0:00:16.199,0:00:18.619
So a black guy walks into a bar -

0:00:19.979,0:00:22.390
sounds like the beginning of a bad joke;

0:00:22.390,0:00:24.548
I see people shifting around a little bit,

0:00:24.548,0:00:25.689
but it gets better -

0:00:25.689,0:00:30.079
and the first thing he sees[br]is everybody else in there is white.

0:00:30.469,0:00:34.809
So he sits down at the piano[br]on the stage with the band, to play,

0:00:34.809,0:00:36.520
and on the band break,

0:00:36.520,0:00:39.848
a white gentleman[br]comes up to him and says,

0:00:39.848,0:00:42.746
"You know, this is the first time

0:00:42.746,0:00:47.400
I ever heard a black man[br]play piano like Jerry Lee Lewis."

0:00:48.419,0:00:52.928
Well, the black pianist[br]tries to explain the black origin

0:00:52.928,0:00:57.469
of boogie woogie, rockabilly,[br]and rock and roll to this gentleman,

0:00:57.469,0:00:59.040
but he didn't buy it.

0:00:59.270,0:01:01.969
But he wanted to buy[br]this black guy a drink.

0:01:02.199,0:01:03.749
So they went back to the table.

0:01:03.749,0:01:07.127
He had a beer, the black guy[br]had a cranberry juice,

0:01:07.127,0:01:09.140
and they began talking.

0:01:09.478,0:01:14.801
And then the white gentleman says,[br]"You know, this is the first time

0:01:14.801,0:01:18.489
I ever sat down and had a drink[br]with a black man."

0:01:18.489,0:01:21.250
Well, the first thing[br]that occurs to the black guy is,

0:01:22.120,0:01:24.711
this guy is having a night of firsts.

0:01:25.031,0:01:28.181
And when he asked[br]the white gentleman why -

0:01:28.181,0:01:29.881
how can that be? -

0:01:30.191,0:01:35.142
the white gentleman revealed[br]that he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

0:01:36.491,0:01:40.371
Well, this guy[br]was having a night of firsts.

0:01:41.440,0:01:46.801
My first experience with racism[br]occurred when I was 10 years old,

0:01:46.801,0:01:48.451
in 1968.

0:01:48.451,0:01:52.411
My family had just moved[br]to a place called Belmont, Massachusetts,

0:01:52.801,0:01:56.021
and I was one of two black kids[br]in my entire school.

0:01:56.021,0:01:57.681
Ten years old in fourth grade.

0:01:57.681,0:02:01.611
I joined the Cub Scouts,[br]and we had a parade, a march,

0:02:01.611,0:02:07.271
from Lexington to Concord, Massachusetts,[br]to commemorate the ride of Paul Revere.

0:02:07.271,0:02:11.951
Somewhere down the parade route,[br]as I was marching with my fellow scouts,

0:02:11.951,0:02:16.580
I began getting hit by bottles,[br]soda pop cans, rocks

0:02:16.580,0:02:18.226
and debris from the street

0:02:18.226,0:02:22.942
by a small group of white spectators[br]off to my right on the sidewalk.

0:02:23.202,0:02:27.529
I had no idea that I was[br]the only person getting hit

0:02:27.529,0:02:29.531
until my den mother[br]and other scout leaders

0:02:29.531,0:02:33.160
came rushing over and huddled[br]over me with their bodies

0:02:33.160,0:02:35.309
and escorted me out of the danger.

0:02:35.309,0:02:39.339
And they never explained[br]why this was happening to me.

0:02:39.339,0:02:40.860
And I had no clue.

0:02:40.860,0:02:42.024
When I got home,

0:02:42.024,0:02:46.459
my mom and dad were fixing me up[br]with Band-Aids and Mercuorchrome,

0:02:46.461,0:02:52.852
and they explained to me[br]why I was the target of these projectiles.

0:02:54.099,0:02:58.043
At the age of 10,[br]I formed a question in my mind,

0:02:58.043,0:02:59.866
and that question was,

0:02:59.866,0:03:04.170
How can you hate me[br]when you don't even know me?

0:03:04.810,0:03:08.151
So years later, here I am,

0:03:08.151,0:03:11.852
a college graduate[br]with my degree in music,

0:03:11.852,0:03:13.751
and I'm sitting at a bar

0:03:14.321,0:03:17.772
at a table with a member of the KKK.

0:03:17.780,0:03:21.311
I'd been seeking the answer[br]to that question for years,

0:03:21.311,0:03:23.202
unable to find it.

0:03:23.202,0:03:25.724
Now, here's my opportunity.

0:03:25.724,0:03:32.352
For who better to ask than someone[br]who would join an organization

0:03:33.042,0:03:38.731
who historically, their premise has been[br]hating those who do not look like them

0:03:38.731,0:03:41.093
and who do not believe as they believe?

0:03:41.093,0:03:42.952
Who better to answer that question,

0:03:42.952,0:03:46.004
How can you hate me[br]when you don't even know me?

0:03:46.592,0:03:53.531
I persuaded this Klan member[br]to give me the contact information

0:03:53.761,0:03:56.521
for the leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

0:03:56.521,0:03:58.942
He reluctantly provided it to me

0:03:58.942,0:04:03.013
on the condition that I not reveal[br]where I got it from.

0:04:03.013,0:04:05.724
The Klan leader's name was Roger Kelly.

0:04:05.724,0:04:08.342
I had my secretary contact Roger Kelly

0:04:08.342,0:04:10.351
because I decided[br]I wanted to write a book.

0:04:10.351,0:04:14.583
I wanted to sit down and interview[br]Klan leaders and Klan members

0:04:14.583,0:04:16.357
all around the country

0:04:16.357,0:04:18.872
and ask them that question.

0:04:19.202,0:04:23.254
So I was going to start right there[br]in Maryland, where I currently live.

0:04:23.254,0:04:29.044
So I had her contact Roger Kelly[br]and not tell him that I was black

0:04:29.044,0:04:32.412
but ask him if he would consent[br]to sitting down with her boss

0:04:32.412,0:04:34.354
and giving him an interview.

0:04:34.354,0:04:35.793
So he agreed.

0:04:36.163,0:04:39.104
I arranged a hotel room for us to meet in.

0:04:39.104,0:04:42.792
And when he arrived[br]with his armed bodyguard,

0:04:42.792,0:04:45.323
they were shocked to see that I was black.

0:04:45.323,0:04:47.373
And I could see apprehension on them.

0:04:47.373,0:04:50.582
And I stood up and went like this[br]to show I had nothing in my hands

0:04:50.582,0:04:52.154
and invited them in.

0:04:52.154,0:04:54.682
They came in, Mr. Kelly took a seat,

0:04:54.682,0:04:57.320
and the bodyguard[br]stood at attention to his right.

0:04:57.320,0:05:00.152
He had his sidearm[br]right here in his holster.

0:05:00.502,0:05:03.623
And we started this interview process.

0:05:03.623,0:05:05.315
Everything was going along fine.

0:05:05.315,0:05:09.384
He let me know that, indeed,[br]I was inferior

0:05:09.384,0:05:10.764
due to the color of my skin -

0:05:10.764,0:05:12.553
that made me inferior.

0:05:12.553,0:05:16.646
But I wasn't there to fight with him,[br]I was there to learn from him

0:05:16.646,0:05:18.483
where these perceptions came from.

0:05:18.483,0:05:20.674
Because in order to address something,

0:05:20.674,0:05:24.075
you have to learn how[br]they got there in the first place.

0:05:24.075,0:05:25.495
So I'm listening.

0:05:25.805,0:05:28.224
A little while later into this interview,

0:05:28.224,0:05:32.616
a strange noise occurred,[br]kind of a (Quack), and we all jumped.

0:05:33.016,0:05:37.416
And my eyes locked[br]with Roger Kelly's eyes.

0:05:37.416,0:05:40.495
I knew he had made that noise[br]because I didn't make it.

0:05:40.495,0:05:45.649
And my eyes were silently asking him,[br]"What did you just do?"

0:05:45.649,0:05:49.534
Well, his eyes had fixated on mine,

0:05:49.534,0:05:52.425
and he was silently[br]asking me the same question.

0:05:52.735,0:05:55.024
The bodyguard had his hand on his gun,

0:05:55.024,0:05:58.526
looking back and forth[br]between the Klan leader and myself,

0:05:58.526,0:06:02.175
silently asking, "What did[br]either one of you all just do?"

0:06:02.875,0:06:05.985
Well, my secretary realized[br]what had happened.

0:06:06.182,0:06:12.037
She had filled the ice bucket with ice[br]and put cans of soda in there

0:06:12.037,0:06:14.767
to be hospitable and offer[br]everybody beverages.

0:06:14.767,0:06:18.035
Well, the ice bucket[br]was sitting on top of the dresser.

0:06:18.035,0:06:20.144
The ice had begun melting,

0:06:20.144,0:06:23.047
and the cans of soda[br]cascaded down the ice,

0:06:23.047,0:06:24.865
and that's what made the noise,

0:06:24.865,0:06:27.675
and we all began laughing

0:06:27.675,0:06:30.994
at how ignorant we all were.

0:06:30.994,0:06:34.063
But this was a teaching moment.

0:06:34.063,0:06:36.886
I won't say anything[br]was learned at that moment,

0:06:36.886,0:06:38.655
but a lesson was taught.

0:06:38.655,0:06:41.076
And that lesson was this:

0:06:41.396,0:06:45.184
All because some "foreign" -

0:06:45.184,0:06:48.036
and underscore or highlight[br]the word "foreign" -

0:06:48.036,0:06:50.616
entity of which we were ignorant,

0:06:50.616,0:06:52.987
that being the bucket[br]of ice and cans of soda,

0:06:52.987,0:06:57.634
entered into our little comfort zone[br]via the noise that it made,

0:06:57.634,0:07:02.236
we became fearful[br]and accusatory of each other.

0:07:02.236,0:07:06.104
Thus, ignorance breeds fear.

0:07:06.384,0:07:09.404
If we don't keep that fear in check,

0:07:09.714,0:07:12.886
that fear, in turn, will breed hatred

0:07:12.886,0:07:15.887
because we hate[br]those things that frighten us.

0:07:16.087,0:07:21.762
If we do not keep that hatred in check,[br]that hatred will breed destruction.

0:07:21.766,0:07:26.055
We want to destroy[br]those things that frighten us

0:07:26.357,0:07:27.707
and that we hate.

0:07:27.707,0:07:29.364
But guess what.

0:07:29.364,0:07:32.466
They may have been harmless,[br]and we were just ignorant.

0:07:32.795,0:07:37.475
So we saw the whole chain[br]almost unravel to completion

0:07:37.475,0:07:39.482
had the bodyguard drawn his gun

0:07:39.482,0:07:42.985
and destroyed either myself[br]or my secretary.

0:07:42.985,0:07:46.456
So like I said, we all began laughing[br]and carried on with the interview,

0:07:46.456,0:07:48.543
and there were no more problems.

0:07:49.203,0:07:53.675
Over time, Mr. Kelly[br]would come down to my house

0:07:53.675,0:07:55.845
and continue these interviews.

0:07:56.155,0:07:59.576
He would even have dinner[br]and lunch at my table.

0:07:59.806,0:08:03.006
Or we would go out[br]and have dinner and lunch.

0:08:03.006,0:08:06.196
Now, this was somebody[br]who considered himself superior

0:08:06.196,0:08:07.856
and me inferior.

0:08:08.256,0:08:09.806
We continued this relationship.

0:08:09.806,0:08:11.917
He did not invite me to his house.

0:08:11.917,0:08:15.966
But after a couple of years,[br]he began inviting me to his home.

0:08:15.966,0:08:17.838
I would see his Klan den,

0:08:17.838,0:08:20.757
and I'd take some pictures[br]and some more notes for my book.

0:08:20.757,0:08:23.689
Then he began inviting me to Klan rallies.

0:08:24.019,0:08:27.525
I'd go to these Klan rallies[br]and watch these Klansmen and Klanswomen

0:08:27.525,0:08:29.157
in their robes and hoods

0:08:29.157,0:08:32.809
parade around this big,[br]20- to 30-foot cross,

0:08:32.809,0:08:35.796
set it on fire, and it would (Whoosh),

0:08:35.796,0:08:38.339
and they'd parade around[br]and give all these lectures -

0:08:38.339,0:08:40.298
take some more pictures and notes.

0:08:40.298,0:08:43.159
Well, CNN wanted to do a story on this.

0:08:43.159,0:08:45.387
They knew who I was through music,

0:08:45.387,0:08:48.077
and they knew who Roger Kelly was[br]through the Klan.

0:08:48.077,0:08:53.187
So I'm going to show you this clip[br]that was shown every hour for 24 hours

0:08:53.187,0:08:56.967
on CNN and on HLN all over the world.

0:08:56.967,0:09:01.357
And I want you to pay particular attention[br]to what Mr. Kelly says.

0:09:01.357,0:09:06.908
He says that even though he and I[br]would do different things together,

0:09:06.908,0:09:11.277
it did not change his views on the Klan,

0:09:11.277,0:09:16.527
because his views on the Klan[br]had been cemented in his mind for years.

0:09:16.527,0:09:20.950
And then he goes on to say how he believes[br]in separation of the races.

0:09:21.170,0:09:24.547
But also listen[br]to what he says about respect,

0:09:24.547,0:09:27.006
and then listen[br]to the commentary at the end

0:09:27.006,0:09:29.475
that the two CNN anchorpeople give.

0:09:29.475,0:09:31.107
Show the video please.

0:09:31.107,0:09:34.056
(Video) [CNN Sunday Morning]

0:09:35.977,0:09:38.986
Bob Cain: Welcome to this final hour[br]of CNN Sunday morning.

0:09:38.986,0:09:41.821
I'm Bob Cain, in today for Miles O'Brien.

0:09:41.821,0:09:44.158
Joie Chen: Good morning[br]to you all. I'm Joie Chen.

0:09:44.158,0:09:46.648
BC: Friendship can transcend[br]all kinds of boundaries.

0:09:46.648,0:09:47.698
JC: Just look at us.

0:09:47.698,0:09:49.329
And two men in the Washington area

0:09:49.329,0:09:51.429
are showing that even[br]an African American man

0:09:51.429,0:09:54.288
and a member of the Ku Klux Klan[br]can find common ground.

0:09:54.288,0:09:56.289
CNN's Carl Rochelle reports.

0:09:56.289,0:09:57.309
(Piano music)

0:09:57.309,0:09:59.288
CR: Daryl Davis plays a hot piano.

0:09:59.288,0:10:02.290
It's part of the show,[br]and it makes him stand out.

0:10:02.290,0:10:04.908
(Boogie woogie piano music)

0:10:06.156,0:10:08.128
He also stands out here.

0:10:08.128,0:10:13.568
Davis is one of the few African Americans[br]you will ever find attending a KKK rally.

0:10:13.568,0:10:15.777
More than attending, he is welcome.

0:10:15.777,0:10:18.128
Roger Kelly: I got more respect[br]for that black man

0:10:18.128,0:10:20.099
than I do you white niggers out there.

0:10:20.099,0:10:21.828
(Shouting)

0:10:21.828,0:10:23.697
CR: It's been a tough day for the Klan.

0:10:23.697,0:10:25.890
Their Maryland rally[br]found many local residents

0:10:25.890,0:10:28.411
rejecting the message of white separatism.

0:10:28.411,0:10:31.349
After it's over, Daryl Davis[br]hangs around backstage

0:10:31.349,0:10:34.039
with his friend, Klan wizard Roger Kelly.

0:10:34.039,0:10:36.360
(Chatter)

0:10:38.128,0:10:41.520
It's not unusual for blacks[br]and whites to be friends,

0:10:41.520,0:10:45.359
but it is unusual to find a black man[br]and a Klan leader chatting pleasantly

0:10:45.359,0:10:48.567
over an orange soda after a Klan rally.

0:10:48.567,0:10:51.669
The relationship started[br]over a book Davis was writing.

0:10:51.669,0:10:54.620
His secretary set up[br]an interview with Roger Kelly

0:10:54.620,0:10:56.578
but didn't tell him Davis was black.

0:10:56.578,0:10:58.699
They talked, and talked some more.

0:10:58.699,0:11:02.068
Davis learning about the Klan;[br]Kelly learning about Davis.

0:11:02.068,0:11:05.338
RK: We get to know one another,[br]and we do different things, you know.

0:11:05.338,0:11:07.779
It hasn't changed my views[br]about the Klan, you know,

0:11:07.779,0:11:11.458
because my views on the Klan's been[br]pretty much cemented in my mind for years.

0:11:11.458,0:11:14.450
CRF: Kelly and his Klan friends[br]go to hear Davis and his band.

0:11:14.450,0:11:17.429
(Boogie woogie band music)

0:11:19.789,0:11:21.778
And Davis goes to their rallies.

0:11:21.778,0:11:26.769
Daryl Davis: I sat on the front row,[br]and I listened to each Klansman speak.

0:11:27.049,0:11:29.911
Some things I agreed with;[br]other things I did not agree with.

0:11:29.911,0:11:33.390
CRF: Davis thinks that his presence[br]promotes badly needed understanding.

0:11:33.390,0:11:36.008
DD: Hate stems, I believe, from fear,

0:11:36.458,0:11:38.000
from fear of the unknown,

0:11:38.000,0:11:40.213
and I think this is all across the board,

0:11:40.213,0:11:42.779
regardless of whether[br]it's the Klansmen or anything else.

0:11:42.779,0:11:44.929
CR: But he has[br]no illusions about the Klan.

0:11:44.929,0:11:47.911
If he did, his friend[br]would be quick to disabuse them.

0:11:47.911,0:11:49.868
RK: I believe in separation of the races.

0:11:49.868,0:11:52.250
I believe that's in[br]the best interest of all races.

0:11:52.250,0:11:53.391
CR: Does he really?

0:11:53.391,0:11:55.930
Or has friendship[br]transcended the color barrier?

0:11:55.930,0:11:58.350
Listen to Kelly at a Klan rally.

0:11:58.350,0:12:00.358
RK: I will follow[br]that man to hell and back

0:12:00.358,0:12:03.980
because I believe in what he stands for,[br]and he believes in what I stand for.

0:12:03.980,0:12:06.121
A lot of times[br]we don't agree with everything,

0:12:06.121,0:12:08.811
but at least he respects me[br]to sit down and listen to me.

0:12:08.811,0:12:11.159
And I respect him[br]to sit down and listen to him.

0:12:11.159,0:12:15.531
CR: The strange relationship[br]of a KKK wizard and his black buddy.

0:12:15.531,0:12:19.761
In Washington, I'm Carl Rochelle,[br]CNN Sunday Morning.

0:12:20.831,0:12:21.840
BC: Strange.

0:12:21.840,0:12:23.380
It's a good adjective - strange.

0:12:23.380,0:12:24.441
JC: Certainly that.

0:12:24.441,0:12:25.440
(Video ends)

0:12:25.440,0:12:26.600
DD: Okay.

0:12:26.600,0:12:31.119
You heard the Klan leader say[br]that he respected me.

0:12:31.119,0:12:32.821
What's up with that?

0:12:33.341,0:12:35.210
He's the Klan leader. I'm a black guy.

0:12:35.210,0:12:37.991
He said, "We may not agree on everything,

0:12:37.991,0:12:40.690
but at least he respects me[br]to sit down and listen to me,

0:12:40.690,0:12:42.949
and I respect him[br]to sit down and listen to him.

0:12:42.949,0:12:44.011
Very important, folks.

0:12:44.011,0:12:46.049
If you have an adversary,

0:12:46.049,0:12:49.090
you don't have to respect[br]what they're saying,

0:12:49.090,0:12:51.232
but respect their right to say it.

0:12:51.232,0:12:53.059
And have that conversation.

0:12:53.059,0:12:56.720
We spend too much time[br]talking about each other,

0:12:56.720,0:12:57.872
at each other,

0:12:57.872,0:12:59.031
past each other,

0:12:59.031,0:13:02.461
and not enough time[br]talking with each other.

0:13:02.461,0:13:03.971
That is respect.

0:13:03.971,0:13:04.991
Okay?

0:13:04.991,0:13:06.059
(Applause)

0:13:06.059,0:13:07.070
Thank you.

0:13:07.070,0:13:10.361
And as a result of that respect,

0:13:10.361,0:13:11.701
over time,

0:13:11.701,0:13:15.013
Mr. Kelly began rethinking his ideology,

0:13:15.013,0:13:20.072
and that cement that held his ideas[br]together in his mind for so long

0:13:20.072,0:13:23.302
began to crack and crumble[br]and then fall apart.

0:13:23.302,0:13:25.722
And then just a few years back,

0:13:25.722,0:13:28.913
Mr. Kelly decided[br]to give up the Ku Klux Klan -

0:13:28.913,0:13:32.701
he renounced it[br]and gave me his robe and hood.

0:13:32.701,0:13:35.612
This is the robe of the Klan leader!

0:13:35.612,0:13:36.733
(Applause)

0:13:36.733,0:13:37.801
Right here.

0:13:37.801,0:13:42.382
This is the same robe[br]you saw him wearing in the video.

0:13:43.401,0:13:46.902
And of course, this is the hood and mask.

0:13:48.091,0:13:52.022
Keep in mind, when two enemies[br]are talking, they're not fighting,

0:13:52.022,0:13:53.051
they're talking.

0:13:53.051,0:13:56.154
They might be yelling and screaming,[br]but at least they're talking.

0:13:56.154,0:13:57.952
It's when the talking ceases

0:13:57.952,0:14:00.343
that the ground[br]becomes fertile for violence.

0:14:00.343,0:14:02.442
So keep the conversation going.

0:14:02.442,0:14:05.484
People learn racism through dialogue.

0:14:05.484,0:14:07.532
Somebody tells them about it.

0:14:07.532,0:14:09.453
So if you can learn it through dialogue,

0:14:09.453,0:14:11.823
you can also unlearn it through dialogue.

0:14:12.053,0:14:14.412
So a black guy walks into a bar,

0:14:15.092,0:14:17.013
sits down at the piano,

0:14:17.013,0:14:19.183
and then a conversation starts.

0:14:20.941,0:14:23.673
(Boogie woogie piano music)

0:16:00.464,0:16:02.885
Thank you all very much. Thank you.

0:16:02.885,0:16:04.635
(Applause) (Cheers)

0:16:05.795,0:16:06.843
That's -

0:16:06.843,0:16:08.003
Thank you.

0:16:08.003,0:16:09.013
(Applause) (Cheers)

0:16:09.013,0:16:10.094
Thank you.

0:16:10.094,0:16:12.404
(Applause) (Cheers)

0:16:14.114,0:16:15.594
Thank you.