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Black Man Has Single-Handedly Made 200 KKK Members Leave Through Friendship

Black Man Has Single-Handedly Made 200 KKK Members Leave Through Friendship

What a man.

Mark McGowan

Mark McGowan

It's quite hard to believe that the KKK is still a thing, but then again in this day and age when we know more than ever and are more connected the planet still somehow gets more divisive.

Despite this, one black man has single-handedly managed to get 200 members of the Ku Klux Klan to leave simply by befriending them.

58-year-old Daryl Davis has spent a lot of time since the 1980s travelling and trying to persuade racists to leave the organisation by using kindness and friendship, asking them 'How could you hate me when you don't even know me?'

Credit: Caters

He decided long ago to try and tackle the problems the group causes, one member at a time, documenting it in the book 'Klan-destine Relationships: A Black Man's Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan', which is currently being updated and re-released in 2017.

A talented blues musician, Daryl used his music to also bridge the gap.

"Music absolutely played a massive role in bridging many gaps in the racial divides I would encounter," Daryl said. "Once when I was performing in a predominantly white venue, a white man approached me on my break and put his arm around me and exclaimed, 'This is the first time I've ever heard a black man play piano like Jerry Lee Lewis'."

Credit: Caters

After speaking with this man he learned that he was a member of the KKK, overtime becoming good friends which caused him to leave the organisation.

"There have been some incidents in which I was threatened and a couple of instances where I had to physically fight," Daryl said. "Fortunately, I won in both instances.

"These things happen from time to time, but it is to be expected, because you are dealing with someone who hates you and wants to be violent just because of the colour of your skin."

What a hero he is.

Featured image credit: Caters

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