Would be invited to attend Klan rallies and Klan members in return would be After a couple of years had passed, Daryl Daryl refers to the interview with Roger as a “teaching moment” for the two, showing that the cause of fear is ignorance and how we need to keep that fear “in check.”Īnd Roger to further coerce with friends while still trying to understand why While talking about his earliest experiences of racism, Daryl poses a simple question, “How can you hate me if you don’t even know me?” This leads him later on in life to arrange for an interview between himself and Imperial Wizard of the KKK Roger Kelly. This is a man, who through the use of respectful debateĪnd arguments, persuaded Robert White, Grand Dragon of the KKK for the state of
#Roger kelly and daryl davis professional#
Of TED Talks and one of my personal favourites is of a story from professional That's why I'm sitting down with them and I've had success.Daryl Davis introducing his story, holding Robert White’s police officers uniform "You don't change the system without changing the people behind the system. "You need a multi-pronged attack from the front, from the side, from the back, through the rear door, whatever," Davis said. He believes this younger generation has the right intent, although their methods can taint the mission. "The fact that I would sit down and spend so much time with the 'enemy' when I should be devoting my time to defeating the system of white supremacy," Davis explained. Some in the Black Lives Matter movement have been critical of Davis, saying he's defeating their purpose with his relational approach. Rather than trying to change one mind at a time as Davis has done, this activist generation uses social media to reach the masses. This uniform represents white supremacy, and you're taking it off and giving it to a black man?"Īs a new generation of African Americans enter adulthood, they're fighting racism their own way. "And when they did so, many of them gave me their robes and hoods," Davis said. The musician says he's convinced dozens of members of the KKK to leave the organization, simply through friendly conversation. "And I was like wait a minute, all the sudden I have value, you really want my opinion? I didn't say that but I was thinking that so that let me know the ice was broken," Davis said. "And then over time I would say, 'So what do you think about 'blah, blah, blah?' And they would say, 'Well I think du, da, du, da, da.' And then they would say, 'Well what do you think Daryl?'" he continued. "I would ask them questions and they would answer the questions but they wouldn't ask for my opinion, they wouldn't ask me what I thought about it because they had no reason to, I'm inferior," he said. His research often put him in some dangerous situations, but it also led to an unexpected change in the relationship he shared with certain Klan members. I'm going to go around, cause I'm thinking now, I'm going to start with that guy and get him to hook me up with different Klan people around the country so I can ask my question," Davis said. "Some years later I decided I was going to write a book on the Klan. His unlikely KKK connection inspired him to start getting answers. Since age 10, when first confronted with the realities of racism, Davis pondered one question: How can you hate me when you don't know me? "I said, 'Tell me,' and finally he says, 'I'm a member of the Ku Klux Klan.'" "He stared down at the table top and didn't answer me and he had a friend with him and he goes, 'Tell him, tell him, tell him,'" he continued. "Now I'm thinking, 'Wow what's going on here? This guys really having a night of firsts.' And I said, 'Why?' Again I was naïve and I wasn't trying to be facetious." "Then he makes the remark when the waitress brings my cranberry juice, he clinks the glass and cheers me and says, 'You know this is the first time I ever sat down and had a drink with a black man,'" he continued. "And he says, 'You know I really like your all's music.' I said, 'Thank you,' I shook his hand.I don't drink but I went back to his table and I had a cranberry juice with him," he recalled.
After a performance there a white man stopped Davis as he walked off the stage. One place was the Silver Dollar Lounge in Frederick, Maryland. "I just happened to be, in 1983, the only black guy in this country band and consequently the only black guy in many of the places where we played," Davis said.
It has also led to unlikely friendships, like Roger Kelly, the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Through music he's formed some unique friendships, with people like Dolly Parton, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry.
#Roger kelly and daryl davis full#
"I've been playing music professionally, full time since 1980 when I graduated college at the age of 22," Davis said BALTIMORE - Playing music comes as naturally as breathing for 58-year-old blues musician Daryl Davis.
0 kommentar(er)
