DARYL DAVIS
Renowned Rock/Blues Musician, Conflict Navigator,
Unifier, and Author
SPEAKS ABOUT
Resolving Conflict • Active Listening • Kindness & Civility
Conversations That Ignite Change • Building Trust & Collaboration
Build Bridges – Not Walls • Empathetic Leadership
Inspiration • Putting An End To Hate • The Power Of Music
Summary
• RENOWNED BLUES MUSICIAN – FOR 32 YEARS PLAYED PIANO FOR CHUCK BERRY.
• PARENTS WERE IN U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE – HE GREW UP LIVING ALL OVER THE WORLD.
• CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE WITH RACISM LED HIM ON 40-YEAR JOURNEY TO ENGAGE KKK LEADERS AND WHITE SUPREMACISTS – ASKING, “HOW CAN YOU HATE ME WHEN YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW ME?”
• HIS CONVERSATIONS HAD AMAZING OUTCOMES. MANY KKK LEADERS BECAME TRUE FRIENDS, LEFT THE KLAN, AND GAVE DARYL THEIR ROBES AND HOODS.
• AUTHOR, KLAN-DESTINE RELATIONSHIPS AND SUBJECT OF THE AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY ACCIDENTAL COURTESY.
• DARYL EMPOWERS PEOPLE TO USE CONVERSATION TO DEFUSE CONFLICT AND BUILD BRIDGES – AT WORK, IN THE COMMUNITY, AND WITH FAMILY/FRIENDS.
• SPEAKS ABOUT: THE POWER OF CONVERSATION TO IGNITE POSITIVE CHANGE; UNDERSTANDING HATE GROUPS IN AMERICA; AND HOW ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC BROKE DOWN RACIAL BARRIERS IN THE 1950s AND 1960s.
DARYL DAVIS VIDEOS
SPEECH DESCRIPTIONS
CONSIDER ENHANCING DARYL’S SPEECH WITH A SCREENING OF ACCIDENTAL COURTESY, THE FILM ABOUT HIS WORK
FROM DISCORD TO HARMONY: TRANSFORMING CONFLICT INTO COLLABORATION
Conflict is unavoidable in everyday life – it’s how we react to it that matters. Maybe you’re a manager trying to defuse tension among employees…your co-worker doesn’t share your beliefs or background…or you have a long-simmering disagreement with a family member or neighbor. The one thing all conflict has in common – nothing gets solved until the opposing sides talk about it. In his presentation, Daryl Davis empowers people with a universal tool kit to resolve conflict at work, at home, and in the community – one conversation at a time. The average person may never face the kinds of extreme experiences Daryl has had, but his lessons serve as great examples of the positive change that can happen when people have the courage to listen to one another without trying to change each other’s minds.
What audiences learn:
• Apply universal tools to create positive change wherever conflict or disagreement exists.
• Preparation/Empathy: Understand the other person’s position and reasoning before you engage.
• You needn’t respect what people say but you must respect their right to say it.
• Learn to listen, understand, and keep emotions in check, even in incendiary
situations.
• How to recover/repair/strengthen a relationship with a co-worker, client, friend, or family member.
MEETING HATE WITH HUMANITY: THE POWER OF CIVILITY AND DIALOGUE
Daryl Davis draws on 40+ years of engaging KKK and far-right White supremacist groups to unpack why hate crimes and rhetoric are on the rise. The daily headlines are troubling, but Daryl reminds audiences hate is learned – and what is learned can be unlearned. He encourages people to engage and educate, not shun and cancel, those with toxic beliefs, and he shows them how. “Ignorance breeds fear, fear breeds hate, and hate breeds destruction. Engaging and finding common ground is the key to defusing fear.” As a musician, Daryl promotes harmony over discord, and believes we can all play a part in making positive change by meeting hate with civility and building bridges instead of walls. “There’s only one race,” he says, “the human race.”
What audiences learn:
• How fear drives hate and engagement overcomes it.
• The key to changing another’s reality through perception.
• Ways to overcome one’s own prejudices, biases, and fears.
• How one person can make a world of positive difference.
• How to navigate a world of ever-growing diversity.
HAIL, HAIL ROCK AND ROLL – THE ULTIMATE BRIDGE-BUILDER
At its inception, Rock ’n’ Roll was called “the devil’s music” among many derogatory names by its detractors. Some cities banned it altogether. Rooted in Black R&B and Blues, its infectious beat led young people in the South to leap over the rope that segregated Whites from Blacks in the audience. The 1957, Chuck Berry lyric, “Hail, hail Rock’n’Roll, deliver me from the days of old,” in his hit song School Days, celebrated the music as a turning point in race relations. Daryl brings that history forward into his own story, using music as a common denominator and proving that musical and racial harmony go hand-in-hand.
What audiences learn:
• How musical inspiration differs from musical appropriation.
• The Elvis conundrum: How he was crowned King of a genre he didn’t create.
• How Country and Blues are the same music, and why society separates them.
• How a Black musical genre improved race relations and elected a Black president.
• Why music is a cultural necessity and not a luxury.
Resources
DARYL'S VIDEO LIBRARY
DARYL'S ASSETS
Follow Daryl on Social Media
FEATURED MEDIA
• C-SPAN Washington Journal: Daryl Davis on Combating Racism in the U.S.
• The Joe Rogan Experience: Daryl Davis Breaksdown His Technique for Talking to Klan Members
• Changing Minds With Daryl Davis Podcast
• Minds: Daryl Davis Press Coverage
• Variety: Deon Taylor’s Hidden Empire Film Group to Produce and Finance ‘The Daryl Davis Project
• Inside Influence Podcast with Julie Masters
• A Slight Change of Plans with Maya Shankar podcast – A Black Musician Takes on the KKK
• NPR – How One Man Convinced 200 Ku Klux Klan Members To Give Up Their Robes
• Daily Blast LIVE: How Musician Daryl Davis Gets KKK Members to Renounce Their Hatred
• NBC Washington: Maryland Musician Who Converts White Supremacists Reflects on Capitol Riot
• Forbes: Caring Got Cool: Diverse, Remote Teams Make Empathy A Vital Skill For Managers
• Newsweek: Anti-KKK Activist Daryl Davis Addresses MAGA and Police Racism in New Q&A
• Los Angeles Times: A black man’s quixotic quest to quell the racism of the KKK, one robe at a time
• People: Musician Daryl Davis Has Converted Hundreds of KKK Members Over 30 Years — Here’s How
• The 80th National Folk Festival 2008-09 Folklife Apprenticeship Award Recipient
IN PRINT AND FILM
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TESTIMONIALS
“Your presentation was riveting. You are such an engaging speaker and your story is powerful. We are humbled and inspired by the lessons you shared with us, and the knowledge that each of us can make a difference.”
“We do have a new bigotry in America…we don’t want to be around anyone disagreeing with us. We self-select our news sources and self-select our encounters. I admire this guy [Daryl Davis] because he did exactly the opposite. You can’t have a culture of encounter if you say I want to encounter interesting new people who know more than I do about nuclear physics but dear God I don’t want to encounter anyone who fundamentally has a different take on things than I do.”
“My father, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “Is it politic?” Vanity asks the question, “Is it popular?” But, conscience asks the question, “Is it right?” And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right. Daryl Davis continues to take a position that is not safe, political, or popular, but is right because it is driven by his conscience and courage. The work that Daryl is doing to bridge the divide, sets an example for our nation and world to follow in light of the current racial tensions. Daryl is truly committed to creating the Beloved Community where hate no longer exists, but love prevails.”
“Daryl Davis is an inspiration in my personal and professional life. From him, I have learned that no conversation is impossible and no person, no matter how hateful, is beyond reach.”
“By learning from [Daryl’s] most extreme experiences, and from those who sit on the extreme side with whom he engages, we could learn leadership lessons that might help all of us… It’s through his courage that we may all explore some of our own.”
“He was fabulous! We had a great turnout too! Couldn’t have been better. Daryl exceeded our expectations!”
“At all points Davis approaches his quest for information with equally impressive helpings of honesty, good humor and huge reserves of sheer nerve. Davis never “spins” their rationalizations. He just lets his subjects talk, and invariably the wounded, confused and fearful psyches under the bluster are laid bare. Davis consistently approaches each of his subjects as individuals; some he comes to respect and even like. The man has earned his right to preach.”
“Daryl Davis is a voice of reason in the midst of a lot of noise. By word and example he demonstrates that civil discourse across differences is not only possible, but is the only way to change hearts and minds.”
“It was awesome. He had a great impact on our community. One faculty member said that he was ”the best MLK Day speaker in the 21 years that he’s been here.”
“The lecture itself was captivating. Daryl is such a great story teller…he really draws you in. I wish we could have let him speak longer so that he could have shared more stories of his encounters, more video clips & some more of his amazing piano skills. There were women on either side of me who could barely contain themselves – they were ready to boogie when he tickled those ivories! Daryl received a much-deserved standing ovation at the conclusion of the night and I saw many community & campus members approach him for a handshake and photo before his departure.”
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“Daryl was the right person at the right time for Manchester. His message, timeless, was well, WELL received and is still being talked about on campus almost a week later. We had over 500 people in attendance, the most my Office has had for a presentation like this on campus in the six years I’ve worked for Manchester…”