![]() He read every book he could get his hands on about the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group with a long history of using physical assault, terrorism and murder against black people and other minorities.ĭaryl also read all he could about the racism of Nazis during World War ii, about American neo-Nazi groups, and about black-supremacist groups.Īs the years went by, he learned an immense amount, but he realized that to fully answer the question, he would need to have firsthand discussions with white supremacists. Each one intensified his desire to comprehend what fueled the blind hatred. That experience planted a question in Davis’s mind that he was determined to answer: How can a person hate another person who they don’t even know?ĭuring his teenage years, Daryl suffered a few other racially motivated affronts. “It was very hard, at the age of 10, to understand why some people who didn’t even know me would inflict pain upon me for no other reasons than the color of my skin,” he wrote. His parents explained to him later that the people attacking him were racists, whose only problem with him was that he was black. But when his Cub master ran over to shield him from the stones, Daryl suddenly realized that he was the only Scout being targeted. Young Daryl was oblivious to the fact that he was the only black Cub Scout in the parade, and he initially thought those spectators must have had a problem with the Scouts. ![]() ( Listen to The Sun Also Rises episode about this inspiring story) “I turned, and to my surprise, saw they came from some of the spectators, even children, along the parade route.” Davis writes in his book, Klan-destine Relationships. As they approached a certain cluster of spectators, 10-year-old Davis suddenly felt the sting of a rock striking his arm. The entire event was streamed live on theĪU School of Public Affairs Facebook page.When Daryl Davis was a Cub Scout in 1968, his troop was marching from Lexington, Massachusetts, to Concord to commemorate the Ride of Paul Revere. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to be provided with a way forward that we can put into action." "We are all frustrated by inaction," said Wilkins. SPA Dean Vicky Wilkins said many at AU and in the broader community are working hard to respond to recent racial incidents. "What he said tonight was really powerful." Someone to look up to," said Dario Garone, a first-year student at AU. They may disagree, but at least they are talking." "When two enemies are talking, they are not fighting. "We are fearful of those things we don't understand," Davis told the audience of hundreds of AU students in the room and hundreds more watching live on Facebook. How do we put aside our anger and listen to each other?" "Inviting Davis to campus was about starting a dialogue among students and the community. "Davis has an interesting way of exploring how opposite sides think, and the way people react when they meet the unknown," said Ivers. SPA Professor Gregg Ivers, also a musician, facilitated Davis's invitation to campus and introduced him during the event. He was also featured in the documentary, "Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America." His friendship with Roger Kelly, Grand Dragon of the Maryland KKK, was the subject of a story on CNN and Davis' efforts to address racism through dialogue have garnered him media attention. ![]() "We need to get out of these echo chambers and begin talking with each other."ĭavis wrote "Klan-Destine Relationships: A Black Man's Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan," in 1998 and is working on a revised edition due out in the spring. "Talking with people is the key," says Davis, who showed a few of the many robes and hoods given to him by former KKK members. "I formed a question in my mind: How can you hate me, when you don't even know me? For the next 49 years, I've been looking for the answer," says the Howard University graduate, who attended high school in Rockville, Maryland.ĭavis described to the audience how he eventually found that communication and respect are an important part of breaking down the barriers of racism, even with those with whom you fundamentally disagree. ![]() ![]() When people in a community parade threw rocks at him marching as the only black Cub Scout, he was baffled at why the color of his skin would prompt such a reaction. In his early years, Davis attended international schools overseas where he said the multicultural classes looked like a "little United Nations." It wasn't until he returned to the states in 1968 that he first encountered racism. The 59-year-old, African-American musician and author recently spoke at an SPA event about his 30-year experience interviewing Ku Klux Klan members, many of whom he befriended and led them to renounce their racist views. Musician and author, Daryl Davis, recently spoke at an SPA event about his 30-year experience interviewing Ku Klux Klan members.īlues pianist Daryl Davis believes in confronting racism - one person at a time. ![]()
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