About this episode

Daryl Davis discusses his unique approach to combating racism through dialogue with members of the Ku Klux Klan.

In this episode of Eyewitness History , I speak with Daryl Davis, an American R&B and blues musician, author, and race-relations activist whose life has uniquely bridged the worlds of music and social change. Davis is widely known for an unconventional and controversial approach to combating racism: engaging directly with members of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups through sustained personal dialogue. Over decades of outreach, he has persuaded dozens of Klansmen to renounce their affiliation, and he has documented these encounters in his book Klan-Destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan as well as in the documentary Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America (2016). Before his activism gained national attention, Davis established himself as a respected professional musician. A gifted boogie-woogie and blues pianist and vocalist, he studied at Howard University and went on to perform with some of the most iconic figures in American music, including Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Bo Diddley. His playing style reflects deep roots in traditional blues and early rock-and-roll piano, and he has…

People in this episode

Host: Eyewitness History

Guest: Daryl Davis

Topics covered

• racism
• music
• social change
• dialogue
• activism
• Ku Klux Klan
• blues

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ku Klux Klan, Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America

Books & works: Klan-Destine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan

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