Klan-destine relationships. A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan
by Daryl Davis
1998 · New Horizon Press · 315 pages
“After 129 years of nothing but violence and hatred, it’s time we get to know one another on a social basis, not under a cover of darkness,” explains Grammy Award winning pianist Daryl Davis of his extraordinary journey into the heart of one of America’s most fanatical institutions – the Ku Klux Klan. Davis had a “question in my head from the age of 10: ‘Why do you hate me when you know nothing about me?’ That question had never been answered from my youth.”
Driven by the need to understand those who, without ever having met him, hate him because of the colour of his skin, Daryl decides to seek out the roots of racism. His mesmerizing story, told in gritty words and startling photographs, is both harrowing and awe-inspiring. Finding that the Klan is entrenched not only in the Deep South but in his own neighborhood, Davis sets out to meet Roger Kelly, Imperial Wizard of the Invincible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. After a cathartic first encounter at the end of which Kelly poses for pictures, as long as “we don't have to stand with our arms around each other,” the two slowly form as close a friendship as a Black man and a Klansman can. Through Kelly and others, Davis begins to infiltrate the Klan, gaining real insight into its workings and members’ minds. Using music to bridge the seemingly uncrossable gulf between the Klan’s hatred and the Black man’s rage, Davis travels an uncharted road filled with gripping highs and lows.
[Text Source: Open Library]
“Cancelling people is not the answer, folks. Like treating a pervasive illness, combating racism requires persistent, consistent, and comprehensive efforts—listening, conversation, education, awareness, and empathy. This will create change.”
