Klan-Destine Relationships: A Black Man's Odyssey in the Ku Klux Klan
Far Hills, New Jersey: New Horizon Press, 1998. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine / Very Good. Item #2354632
ISBN: 0882821598
First edition. Dated, inscribed, and signed by author on front endpaper ('2/5/98, Hope you enjoy this book and wishing you a peaceful life full of joy. Daryl Davis'). 1 inch closed tear on rear jacket flap, otherwise an excellent copy. Binding tight and square, text clean, bright, and unmarked.
xxv, 315 pp. Includes two sections of black-and-white photographs. "'After 129 years of nothing but violence and hatred, it's time we get to know one another on a social basis, not under a cover of darkness,' explains Grammy Award winning pianist Daryl Davis of his extraordinary journey into the heart of one of America's most fanatical institutions - the Ku Klux Klan. Having spent his early childhood in Europe and Africa, the son of a foreign service officer, David didn't experience racism until he returned to the United States at age ten and was pelted with rocks, splintered bottles and debris while carrying the American flag for his all-white cub scout troop at a parade in Boston. At fifteen he was jeered at and told by another hate group he would be shipped back to Africa, and in his twenties, already an up and coming musician, Daryl was attacked by a racist cop. Driven by the need to understand those who, without ever having met him, hate him because of the color of his skin, Daryl decides to seek out the roots of racism. His mesmerizing story, told in gritty words and startling photographs, is both harrowing and awe-inspiring. Finding that the Klan is entrenched not only in the Deep South but in his own neighborhood, Davis sets out to meet Roger Kelly, Imperial Wizard of the Invincible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. After a cathartic first encounter at the end of which Kelly poses for pictures, as long as 'we don't have to stand with our arms around each other,' the two slowly form as close a friendship as a Black man and a Klansman can. Through Kelly and others, Davis begins to infiltrate the Klan, gaining real insight into its workings and members' minds. Using music to bridge the seemingly uncrossable gulf between the Klan's hatred and the Black man's rage, Davis travels an uncharted road filled with gripping highs and lows. Among them: bringing the Imperial Wizard to meet a Black woman upon whose lawn a cross burned, seeking out a self-proclaimed White Supremacist Grand Klaliff who, while claiming not to believe in violence, issues Davis a warning and predicts a race war with 'your uniform the color of your skin' and being attacked by two Klanswomen but defended in court by one Klansman. On the one hand, spat upon, kicked and threatened, and on the other, given a standing ovation at a Klan rally and deeded robes by those who decide to leave the organization; the determined Davis journeys on... Davis's courageous quest into the heart of ignorance and hatred results, he believes, in a ray of hope for harmony between the races and the future of mankind. Daryl Davis earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Howard University. He hwas played with the Muddy Waters' Legendary Blues Band, Chuck Berry and many others, even jamming with President Bill Clinton. Davis was the featured pianist on the Grammy Award winning album, Flip, Flop & Fly, and he has garnered acclaim from The Washington Post, Richmond Newsleader, Columbia Free Times, Baltimore Sun, and Catholic Standard."
Price: $275.00