Re: What is your question?

Description: Anna Deavere Smith calls on us to take individual action.

Transcript:  Well I think the question, “What can I do?” is a very good question.  To have the courage to go someplace where there’s a problem; and even if you feel that you couldn’t possibly have very much to offer, but that you have on the other hand a feeling that you would like to offer something.  And to have the courage to go to that place or that person and say, “What can I do?  How can I help?”  And “What can I do?” doesn’t just mean “How can I help?”  It can also mean “Is there something for me to do here?  How can I be a part of what you are?  How can I be a part of what you’re doing?”  And so I’ve always felt that “What can I do?” is one of the most elegant questions . . . one of the most eloquent questions of all, which is just slightly different than “How can I help?” and more complicated, too.

Recorded on: 8/22/07