The World's Greatest Jazz Musician
We begin 2026 in trouble. This is hardly an original thought. I believe if news crews
interviewed just about anyone off the street, that person would agree that our nation is in trouble.
The trouble, obviously, comes from those other people out there who are upsetting everything
that is good and decent about America. If I were the interviewee, I would also say something
along those lines. I am often so upset by what I see and hear on the news that I wonder if I can,
or even should, remain on friendly terms with those who support ideas that I believe are deeply
reprehensible.
The answer, according to Daryl Davis, a fantastic jazz musician who has become a
personal hero to me is, “YES!” We should extend our friendship, to even the worst people, let
alone friends and neighbors. Why? Because understanding (not necessarily agreeing with) one
another is the only possible way to heal our society. Real listening doesn’t just heal the other guy,
but us as well.
I don’t know of anyone who follows through on what he believes more than Mr. Davis.
He is black; but goes straight into the heart of hatred by getting to know people in the Ku Klux
Klan. He even attends rallies just to be sure he really understands what they’re all about.
When Davis was 10 years old, he was chosen to carry the American flag in a parade.
Some people began to throw rocks. He didn’t realize the rocks were only aimed at him. He
thought maybe some people just didn’t like the boy scouts. The troop leaders gathered around to
protect him. Later, he told his parents, and they explained what racism was. He simply couldn’t
believe it. How could a person hate him when they didn’t even know him? It just didn’t make
sense. As he grew older, he read all kinds of books on the subject, and it still didn’t make sense.
He decided to go to a powerful primary source to ask what the reason for the hatred was.
The person he picked was Roger Kelly, the Imperial Dragon of the KKK in his area.
Nobody thought this was a good idea. Davis was warned to be extremely careful or Kelly would
kill him. Nevertheless, Mr. Davis had his white secretary make an appointment for Kelly to come
and be interviewed. Kelly agreed and showed up with his bodyguard. He was very surprised to
see that Davis was black but still agreed to sit and talk after Davis proved that he was unarmed
(unlike the bodyguard, whose gun was obvious). Davis asked questions and listened with respect
to the insulting beliefs that Kelly held. He recounts a dangerous moment when they heard a
strange sharp sound. Both jumped up out of their chairs, the bodyguard was reaching for his gun.
The secretary came in white-faced. The ice in the bucket where the soda was chilling had shifted
causing the cans to fall suddenly making the noise that scared them. That incident literally broke
the ice as they both laughed at their shared ignorance and the fear it caused. Davis has a lot to
say about the progression of ignorance which often leads to fear, and then to hate and, if left
unchecked, violence.
That was the beginning. Kelly didn’t change his views, but he at least agreed to come
again. And then again. Eventually, he would come over on his own for lunch or dinner. The day
came when Kelly invited Davis to his home. Davis kept inviting Kelly over, sometimes also
inviting other black and Jewish friends. Kelly invited Davis to KKK rallies. They became real
friends. The unconditional respect and friendship Kelly felt from Davis eventually spoke louder
than the years of hateful conditioning. Kelly left the clan and gave Davis his robes.
Davis’s reach has gone much farther than that. Through Kelly, he’s met many members of
the KKK and white supremists. Although he never set out to change anyone’s belief, more than
200 people have left the KKK either directly or indirectly through his influence.
This is how the world changes. Not with war, but with a determination to understand your
enemy. This is something we all can do. Not march into our local KKK headquarters but talk to
people with opposing political views. Even I could, with some determination, make up my mind
to understand the why’s of others beliefs without jumping in immediately to point out the many
ways that they are in the wrong. It may or may not make a difference, but it might.
To learn more about Davis you can watch the Documentary “Accidental Courtesy” on
YouTube, or read his book “Klandestine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux
Klan.”
interviewed just about anyone off the street, that person would agree that our nation is in trouble.
The trouble, obviously, comes from those other people out there who are upsetting everything
that is good and decent about America. If I were the interviewee, I would also say something
along those lines. I am often so upset by what I see and hear on the news that I wonder if I can,
or even should, remain on friendly terms with those who support ideas that I believe are deeply
reprehensible.
The answer, according to Daryl Davis, a fantastic jazz musician who has become a
personal hero to me is, “YES!” We should extend our friendship, to even the worst people, let
alone friends and neighbors. Why? Because understanding (not necessarily agreeing with) one
another is the only possible way to heal our society. Real listening doesn’t just heal the other guy,
but us as well.
I don’t know of anyone who follows through on what he believes more than Mr. Davis.
He is black; but goes straight into the heart of hatred by getting to know people in the Ku Klux
Klan. He even attends rallies just to be sure he really understands what they’re all about.
When Davis was 10 years old, he was chosen to carry the American flag in a parade.
Some people began to throw rocks. He didn’t realize the rocks were only aimed at him. He
thought maybe some people just didn’t like the boy scouts. The troop leaders gathered around to
protect him. Later, he told his parents, and they explained what racism was. He simply couldn’t
believe it. How could a person hate him when they didn’t even know him? It just didn’t make
sense. As he grew older, he read all kinds of books on the subject, and it still didn’t make sense.
He decided to go to a powerful primary source to ask what the reason for the hatred was.
The person he picked was Roger Kelly, the Imperial Dragon of the KKK in his area.
Nobody thought this was a good idea. Davis was warned to be extremely careful or Kelly would
kill him. Nevertheless, Mr. Davis had his white secretary make an appointment for Kelly to come
and be interviewed. Kelly agreed and showed up with his bodyguard. He was very surprised to
see that Davis was black but still agreed to sit and talk after Davis proved that he was unarmed
(unlike the bodyguard, whose gun was obvious). Davis asked questions and listened with respect
to the insulting beliefs that Kelly held. He recounts a dangerous moment when they heard a
strange sharp sound. Both jumped up out of their chairs, the bodyguard was reaching for his gun.
The secretary came in white-faced. The ice in the bucket where the soda was chilling had shifted
causing the cans to fall suddenly making the noise that scared them. That incident literally broke
the ice as they both laughed at their shared ignorance and the fear it caused. Davis has a lot to
say about the progression of ignorance which often leads to fear, and then to hate and, if left
unchecked, violence.
That was the beginning. Kelly didn’t change his views, but he at least agreed to come
again. And then again. Eventually, he would come over on his own for lunch or dinner. The day
came when Kelly invited Davis to his home. Davis kept inviting Kelly over, sometimes also
inviting other black and Jewish friends. Kelly invited Davis to KKK rallies. They became real
friends. The unconditional respect and friendship Kelly felt from Davis eventually spoke louder
than the years of hateful conditioning. Kelly left the clan and gave Davis his robes.
Davis’s reach has gone much farther than that. Through Kelly, he’s met many members of
the KKK and white supremists. Although he never set out to change anyone’s belief, more than
200 people have left the KKK either directly or indirectly through his influence.
This is how the world changes. Not with war, but with a determination to understand your
enemy. This is something we all can do. Not march into our local KKK headquarters but talk to
people with opposing political views. Even I could, with some determination, make up my mind
to understand the why’s of others beliefs without jumping in immediately to point out the many
ways that they are in the wrong. It may or may not make a difference, but it might.
To learn more about Davis you can watch the Documentary “Accidental Courtesy” on
YouTube, or read his book “Klandestine Relationships: A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux
Klan.”