A black musician and activist who befriends white supremacists and helps them quit the KKK
befriended many Klansmen over the years and helped them see the error of their ways; the ex-Klansmen gave him their robes.
Daryl Davis met the first KKK member he deradicalized at the Silver Dollar Lounge in Maryland, in 1983.
He was playing piano with his band when a white patron approached him and complimented his performance. He then said that he had never heard a black person play like Jerry Lewis. Daryl revealed to the patron that artists like Lewis were influenced by the same black people as Daryl was and that Jerry Lewis was a friend of his. The patron laughed and didn’t believe it. The patron then revealed that he was a member of the KKK and that he had never sat down and had a drink with a black person before.
Davis was intrigued by this encounter and decided to befriend the Klansman and learn more about his views. This was the beginning of his quest to engage with white supremacists and persuade them to abandon their hate.
Bio
born March 26, 1958 USA
Extra
Davis has frequently played backup for Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis