Examples Of Daryl Davis Modern Courage

Jack Burnett

Mr. Telles

English 1H

4 April 2023

Daryl Davis Modern Courage

INTRODUCTION

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird examines the virtue of courage through Atticus’ staying true to what he believes in despite heavy societal opposition (Lee). Today, courage can be described as defending the oppressed, even if it means sacrificing time, money, or even one’s safety. To give everything a person has to a cause bigger than oneself is true heroism. A major problem in today’s society is racism, specifically extremist ideology designed around the hatred of people of color. Modern day activist Daryl Davis is the embodiment of courage through his acts in breaking down these dangerous beliefs despite the danger involved in his campaign for

Originally designed as a club for ex-Confederate soldiers, the KKK became a “vehicle for Southern white underground resistance to Radical Reconstruction” (The Editors of). Members would attack recently freed slaves in an attempt to assert white superiority over blacks. Members could be found spread throughout the southern United States, including in levels of state and local government (The Editors of). Although the KKK saw membership dramatically decline due to growing racial tolerance in the United States, the late 20th century featured a revival of the group due to the Civil Rights movement. KKK attacks on supporters of the movement still occurred until the late 1980’s (Lay). From the 1980’s to today, the KKK can be found in “a close relationship with such organizations as the Aryan Nations and other neo-Nazi factions” (Lay). However, the group has since fractured into many unorganized sub-divisions, which makes it hard to estimate how many members still affiliate with the

Davis recounts in an interview, “I’m wondering, why am I sitting with a Klansman? But he was very friendly. It was the music, you know, that brought us together” (Brown). Daryl Davis was the very first black person the Klansman had ever sat down and talked to. Davis was intrigued as to how the man could hate black people even if he had never sat down and spoken to one. Since then, he has dedicated himself to finding the origins of racism, and how these dangerous ideologies can be unraveled. In a Ted Talk he gave in 2017, Davis recounts an interview he set up with Roger Kelly, the Imperial Wizard of the KKK, who was initially unaware that Davis was black. Kelly arrived with an armed bodyguard, and at first, the conversation was tense. But after a long discussion, the two were able to bond. Davis explains, “I wasn’t there to fight him, I was there to learn from him, to learn ‘where does this ideology come from?’” (“Why I, as a Black Man, Attend KKK Rallies”). Davis continued this unlikely friendship for years, attending KKK rallies miles away just to talk to Kelly. His approach worked; after years of friendship with Kelly, the imperial wizard of the KKK finally left the clan for good. It was with this same empathy that Davis was able to convince hundreds of members to leave the KKK. Davis explains that he “didn’t convert anybody. They saw the light