Educator Geoffrey Canada and environmentalist Marjora Carter listen as former president Bill Clinton speaks about his new book, Giving, at the Harlem Children’s Zone, founded by Canada in 1990. “There will never be a time when there is no difference between where we are and where we ought to be,” Clinton told the crowd gathered in the school’s basement gymnasium yesterday afternoon, as he elaborated upon the book’s theme that individual acts of charity and compassion can lead to significant improvement throughout the world. “This is just a different part of our lives… and if you do it right, you can make a huge difference.”
Clinton’s short speech was a prelude to a discussion moderated by Tavis Smiley that involved several people whose philanthropic efforts were described in Giving, including six-year-old Mackenzie Steiner, who organized her friends into cleaning up a stretch of California coastline. Clinton and Smiley also singled out several other audience members sprinkled throughout the front rows, from Welfare to Work founder Rodney Carroll to celebrity chef Rachael Ray, for their efforts. After the discussion was over, Clinton gathered them all up on stage for a group photo, signed a lot of copies of the book, and then got ready for his appearances later that day at a Late Show with David Letterman taping and a Union Square Barnes & Noble signing.