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14 December 2006 Author of book on Klan
Daryl Davis, a race relations expert and author of the book Klan-Destine Relationships, will speak Thursday, Jan. 18 at 3:30 p.m. in Longwood University’s Jarman Auditorium for the Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium. The book, subtitled A Black Man’s Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan, chronicles Davis’ attempt to seek out the roots of racism and foster racial harmony by forming relationships with Klan members. He slowly became friends with the imperial wizard of the Invincible Empire Knights of the KKK, through whom he gained insight into the Klan’s workings and members’ minds. He was attacked by two Klanswomen but defended in court by one Klansman; he was spat upon, kicked and threatened, yet he also was given a standing ovation at a Klan rally and has been given about a dozen robes by those who decided to leave the organization. The son of a Foreign Service officer, Davis spent his early childhood in Europe and Africa and didn’t return to the United States until he was 10, in 1968, when he was pelted with rocks, bottles and debris while carrying the American flag for his Cub Scout troop at a parade in Boston. After later encountering other acts of racial hostility, he decided to try to “understand those who, without ever having met him, hate him because of the color of his skin.” Davis is a graduate of Howard University and a Grammy Award-winning musician who has toured with the Muddy Waters Legendary Blues Band and Chuck Berry. The Symposium is Longwood’s celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. For more information, visit www.daryldavis.com/ |