#Roger kelly and daryl davis skin

CNN found out about their friendship at a rally and did a story on them, which resulted in Davis getting a deal to publish Klan-Destine Relationships. They also became friends, with Kelly eventually visiting Davis in his home without a bodyguard and Kelly inviting Davis to Klan rallies. “In my meeting with Roger Kelly, I learned that ignorance breeds fear,” Davis said. He wanted to interview Roger Kelly, Maryland’s Grand Dragon at the time and who later became Imperial Wizard. They became friends, with the man coming to see Davis’ band whenever they played at the lounge.Įight years later, Davis decided to begin work on a book about the KKK and called his friend for help. After inviting Davis over to his table for a drink, he said, “This is the first time I’ve had a drink with a black guy.” Davis asked him why, and the man said he was a member of the KKK.

The man came over and said, “This is the first time I’ve heard a black man play like Jerry Lee Lewis.” He didn’t believe Davis when he said Jerry Lee Lewis learned his piano-playing style from black musicians. Black men wrote the other two from the perspective of escaping a lynching.Īn accomplished blues and R&B musician who graduated from Howard University with a degree in music, Davis told how his music brought him into contact with a Klan member and eventually launched his research for his book Klan-Destine Relationships.Īs a pianist in a country western band, Davis met the man when he played at what he called an all-white lounge in Frederick, Maryland. He noticed that white men wrote all but two books about the Ku Klux Klan. “I knew then that you are not born with this ideology,” he said.

#Roger kelly and daryl davis skin

Rather than be traumatized by the incident, Davis said he began reading every book that he could find on people of any race who thought their skin color made them superior. But it was 1968, a “very turbulent year” in the Civil Rights Movement. “It was incomprehensible to me that someone who never met me…would want to hurt me.”Įven when his parents told him that white people were throwing things at him because he was black, Davis said he didn’t believe them. “My first inclination was they were angry at the Cub Scouts,” Davis said. Cub Scouts, he was pelted with rocks, bottles and other things as he walked with his troop in a Patriots Day parade from Lexington to Concord. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.Daryl Davis’ quest to find out why some people think they are superior to others simply because of their skin color began in 1968, he told a rapt audience of students, faculty, staff, and community residents at Worcester State University on Wednesday, February 22. That was when, as a member of the Belmont, Mass. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. He is also an actor with stage and screen credits, appearing in the critically acclaimed HBO police drama, The Wire, and most recently as the subject of the documentary Accidental Courtesy, which filmed his real-life encounters with Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi leaders as he helps to dismantle racism across the United States He is even the godfather of former Klan Imperial Wizard Roger Kelly’s granddaughter.ĭavis has received the Elliott-Black and MLK awards as well as numerous other local and national awards for his work in race relations and is often sought by media outlets as a consultant on the KKK and race relations. Since his journey began, Davis has joined an all-white country band, attended KKK rallies, and accepted a “certificate of friendship” from the Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK. This eventually led Daryl to become the first black author to travel the country interviewing KKK leaders and members, all detailed in his book 'Klan-Destine Relationships.' Today, Daryl owns numerous Klan robes and hoods given to him by active members who became his friends and renounced the organization. In 1983, a chance occurrence after one of his performances led him to befriend a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

He has also worked with such notables as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, The Legendary Blues Band, and many others.

As a pianist, vocalist, and guitarist, he performs nationally and internationally with The Daryl Davis Band. His unorthodox yet simple approach has wielded surprising results and just might be the solution for all racial discourse.ĭaryl Davis graduated from Howard University with a degree in jazz. An encounter with prejudice early in life led black musician Daryl Davis on a quest to determine the source of the hate, leading to how and why he has attended KKK rallies.