#Roger kelly former klan member series#

He believes that President Trump’s election win is one of the best things to have happened to the United States. “The neo-Nazis and Klan people tell me, ‘Daryl, I don’t want my grandkids to be brown.’”Įven then, however, Davis remains hopeful. Census Bureau, ethnic and racial minorities will make up the majority of the United States’ population by the year 2042, in what white supremacists refer to as the “browning of America” and “white genocide.” Davis warns that as we get closer to that point, more racist incidents are likely to take place. A rose by any other name is still a rose.”Īccording to the U.S. “I’m glad that I have these things, because it means the people who wore these things, who believed in what these things stood for, no longer wear them, and no longer believe in them.”Īfter his decades-long, cross-country experience interacting with KKK members and neo-Nazis, Davis says the “new” face of hate known as the alt-right is, in fact, not new at all: “They’ve changed the name from white supremacy to white separatists, to white nationalists, to alt-right. Several hundred members have left the Klan as a result, and he has amassed roughly 40 robes and hoods from people who used to rank as high as Imperial Wizards and Grand Dragons in the Klan. (Photo: Daryl Davis)Įver since, Davis has made it his mission to befriend members of the Ku Klux Klan, not only to better understand them but, more importantly, so that they can better understand him. And then put it all together, and I will have a book.” Titled Klan-destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan, Davis’ book about his experiences was published in 1998.ĭaryl Davis with former KKK Imperial Wizard Roger Kelly. “And I’ll go around the country and I’ll do that. In time, Davis learned that the guy at the bar, and others like him, “were just human beings.” “At that point, I decided: I need to go and interview other Klan people,” he said. “I realized, maybe I’d found the way to get the answer to my question of: How can you hate me when you don’t even know me? Who better to ask?” “He looked back at me just as plain as day,” recounts Davis, “and he said, ‘I’m a member of the Ku Klux Klan.’ That’s when the man told him, “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever sat down and had a drink with a black man.” Davis asked him why. A white man approached him and offered to buy him a drink.

The search for the answer to his question began one night in 1983, when Davis found himself playing in a country music bar. “How can you hate me, when you don’t even know me?”

“It was beyond me that someone who had never seen me before, someone who had never spoken to me before, someone who knew absolutely nothing about me, would want to inflict pain upon me for no other reason than the color of my skin,” says Davis.

#Roger kelly former klan member series#

In this first episode of Unfiltered, a new weekly Yahoo News interview series documenting real, unflinching and unapologetic American voices, on topics ranging from the judicial system, to gun control, to the sex industry, we take a look at one man’s mission to understand hate and prejudice within this country. And he’s also an African-American man who’s persuaded more than 200 members of the Ku Klux Klan to leave their robes, hoods and hateful beliefs behind. * The Jesus quote is from Matthew 5:44 in the King James 2000 Bible.Daryl Davis is an accomplished R&B and blues musician, having played with the likes of Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and B.B. When Roger quit the Klan, he gave Daryl his hood and robe, as have now more than 20 other former Klan members after leaving the Klan.įor it's hard to hate an enemy once he's been humanized for you, and befriends you, and as he becomes your friend, he is no longer your enemy.Įditor's Note:Daryl stars in 'Accidental Courtesy,' a documentary about his time with Ku Klux Klan members which premiered on PBS's 'Independent Lens,' on 2/13/17, after its theater run.

Person by person, Daryl is making significant inroads with many Klan members, especially those that had never gotten to know a black person.ĭaryl began a dialogue with Klan Imperial Wizard Roger Kelly, and over time, the two became so close, that Roger asked Daryl to be his daughter's Godfather. 'You can take a positive action against a negative action, and come out well. 'He's really got something,' continued Scott. 'I looked him up, and he took me in like a brother,' said Scott. Daryl Davis (right) with friend and former Klan grand dragon, Scott Shephard