Daryl Davis Biography – Wiki
Daryl Davis is an American musician who specializes in the field of R&B and Blues. In addition, he is a bandleader, author, activist, and actor. He is known for his lively style of boogie-woogie piano. He has collaborated with various musicians such as Bruce Hornsby, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry.
Davis has also been involved with the popular white supremacist hate group KKK (Ku Klux Klan), convincing its members to leave and denounce the group, in his efforts to improve race relations and stop racial discrimination. Sources such as The Washington Post and CNN reported covered the whole story.
Dave is also the main character in the 2016 documentary titled ‘Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America.’ He is a Christian and he publicly practices his virtues.
Daryl Davis Age
He was born on 26 March 1958, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. He turned 61 years old in 2019. Davis celebrates his birthday on March 26th every year.
Daryl Davis Family | Daryl Davis Father
He is the son of the late William B. Davis, former Department of State Foreign Service officer. Details about his mother have not been revealed to the public. Davis was raised on Christian morals.
He and his parents traveled around the world when he was a child. He lived in various countries, some of them being African nations.
Daryl Davis Wife And Children
Davis likes to keep his personal life private hence information about his dating life is not available. It is therefore not known whether he is married or has any children. However, this information will be updated as soon as it is available from a reliable source.
Daryl Davis Howard University
Because he lived in different parts of the world, Davis attended casually integrated schools of foreign diplomats, which had children of various ethnicities and cultures schooling together. He moved back to the United States when he was 10 years old, where he joined an all-white Cub Scout pack in Belmont, Massachusetts. He was also educated at Howard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. He was a member of the Howard University Choir and Jazz Vocal Ensemble.
Daryl Davis Career | Daryl Davis KKK | Daryl Davis R&B
Davis acquired the style of blues musicians from the Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta, who had migrated north. While at Howard University, he was mentored by famous pianists such as Pinetop Perkins and Johnnie Johnson.
He has regularly played as backup for famous singers Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. Davis was friends with McKinley Morganfield, professionally known as Muddy Waters. He played piano in The Legendary Muddy Waters Blues Band (formed in 1980). He has also been involved with B. B. King, the famous blues icon.
At the 2009 Washington Area Music Awards (WAMA), he won the award for Best Traditional Blues/R&B Instrumentalist. He served as Artistic Director of the Centrum Acoustic Blues Festival.
He has taken part in efforts to improve race relations by engaging in dialogue with KKK. His involvement with the group had at first brought about the controversy, but Davis’s point was later understood. Due to this, his work was commended widely especially in America, as it not only improved interaction between blacks and whites in America but also reduced the intensity of racial discrimination.
Daryl has acted on platforms such as stages, films, and television. He had a minor role in ‘The Wire’, a HBO TV series. He also took part in ‘The Time Of Your Life’.
Daryl Davis Documentary Accidental Courtesy | Daryl Davis Movie
‘Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America’ is an Ameican documentary film. It debuted in 2016 on the PBS television series ‘Independent Lens’ (a weekly TV series that airs on PBS presenting documentary films made by independent filmmakers).
It was directed and produced by Matt Ornstein. It follows the interaction between Davis and members of the KKK and white Aryans. It also gave different views from people such as members of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Black Lives Matter. After airing on in 2016, the film was again shown on PBS on 13 February 2017 and went on to rerun.
Two days before the airing of the film, Frank Ancona, the Klansman shown at the opening and close of the film was found shot dead in Missouri. The victim’s wife and step-son were charged for the murder.
Daryl Davis Author | Daryl Davis Book
Daryl Davis has written a book titled Klan-Destine. The book focuses on race differences based on the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). It is available on Amazon and other retail stores.
Daryl Davis Boogie Woogie
Davis acquired the style of blues musicians from the Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta, who had migrated north. His style makes him unique in both rhythm and delivery of his music.
Daryl Davis Music | Daryl Davis Songs
- American Roots (2000)
- Alternate Routes (2005)
- Greatest Hits (2011)
Daryl Davis Height
Information concerning his height is still under research and will soon be updated immediately we come across details concerning his height.
Daryl Davis Net Worth
Information concerning his net worth is still under research and will soon be updated immediately we come across details concerning his net worth.
Daryl Davis Facts and Body Measurements
Here are some interesting facts you don’t want to miss about Davis:
• Full Name: Daryl Davis
• Date of Birth: 26 March 1958
• Age/ How old?: 61 years
• Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
• Birthday: 26th March
• Nationality: American
• Fathers Name: William B. Davis
• Mothers Name: Not Available
• Siblings: None
• Marital Status: Single
• Children/ Kids: None
• Height/ How tall?: Not Available
• Weight: Not Available
Frequently Asked Questions About Daryl Davis
Who is Daryl Davis?
Daryl Davis is an American musician who specializes in the field of R&B and Blues.
How old is Davis?
He turned 61 years old in 2019. Davis celebrates his birthday on March 26th every year. Davis was born on 26 March 1958, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
How tall is Daryl?
Information concerning his height is still under research and will soon be updated immediately we come across details concerning his height.
Is Daryl Married?
Davis likes to keep his personal life private hence information about his dating life is not available. It is therefore not known whether he is married or has any children. However, this information will be updated as soon as it is available from a reliable source.
How much is Daryl Worth?
Daryl has not revealed his net worth. He is a simple person and never likes to attract public attention by publicly displaying his wealth. However, this section is under review. We will update you when details about his net worth are revealed.
How much does Daryl make?
There are no details showing his annual or monthly earnings. His salary figures will be updated as soon as they are available.
Where does Daryl Live?
Because of security reasons, Davis has not shared his precise location of residence. We will immediately update this information if we get the location and images of his house.
Is Daryl dead or alive?
Davis is alive and in good health. There have been no reports of him being sick or having any health-related issues.
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Daryl Davis Conversion
Daryl Davis TED Talk – YouTube
Daryl Davis in Orlando: How to convert a Klansman
Musician and lecturer Daryl Davis pulls up a picture on his phone in which he — a black man — is surrounded by people in white robes and pointed hoods, a cross burning in the background. It was taken two weeks ago.
“Here I am at a Klan rally,” he says, as if talking about a backyard barbecue. “Listen, there are people wearing Hawaiian shirts, policeman’s uniforms, judge’s robes that feel the same way these people do. … But if we pretend it doesn’t exist, if we sweep it under the rug, it will only fester.” For 35 of his 60 years, Davis has been trying to win over members of the Ku Klux Klan through a tactic that’s increasingly rare in these times: friendship.
And he has a collection of surrendered Klan robes, including one given to him in Jacksonville this weekend, that would indicate his success. The featured speaker at Valencia College’s Global Peace Week, Davis is the subject of the 2016 documentary film, “Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America.” He’ll share his message starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Valencia’s School of Arts and Entertainment. Expect it to be provocative.
Consider his perspective on the continuing racial divide in America and the role of the Donald Trump White House.
“He’s the best thing that has happened to this country,” Davis says. “That wasn’t his plan, of course. But as a result of his actions, we’re now having to open those closet doors, lift that rock and roll back the carpet and let all this stuff out and address it. And that’s a good thing.”
But plenty of people who support Davis’ mission don’t respect his methods.
In “Accidental Courtesy,” there’s a scene with members of the Black Lives Matter movement angrily shouting at and denouncing Davis. Detractors have called him an Uncle Tom. And some say his testimony as a character witness for Richard Preston, an avowed white nationalist, led to a lighter prison sentence for Preston, convicted of firing his gun during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville last summer.
It doesn’t deter Davis. “When two enemies are talking,” he likes to say, “they’re not fighting.”
The son of U.S. diplomats, Davis spent much of his youth overseas, attending internationally diverse schools. It was only when his family would return stateside that he experienced the segregated or then-newly integrated classrooms of his era.
The contrast between an environment of equality and one of discrimination shaped his worldview. But it was an encounter during a 1983 gig in a Maryland country-western bar that set his path.
“This white gentleman approached me and he says, ‘I really enjoy you all’s music,’” Davis recounts. “I thanked him, shook his hand and he says, ‘You know this is the first time I ever heard a black man play the piano like Jerry Lee Lewis.’”
Lewis, of course, adopted his style from black bluesmen and boogie-woogie players, as Davis tried to explain. The man in the bar had never heard them, nor had he ever sat down and chatted with a black man. He was, as Davis soon learned, a card-carrying member of the KKK.
Their unlikely conversation eventually turned into a friendship, and five months later, the man surrendered his robe to Davis — the first of what has become a collection of about 200 robes, 46 of which Davis has kept himself, planning to open a museum.
And he has continued to meet, befriend, discuss and try to reason with those whose views he finds abhorrent — despite being subjected to skeptics, criticism, prejudice, threats and occasionally violence. He has been called both racial epithets and a race traitor.
He has been attacked physically a couple of times, he says, but it has not stopped him.
“Sure, you’re in some uncomfortable environments with people who may not like you or share your views or who think you’re inferior to them because of the color of your skin — or that you have a smaller brain than they do, you’re prone to crime and welfare and selling drugs,” he says. “You name the stereotype, I’ve heard it. But I know who I am. I don’t have a criminal record. I’ve never sold drugs. I’ve never been on welfare. I have more education than most of them put together.”
Criticism from those who share his skin color won’t dissuade him either.
“I’m not saying my way is the only way,” he says. “Of course we know that not everybody is going to change. There will be those people who will go to their graves … being hateful, racist and violent. But I’m making little dents here and there. I have the robes to prove it.