, you did --/do this that deal. he reminded me of myself. i barely made it out of high school. i'm a sponge. i always ask questions. make was exactly the same way. he started coming to our games. i remember this like it was yesterday. one of the first games he came

to, i said, i'm going to the bravada afterwards. do you want to come after me -- with me? it's a casino in new jersey. he says, i'm not allowed to go. i said, do you need permission from your mother? i don't get it. he was like, i'm on probation. you can't go to the casino across the bridge? dude, i will go to jail. i'm not allowed to go. how is this probation thing work? that was four or five years ago. we became really good friends. we live 10 minutes away from each other. he was at our games all the time. friends with tons of the other people in my world. the commissioners of all the sports. everyone loved the sky. he became one of my really good friends. about a year and a half ago, he was always around.

bro, get a job. what's a matter with you? why are you always around? he be like, you don't understand. i'm on probation. i can't leave. you're a musician, you perform. he's like, i'm not allowed to leave. at that point, i started getting involved. when you are a successful business guy, your guard is always up. i knew him really well but the story, i almost didn't believe it. it seemed too hard to actually believe. i started making my own phone calls, confirming everything he said. what's probation in montgomery county? they said, this guy is getting totally screwed. he's done everything we've ever asked. everyone wasle -- saying great things about him. i kept asking more people. everyone is validating everything. when you listen to bernard's

story, you don't believe it could be true. now, he tells the story -- it's even worse. he didn't get arrested for doing that. he put it on social media. a day and a half later, 20 cops show up at a charity kids heketball game and -- thought he was getting a police escort. i'm not making this up. instead, they arrested him and took him to jail. that happened. he had one other thing where he literally broke a fight up in an airport, they arrest him first because he's the black rapper. you look at the surveillance and realize, he didn't start the fight. they drop all the charges. those two offenses were enough for the judge to get him on probation violations.

was talking to me about this, this crazy judge who has it out for him. now i'm starting to pay more and more attention. i'm starting to hear everything is just more confirming that story. i say to him, do you want me to write a letter for you to the judge? he said, i don't want to put you out like that. explain, mytter and background in pennsylvania. my background with the sixers. creating lots of jobs in the city. we get no response. it was the morning of, i call and say, you are going to be fine. he said, if you have time, you should come see this. that was a life-changing event. when i listen to dan and bernard's story, that's doing something great in the world. for me, you were my boy. you didn't even know bernard.

you went to save a guy's life. for me, you were one of my close friends. go to this 15 minute hearing. go into the courtroom. the first thing they do is take my phone away. i got immediate withdrawal. i think we are going to be in for 15 minutes. i watch the probation officer get up and speak about meek as if she was a witness for him. much she he was, how loved him. he's being rehabilitated, has an everything they asked. ok, this is odd. i watched the district attorney recommend no sentence. i turned around. we are three into -- three hours into this now. they called an intermission. i said to the lawyers, what's the story? nobody has ever been sentenced,

it never happens. and d8probation officer recommend no sentence, you never give sentence. the judge says, i'm sentencing you. i get up and speak for him real quickly. tell them how well i know him. he's been around my mom, my daughter. he's doing great in the community. he's bringing people together. she never looks at me. i sit down. 2-4says, to-four years -- years. he started crying. i started crying. >> wouldn't you cry, to? >> he says, you're ruining my image. out, theyis wallet handcuff him. i say, i'm not stopping until you get out of this.

i was sitting next to a woman who i'd never met before. she said, i'm not stopping either. for me, i'd never had anything i cared about other than working in my family. -- and my family. took a hugent, i majority of my time to helping to fix the situation. i learned how broken the system was. the first thing we did, i want to hire investigators. sitting in this courtroom, something's not right. they said, you can't. i'm a citizen, i can do whatever i want. we hired 20 investigators. literally, they look at all the judges cases. they said, there's nothing abnormal. i knew there was something not right. within two weeks, her cases are normal but she sent 33 into --

she sued 33 different people. we start interviewing all the different people. we are hearing crazy stories. ,ll kinds of behavior that is this judges making stories up. hotelnt to the hershey for a legal conference. she woke up in the middle of the night with a name tag there. it fell off in the bed. hotel for-- sued the post-traumatic stress. this has happened thousands of times. she's the only person to ever sue the hotel. i'm a judge, if you don't settle, i will make your life miserable. they settle with her. that was one of dozens of situations. we found out that this judge was basically an off of -- awful person. meek cap saying to me, i know

what you saw in the courtroom is so offensive to you. don't focus on the judge. yes, she's everything you said. >> but nobody cares about that. >> he said, i never did the original crime. we take all these investigators. they interview the cops. the first cop we interviewed said, he never pointed the gun. i'm like, what? no one asked me. there were multiple cops there. he signed an affidavit. the whole unit of cops were all dirty. they were all arrested for stealing money, doing all kinds of things. i said, you are going to get home. you will be home for thanksgiving. you will be home for christmas. you will be at the super bowl with me. you will be at the nba all-star game with me. i was wrong every time. now we are sitting on these

affidavits from the cops who said he didn't do it. he got sent back to prison multiple times for not doing it. that's when i realized, it wasn't just him. there's a whole system fundamentally broken. that's when we started saying, as soon as you get out of this mess, we have to take on the whole criminal justice system. it is so fundamentally broken. meek, one of the things we did similar to bernard's story, we kept bringing great people in to shed a light on these situations. the mayor of philadelphia. kevin hart. they would speak about the issue. finally, the supreme court of pennsylvania ordered his release. the da also wanted to let them out. the da saying, we want to release him.

everybody except the judge wants to let them out of jail. april 24. i always say, that they changed our lives. that's what has me here today. it started, how do we get them out of prison? saying, theto me criminal justice system is so broken, we have to help take it out. i'm really excited. last thing, i promise. i'm just shutting up. >> you know what. [laughter] [applause] .> this is incredible when you love somebody in they go down, this is important stuff. it took a minute that it was important. [laughter] the passion. tell us how you got involved in all of this stuff? >> first of all, i'm just really

honored to be here. there are so many incredible people in this room. people who the system affected, we are the reason -- you are the reason we do what we do. another round of applause for everybody here who's been through it. [applause] i'm in a go off script a little bit. it's been such an incredible day. should take a minute, turn to the person next you and give them a hug. -- next to you and give them a hug. [crowd chatter] freddy: spread love. jason: i didn't say get a room. just a hug. i really just wanted to see if dan would hug me. [laughter] i got involved in a similar way. in 1993, there was a story about

a kid in the newspaper in steve --non best named steve mann in 1993, i read a story in the newspaper about a 16-year-old who was serving 15 years to life for a nonviolent first offense and a maximum security prison in new york state. it is a crazy story but there is a lot of crazy stories. his mother became an incredible advocate. she had been turned down for a clemency petition from the governor, the first governor . mo the -- i read the story and i freaked out. i had no idea about sentencing laws. i had grew up in an affluent neighborhood. i realize my situation could have been very different. i am not a religious person, but thereby for the grace of god, go i. i decided i had to do something. i only knew one criminal defense attorney. i am in the music business, this

was a guy who represented most of my acts. they were getting arrested twice a week. i have them on speed dial. i called bob and i ask, is there is anything you can do? he says, no. there is nothing you can do commodities are the rockefeller drug laws. he agreed as a favor to me to take the mother's case pro bono. long story short, we ended up in a courtroom in malone, new york, about five months later. i sat there holding mrs. linens on's hand as he was brought in, like charles manson in shackles. i had never seen him before. this is a nonviolent first offense. the judge ruled in our favor. he bank of the gavel down and said he was reducing the charges and sending the kid home. even now, i am choking up thinking about it. it was the most profound experience of my life. [applause] and i said, that was fun. i will do more of that.

i have found my thing. thetly after that, i joined board of "families against mandatory minimums." you heard kevin speak earlier about their great work. [applause] i found out about the work of the innocence project. one man was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. david keating. he was scheduled to be executed, and they found the dna and they proved his innocence and got him out. within days or weeks of his execution. so i just walked into the innocence project, in those days, there was nobody there except for mary and peter. they were just sitting there, couple of jews in a room come over a briefcase, phone and a dream. i was like, i am jewish too, let's go. [laughter] i will do whatever you guys want. i became the founding board member. it has been an incredible

journey. they do amazing work. there are now innocence project all around the country. [applause] you want to talk about a tough try working at the innocence project in new orleans. ok? that is like serving ice cream in hell. [laughter] been any, it has just .nbelievable ride i am so moved because to see people like the people in this room, people like dan and michael, that could be doing anything, it is just like come in the momentum, the moment today with the van onstage, getting the phone call -- it is now, baby. it is now. this is the time, right now. it is the only bipartisan issue there is. that is saying a lot. we take this incredible day and use this, we look back on the day and that is the day when it got real.

because it is on now. there is no stopping. i think the individual stories are the most important thing. the macro stuff is more important than the micro stuff. stuff is soo important, because the micro drives the macro. every bernard story. robert jones over there, he served 24 years in prison for a grammy had nothing to do with command of a new it, from day one. when these stories get out there, you can't help but want to get involved. that is what touched me, and i o with myto brother from another mother, scott. he makes me feel lazy. you know what i mean? [laughter] he is out here changing laws every day. i call him and he is like, are already past seven bills. say, [beep] you, scott.

i am like go make a movie. [laughter] that is my story. freddy: the stories are flowing and we love it. it is so important. you know, when you grow up in new york and you do art, you wholeo -- you meet a broad range of interesting people. dan is on of those people. we go back to the 80's. we go back so far that when yo, mtv raps! first one on the air, a lot of my friends didn't have cable. dan had cable. i literally went to his house, he was early on in the stock game, doing his thing. we were hanging out together, and i went to his house to watch yo, mtv raps! i turned him on to nwa. dan is official. [laughter] dan is my man, fifty grams,

times a whole bunch more. dan, who has done well, and is the embodiment of the idea of a philanthropist, got involved in this criminal justice issue. about three or four years ago, dn embedded me to a luncheon at the four seasons in the heads of all of these major organizations. he brought them altogether. congressman, this person, that person, all sharing stories about the criminal justice issues. it was at that meeting where i first heard the name bernard noble. later it would hit me like all my god, dan turned me onto this. dan, philanthropy, criminal justice, talk about what this means to you. before i do that, i just want to thank everybody from "variety" for organizing this event. [applause] penskeske, the owner of media that owns "variety, go it

is his vision. he has really taking variety to another level. he has gone into the lgbt issue, and this whole thing was born out of my idea about a, what we do criminal justice issue, and he ran with it and the staff run with it, and a lot of people had input. -- and ae executed it have done a great job with this. secondly, thanks for making me go after a famous rapper, as what steam owner and a foul mouth comedian. [laughter] i will be the dry hedge fund guy. oh, and i want to thank bernard too. i spent four years working on your case and i never met you until today, and i am really glad. [applause]

allison, thesa -- important thing is that dust she said something really important before, which is, take the call. whook the call from jason told me about this case. if it wasn't for that, i would not know a lot of things about this area. but i took the call. there are so many great people in this room to meet and connect with. this is the ultimate network kind of philanthropy. there are things that are world, butl in the this is a network. a network is so much more powerful than a hierarchy is. there are networks with these nodes of these great organizations, and they will run with it, but they need your resources and your energy. they need your influence. it seems complicated when you

first get into it, but the way i got into it was i came at it completely differently. a lot of people have an individual story, and their stories are very powerful. i have always cared a lot about economic injustice and mobility and poverty, the fundamental belief that we have a great free enterprise and capitalist systems create opportunities for individuals, innovation, the ability to have freedoms, but i have to say, there are a lot of problems with too.ystem, i saw a breaking down in a lot of laces. the privileges and the benefits i had, and i saw others out there that didn't. my first foray into philanthropy, this economic inequality, understanding the injustices because that was really in education. i became deeply involved in education reform.

ultimately i became the chairman of a charter school network. i believe in charter schools and in great district public school is. we need all kinds of great schools for kids. i was at a conference and i was walking past this room, between sessions. you get sort of fried at these things. and i, "criminal justice." this was at the american enterprise institute. i am outing myself as a right of amter somewhat, although i as kind i am walking in the room and there is mike lee and john cordon with cory booker. another democrat better, and there were talking about criminal justice. so i thought i would just work myself there and listen. statistic that blew my mind. for african-american men who don't graduate from high school,

their odds of being incarcerated are 30%. 30% of these men are in prison right now. for those who don't graduate from high school, 68% will be in prison at some point in their lives. it was like a lightbulb going off in my head. i said, ok, i care about education because i care about our communities, economic opportunity, justice, all this stuff. just focus on education without taking on this other thing. and remember, jason had been chirping me about this for some time, and is finally resonated. i said, i have to call jason and get smart on this. be really spent about a year, planted seeds with the martial project, the brennan center, families against mandatory minimums, we connected with other philanthropists, from the ,och brothers, to george soros

two people in between. little by little, i saw there were these little opportunities. the meeting we went to was "raise of the age", so we convince the state of new york to raise the age at which children can be tried as adults. so it is no longer, at least for --violent crimes, can you sti g can children under the age of 16 be tried as adults. [applause] the next thing we will take on bail reform. that is how i got immersed in this thing. one last thing. i heard alan dershowitz, who works with an organization particularly focusing on jewish people in prison.

they do exist. [laughter] -- you said the f word. [laughter] -- >> i was at their benefit. they are honoring alan. he said, i am going to fight this fight until my last breath. i will fight one in justice and another. the thing about injustices is that there is always another one. this will never end. we will raise the age and fix probation. it will never go away. it doesn't mean that it is not worthwhile. it requires grit. i think everyone in his room has it. thanks to everyone for being here today. i really appreciate it. [applause] freddy: let's get some information. sho how can people, besides

cutting a check of any size, what are the other things people can do to help this fight, please? >> there are many things. the websitesing to of these organizations, there is so much useful information. you can start there. everyone of them has a call to action, whether that means calling people in congress, or even something as simple as writing a letter to someone on the inside, just to let them know that someone out here cares. i have so many penpals in prison and people that call me. things like that. i think it means a lot. , i i want to say, too support these organizations, as do mike and dan, but there is also the beauty of supporting

people with ideas in this space. there's so many creative people in this room that are doing innovative stuff. [applause] i do want to shout out, especially because of meek's unreal story. it is as terrifying as it is common, but it is still unreal to be sitting here with him and hearing about it first hand. professor over there, professor are you there? he is doing transformative work on parole. really trying to shake up the system. he has the germ of an idea that i think could term into something -- could turn into something. i have been lucky to been on the early stage of civil rights and bail reform, i provided seed funding for the life after exoneration program at the innocence project. they have been doing work on suing cities and counties about the practice of bail, on the

basis that it is a violation of the sixth amendment, which it is. i am only mentioning these because i was good at betting right. if i was at good at picking stocks as i am at picking organizations, i would be as rich as these guys. talk to the professor. talk to each other. mean, there are so many people in here that are doing amazing stuff. it starts right here. freddy: dan, any advice people? >> the first thing is to educate yourself. figure out where you can do that can have a real impact either on the individual, or the system. when michael gets involved with bernard,e, or with there are so many other cases. there is the individual, but then there is the systemic change that happens. changing marijuana laws, changing probation laws,

changing these outrageous probation rules. michael, you should probably talk about this organization you've been starting. you have been quiet about that. why don't you talk about that? michael: the first thing, giving money is actually the easy part. i then putting your time and energy about something you really care about, it makes a big difference. what a lot of people in this room have in common is that platform. with what meek went through, we saw how big the problem was. we said, we need to do something about this significantly. so as soon as meek went out, we said, we are going to promote the justice foundation. our goal is to get one million people out of the system in the years. everyone here probably knows, there are 6.7 million people in the system today. 4.5 million people on probation. parole and probation, which is really torture, it has tortured meek his entire adult life. meek: it tortures everybody. michael: i learned about it through you. and he is still on probation,

with six years left. he will have 16 or 17 years of probation, never committing a new crime. we have now raised about $50 million from seven founding partners. i am proud to say that myself, meek, and dan are three of those eight founding partners, rather. eight, not seven. what every founding partner has in common with our new foundation, they have a huge financial commitment. everyone has pledged at least $5 million to the foundation. they have huge platforms. and most importantly, they care deeply about this issue. and they are spending real time on it. so i am hopeful that we can make a real impact. we are going to focus on probation and parole, because to be honest, two thirds of the people in the system -- we need to focus on it. i hope to stay true to our goal, which is to get a million people out of the system in the next five years. if we can't, by the way, we are going to die trying. [applause] freddy: wow, that's so amazing, so encouraging. you know meek mill is one of the

, best people rapping on the planet. as a young black man, and unfortunately too many people in this criminal justice system are like meek. they are young black and brown men. , the way that you stepped out of prison and got involved, have so much respect for you and how you are getting involved. i was at the innocence project gala and you came on stage. i was like, wow that is crazy. meek mill just came home and everything. so, you have the last word. what can people do and things that you are going to raise awareness going forward. meek: first i would say, a lot of people can cut checks. i think time is valuable. even when we started a foundation, mike on me and said, how many hours a week and you

spend on this foundation? i said to my can give you about seven hours a week that we dedicate to our foundation. >> we do about seven a day. by the way, your over performing. [laughter] michael: you are over performing. meek: when i went to prison, i saw the support i got. i grew up in an environment -- some people may have been raised in love, i was raised in survival. of course, i had my mother and my grandmother who loved me and showed me love, but i was raised of survival. having support wasn't a big thing to me. outhen i saw people coming and supporting me the way they did, and this was my first time in a state penitentiary with men like bernard and people who actually had 25, 30 years in for crimes they did not commit, were -- i had to sit myself one day and said, i wanted to make change. because i always thought it was normal. it is crazy. i always thought it was normal. until i met a guy like mike, or

i sat on a plane one-time with mike and they talked about how this wasn't normal, and i undervalued myself so much that i thought this was usual. when i found the value for myself, i wanted to make a change for the people like me who don't have a voice. because if i am on the road to success the way i am and doing well for myself, what about the kid like me going as in the neighborhood -- growing up in a neighborhood who don't have anybody to speak for them. they will be put in probation that will change their lives and they will never be a will to get a job or further themselves, so i just wanted to dedicate more of my time to reform and try to make change, and using my resources. like people like michael rubin. eb today, i met

jeff, and of course with people in these rooms. just connecte can and spend more time and use our resources and relationships to make a change in the world, with reform. freddy: that is incredible. ?ason jason: i wanted to thank you too, freddy, because you been , doing incredible work in this area. quietly, like a silent killer. that. to recognize i also wanted to thank jeff mccormick because he is done that he has done amazing stuff putting this together. [applause] i want to shout out to guy miles. where are you? guy just got out after 19 years. [applause] he was in the california innocence roger. he was convicted of a crime that happened in orange county when he was in las vegas and could prove it. he had never even been to orange county. even after they proved his innocence, they were still going

back and were going to try him again and forced him to take a plea. so i just wanted to welcome guy here. thanks to everybody for being here. shout out to you. freddy: and shout out to you for coming out. give yourselves a round of applause. [applause] thank you, all. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. , c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companiesp today we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court and public policy events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider.

♪ >> a united states senate, a uniquely american institution. legislating and carrying out constitutional duties since 1789. >> please raise your right hand. >> tonight, c-span takes you inside the senate learning about the legislative body and its informal workings. >> arguing about things and. >> taking them around, and having great debates, is the thoroughly american thing. >> it is a cooling saucer. the longer you are in the senate , the longer you appreciate that cooling nature. >> we look at its history of conflict and compromise with original interviews, key moments in history and unprecedented access, allowing us to bring cameras into the senate chamber during a session. >> do you have a script? >> yes. >> follow the evolution of the

senate into the modern erap from advice and consent, to their role in impeachment proceedings and investigations. the senate: conflict and compromise, a c-span original production. and role of this uniquely american institution. premiering tonight at 8 p.m. eastern pacific on c-span. and be sure to go online at c-span.org/senate to learn more about the program and watch original full-length interviews with senators, view pharrell speeches and tickets were inside the senate chamber, the old senate chamber, and other exclusive locations. >> california will have seven new members of the house in the 100 exceeds congress, all of whom are democrats and all of them who represent districts republicans.d

the first 04 representing districts in orange county, south of los angeles. mr. buddha is a businessman and attorney. he and his wife also opened a homeless shelter for families when they lived in ohio. katie porter in the 45th district, oversaw the implementation of a $25 billion between mortgage servicers and homeowners on behalf of the state of california. she is also a low professor. was elected to represent the fortinet district. his work in environmental law and the clean energy industry career. of his he also expressed time as executive director of the orange county democratic party and is a fundraiser for hillary intense 2016 presidential campaign. had beenveteran and recently laid off from his job in 2010 and he won the

lottery. he and his wife used some of the money to establish scholarships and an educational foundation. democrats picked up the fifth seat. peggy hill was elected to the fifth district just north of the city. she used to run and nonprofit for the homeless at age 20. -- age 31, she will be the youngest member of the california delegation. member has aress degree in engineering and later received a business degree and opened several businesses in the includingrouting -- telco companies that process locally grown nuts. he is a venture capitalist and also taught business at a local community college. new congress, new leaders. watch it all on c-span. >> today is day 12 of the

government shutdown and day 2 of 2019. at the white house, negotiations over government funding continued. congressional leaders from both parties met with the president around 3 p.m. eastern this afternoon. shortly after, they spoke to reporters on the north lawn. here is a look. >> thank you all for being here. we had a long discussion. the president asked us to come back on friday after the le