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Klan We Talk? | Daryl Davis | TEDxCapeMay


[Music]
ever since I graduated from college in
1980 with my degree in music I’ve been a
full-time musician traveling and
performing all over this country and
around the world and what I’ve come to
find to be the greatest and most
effective and successful weapon that we
can use known to man to combat such
adversaries as ignorance racism hatred
violence is also the least expensive
weapon and the one that is the least
used by Americans that weapon is called
communication and in order to understand
how I arrived at this let’s go back to
1968 when I was 10 years old I was
living in Belmont Massachusetts just got
there and I was one of two black kids in
my fourth-grade class we had I joined
the Cub Scouts we had a march from
Lexington to Concord to commemorate the
ride of Paul Revere it was an all-white
Cub Scout troop and the sidewalks were
lined with nothing but white people
cheering us on as we marched my den
mother let me carry the American flag
and somewhere as I was marching down
this parade route with my fellow Scouts
I began getting hit with bottles and
soda pop cans and rocks and debris from
the street by a small group of white
spectators within the larger group I had
never experienced this before and my
being naive my first thought was oh they
don’t like the scouts I didn’t realize
that I was the only Scout getting hit
until my den mother troop leader path
leader all come came rushing back and
huddled over me with their bodies and if
scored at me out of the danger when I
got home my mom and dad who were not at
the parade were fixing me up putting on
mercurochrome and band-aids and asking
me how did you fall down and get all
scraped up I told them I didn’t fall
down
told them exactly what had happened for
the first time in my life they explained
racism to me I had no idea what it was
at the age of 10 but I formed a question
in my mind at that time that question
was how can you hate me when you don’t
even know me
and for the next 49 years I’ve been
looking for that answer
music became my profession but studying
race relations became my obsession so
after graduating I joined a country
western band country music had become
popular I found myself in a bar in a
country bar in which I was the only
black person in there black people were
not welcome although they could come in
they were not welcome here I was in this
place and after the first set of white
gentlemen came up behind me put his arm
around my shoulder and said man I really
like your piano playing this is the
first time I ever heard a black man play
piano like Jerry Lee Lewis now I was not
offended but I was kind of surprised
like didn’t this guy know the origin of
Jerry Lee’s style and I said to him I
wasn’t trying to be facetious but I said
where do you think Jerry Lee Lewis
learned how to play he says what are you
talking about
I said well Jerry Lee learned that style
from the same place I did from black
blues and boogie woogie piano players
that’s what that rockabilly rock and
roll style came from oh no Jerry Lee
invented that I never heard no black man
play like that well I told the man I
know Jerry Lee Lewis personally he’s a
very good friend of mine he’s told me
himself where he learned how to play the
guy didn’t buy that I knew Jerry Lee he
didn’t buy that
Jerry Lee learn anything from black
people but he was fascinated with me
then he wanted to buy me a drink I don’t
drink alcohol but I went back to his
table and had a cranberry juice he took
this glass he clink my glass and cheered
me and then he made another announcement
he said you know this is the first time
I ever sat down and had a drink with a
black man so I’m thinking you know this
guy is really having a night of firsts
here
again I was naive and I had to ask him
why three times before he told me I’m a
member of the Ku Klux Klan
well I burst out laughing at him because
I did not believe him you know I knew
the plan you know didn’t just come up
and embrace black people and praised
their piano playing want to hang out and
buy him a drink it doesn’t work that way
but we talked and exchanged information
and I would call him every time I was to
come back to this bar and he would brain
Klansmen and clans women to watch me
play then it dawned on me this is where
I can find the answer to my question
that I had formed when I was 10 years
old that I’ve been looking for how can
you hate me
we don’t even know me who better to ask
than someone who would join an
organization whose whole premise has
been hating those who do not look like
them and who do not believe as they
believe and sometimes exacting violence
upon them so I got back in contact with
that guy some years later I went to his
apartment and I asked him to give me the
phone number and address of the Klan
leader for the state of Maryland well he
reluctantly did so on the condition that
I not revealed with this guy where I got
his personal information and he warned
me he said Darrell do not fool with this
guy’s and was Roger Kelly he will kill
you and I was not to be deterred but I
had my secretary a call mr. Kelly and
tell him that she works for someone
who’s writing a book on the Klan would
he consent to sitting down and doing an
interview face-to-face I told her do not
tell him but I’m black he’ll figure that
out when he sees me if he agrees right
so she called he didn’t ask what color I
was and agreed to do the interview we
secured a motel room she and I got there
super early we filled up the ice bucket
with ice put some cans of soda in there
to get them warm I mean to get them cold
and to be able to offer him a beverage
when he arrived I didn’t know what he
was gonna do or once he saw me would he
attack me would he say I’m not gonna
talk to you and walk away or would he
come in and sit down and do the
interview either way I want to be ready
to be hospitable
and offer him a cold drink so when he
arrived first in walks his bodyguard who
was armed right behind him was the
leader of the clan in a dark blue suit
and tie when the bodyguard stepped into
the room and saw me he froze and the the
the leader did not realize that his
guard had stopped he slammed into his
back and knocked him forward and he
began looking all around the room ah ah
something’s wrong either we’re in the
wrong room or this is an ambush so I
stood up I went like this to show I had
nothing in my hands and I walked forward
and said hi I’m Daryl Davis he shook my
hand but the bodyguard shook man as well
I said come on in come on in have a seat
the leader sat down with the buddy to
are standing into attention at his right
I sat down we got on with this interview
but I had a bag beside me in which I had
some blank cassettes I had a cassette
player on the table so every time my
cassette would run out I’d reach down
into the bag pull out a fresh cassette
every time I’d reach like this The
Bodyguard would reach like this after a
while he realized there was no threat in
the bag
and he relaxed a little over an hour
into this interview there was kind of a
strange quick noise and we all jumped
and I knew that the clan leader had made
that noise I didn’t know what that noise
was I never heard a noise like that
before
so I automatically perceived it to be an
ominous threatening noise and I was
hearing that other clans man’s voice in
my head derald Roger Kelly will kill you
I didn’t want to die I popped up out of
my chair I hit the table I was getting
ready to come across that table and take
down the clan leader and the bodyguard
because I was not armed but I was going
to just slam them down to the ground
take away the guy’s gun I did not want
to die I did not want my secretary to
die well when I came up my eyes locked
with the clan leader
I didn’t say a word my eyes spoke loud
and clear they were saying to him what
did you just do well his eyes had locked
with mine he didn’t say a word but I
read his eyes his eyes were saying to me
what did you just do and the bodyguard
was looking back and forth between both
of us like this would either one of
y’all just do my secretary realized what
happened the ice in the bucket had
melted and the Kansas soda came
cascading down the ice and then it made
that same noise and we all began
laughing at how ignorant we all had been
yes we’re enemies he’s the head of the
Klan I’m a black guy but for that moment
we shared a common laughter it was a
teaching moment I won’t say it was a
learning moment yet but it was a
teaching moment and the lesson taught
was this all because some foreign entity
of which we were unaware that being the
bucket of ice and Kansas soda entered
into our little comfort zone via the
noise that it made we became fearful and
accusatory of one another the lesson
taught is this ignorance breeds fear if
you do not keep that fear in check that
fear in turn will breed hatred because
we hate those fins that frighten us if
you do not keep that hatred in check
that hatred in turn will breed
destruction we want to destroy those
things that we hate why because they
frighten us but guess what they may have
been harmless and we were simply
ignorant so we just had some more laughs
we carried on with the conversation no
more problems I would invite the man you
know I had I was interviewing clan
people all around the country he was the
first I would invite him down to my
house he there’s about an hour and a
half away he would come down to my house
with his bodyguard I would invite over
some of my other black friends some of
my white friends some of my Jewish
friends just to allow the leader to
engage in conversation with other people
other than me
this went on for a couple of years after
a couple years he got promoted from
state leader Grand Dragon to national
leader Imperial wizard he began inviting
me to his house I would go to his house
I would see his Klan den where he’d have
his meetings
take some more notes from my book he
began inviting me to Klan rallies I go
to these Klan rallies watching these
Klansmen and flans women in their robes
and hoods parade around this big 20 to
30 foot cross with their torches and
then go to the base of the cross for
that throw and throw down their torches
and then whoosh this big thing will be
on fire they would give speeches and
things like that
well CNN knew who I was through music
they knew who he was through the Klan I
thought this would make a great story so
they asked me who owns the next time I
was going to a Klan rally I told him and
they said it was on a Saturday they said
are you performing anywhere Friday night
I said yeah so they came by the club
where I was playing with my band they
filmed me to show what I do for a living
normally and then they came to my house
Saturday morning and followed me two
hours up the road and they said to me do
you think mr. Kelly will even talk to us
I said I’ll do better than that when the
rally is over I’ll get the Imperial
wizard to come back to my house and you
can interview the head of the Ku Klux
Klan inside a black man’s house I said
oh okay so they filmed the whole rally
and this clip was shown on CNN every
hour for 24 hours all over the world I
want to show it to you now but I want
you to pay particular attention to what
mr. Kelly says here you go
[Music]
friendship can transcend all kinds of
boundaries let’s look at us and two men
in Washington area are showing that even
an african-american man and a member of
the Ku Klux Klan can find common ground
CNN’s carl rochelle reports
Gerald Davis plays a hot piano it’s part
of the show and it makes him stand out
he also stands out here Davis is one of
the few african-americans you will ever
find attending a KKK rally more than
attending he is welcome it’s been a
tough day for the Klan their Maryland
rally found many local residents
rejecting the message of white
separatism after it’s over Darrell Davis
hangs around backstage with his friend
Klan wizard Roger Kelly it’s not unusual
for blacks and whites to be friends but
it is unusual to find a black man and a
Klan leader chatting pleasantly over an
orange soda after a Klan rally the
relationship started over a book Davis
was writing his secretary set up an
interview with Roger Kelly but didn’t
tell him Davis was black they talked and
talked some more
Davis learning about the Klan Kelly
learning about Davis we get to know one
another when we do different things you
know it’s it hasn’t changed my views
about the Klan you know because my views
on the Klan has been pretty much
cemented in my mind for years Kelly and
his clan friends go to hear Davis and
his band
and Davis goes to their rallies i sat on
the front row and I listened to each
client speak some things I agreed with
other things they did not agree with
Davis thinks that his presence promotes
badly needed understanding hate stems I
believe from fear for fear of the
unknown and I think this is all across
the board regardless of whether it’s a
Klansman or anything else but he has no
illusions about the Klan if he did his
friend would be quick to disabuse them
and I believe in separation of the races
I believe that’s in the best interests
of all races does he really has
friendship transcended the color barrier
listen to Kelly a Klan rally the strange
relationship of a KKK wizard and his
black buddy in Washington I’m calling
will show CNN Sunday morning good
adjectives strange certainly that okay
now you heard the clan leaders say that
even though he and I would do different
things together it did not change his
views on the Klan because his views on
the plan had been cemented in his mind
for years and he went on to say how he
believes in separation of the races
because that is to be in the best
interest of all races but at the very
end he said that he respected me I’m his
enemy I’m a black guy he’s in the Klan
he said we may not agree on everything
beliefs he will sit down and listen to
me and respect me and I will sit down
listen to him respect him very important
if you have an adversary give that
person a platform allow them to air
their views if you agree with them fine
if you don’t that’s fine too you
challenge them politely and
intelligently not rudely or violently
when you do things like that there’s an
excellent chance they will reciprocate
and give you a platform to express your
views you make sure you do them
intelligently and influentially because
you each have to think at the end of the
day who was right and if you can just
create that little spark that spark can
become a flame
and grow so over the years he and I
would continue these conversations and
sitting down respecting each other to
listen to each other I did not respect
what he had to say understand I
respected his right to say it and over
the years that cement began to crack and
then began to crumble and then a few
years back
Roger Kelly quit the Ku Klux Klan and
when he did he gave me his robe and hood
this is the robe of the plan leader the
same one you saw him wearing in that
video right here it bothered me a great
deal that he called ourselves the
greatest nation on the face of this
earth perhaps we are technologically we
we invented the means to put Neil
Armstrong on the moon and while he was
up there walking around talking about
one small step for man and one giant
leap for mankind we could communicate
with him how is it that we as Americans
can talk to people as far away as the
moon or anywhere on the face of this
earth but yet many of us have difficulty
talking to the person who lives right
next door because of the color of their
skin their religion their persuasion
their ethnicity etc it seems to me that
before we can call ourselves the
greatest our ideology needs to catch up
to our technology and once we get them
both up there we can truly brag we are
living in the 21st century folks we are
living in space-age times but there’s
still too many of us thinking with Stone
Age Minds the to news desk
anchor people implied that I was strange
what tell you what if being strange gets
people to give up stuff like that we all
need to be strange
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