Tension was very high during that meeting, but, they began to talk. When the meeting took place, both Davis and the wizard were a bit surprised – Davis because Kelly had brought an armed bodyguard, and Kelly because Davis was black. Davis arranged a meeting through his white secretary without letting Kelly know about his skin color. Davis began to read up on the Klan and continued this fascination throughout his life.Īt a certain point he had gotten the contact information of an imperial wizard (a state leader of the Klan) named Roger Kelly. It started for Davis back when he was a child – he could not understand why a group of masked individuals hated him so much without so much as meeting him. Daryl Davis is a blues musician, author, and bandleader, but also has an interesting hobby of befriending members of the Klan and convincing them to give up their robes. It’s a strange sight to see an African American at a KKK rally, but even stranger for one to be invited to a rally. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.Cole Garber, Staff Writer & Page Designer (16 pages photos not seen) - Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. The dual dangers of this book are that some readers will find tacit support for their beliefs that blacks are easily led and others will view the Klan as ``not all that bad'' and perhaps join where they otherwise might not have. Finally, he endlessly makes excuses for Klan members who are no longer violent, as if this somehow mitigates their continued membership in such a terrorist organization. Indeed, the anti-Semitism of the KKK is a massive blind spot for Davis. In another truly offensive scene, Davis visits the National Holocaust Museum, where he interviews several luminaries on the hate scene who are protesting the museum but neglects to mention their purpose-the protesters deny the Holocaust took place. Nowhere during these scenes does the author consider that his book might be the perfect vehicle by which Kelly can gain new members. In the most ridiculous case, Kelly names Davis godfather to his newborn daughter. For instance, Roger Kelly, who is still active in the KKK, is depicted as a white ``separatist'' as opposed to a white ``supremacist.'' Davis seems oblivious to Kelly's smooth way of talking out of both sides of his mouth and casts him as a victim in an episode of ``reverse discrimination'' at Howard University, where Kelly is denied entrance to a talk show on racist groups. What never occurs to Davis is that he may be being used by these people. Surprisingly, Davis is able to form friendships with some of the racists he meets-or so it would seem. When a friend of his says he is joining the Ku Klux Klan, Davis approaches a few local heavies hoping to find ``common ground'' on which they can stand. Grammy-winning musician Davis gets taken for a ride by the KKK in this futile and pointless volume. Davis'courageous quest into the heart of ignorance and hatred delivers a ray of hope for harmony between the races and the future of humankind. Throughout his investigation, Davis treads a fine line - on the one hand he is spat upon, kicked and threatened, and on the other, given a standing ovation at a Klan rally and deeded robes by those who decided to leave the organisation. He is attacked by two Klanswomen, but is defended in court by a Klansman. Among them: bringing the Imperial Wizard to meet a black woman upon whose lawn a cross was burned, seeking out a self-proclaimed White Supremacist Grand Klaliff who, while claiming not to believe in violence, issues Davis a warning of race war with "your uniform the colour of your skin". Using music to cross a seemingly unbridgeable racial divide, the author travels an uncharted road filled with gripping highs and lows. Through Kelly and others, Davis infiltrates the Klan, gaining real insight into its workings and its member's minds. Over several meetings, the two slowly form as close a friendship as a black man and a Klansman can. The Grammy award winning pianist and author meets with Roger Kelly, Imperial Wizard of the Invincible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. This often dangerous journey took him to the very heart of the fanatical and infamous Ku Klux Klan and he finds that the Klan is active in many areas of modern America - not just in the Deep South. Driven by an intense need to understand those who hate him because of the colour of his skin, Davis decided to seek out the roots of racism. As a teenager he was told he would be shipped back to Africa. While marching in a cub-scout parade, young Daryl Davis was pelted by rocks and bottles.
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