Movie Review: Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America (2016)

Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America (2016) produced and directed by Matt Ornstein

When Daryl Davis graduated with a degree in music from Howard University, his parents were worried about him being a success as a musician. Many are the parents who hope for a fallback career option for their musically-inclined children. Davis has worked with a wide variety of musicians from Chuck Berry to Willie Nelson. The truly amazing and seemingly impossible thing that Davis has done is what he does in his free time. Curious as to how someone can hate him without knowing him, he has met with many members of the Ku Klux Klan. Not only has he met with them, he has befriended them. And they have befriended him. A great many of them have left the Klan or are on their way out thanks to their personal contact with Daryl Davis. And yes, Daryl Davis is a black man.

If that isn't surprising enough, Davis is collecting Klan memorabilia and has over two dozen sets of robes from Klan members who have quit the Klan and given their robes to Davis. He hopes to open a "Museum of the Klan." His purpose is not to honor the Klan, but to keep a record of the Klan and to be a witness to the possibility of change. Knowing where you came from (for both Blacks and Whites) is important for knowing where you are going. Davis's vision is to fight racism through changing hearts, which can only happen with a change of opinions, which can only happen with a change of experience. 

Davis's commitment to truth and to respecting others (even those he disagrees with) is amazing. While he disagrees with the Klan, he respects their right to express their opinions. He not only respects that right, he actually listens to them. That listening is the first step that eventually opens the door for them to listen to him. The dialogue creates a connection. At one point, Davis says he does what he does to help his people. He clarifies that by "his people" he means his fellow Americans, regardless of their skin color. That's perhaps the biggest and most difficult step that needs to be made. It can't be made by a law or by the education system, it has to be made by each and every one of us.

This documentary is endlessly fascinating. Davis deals with love and hate from the Klan; he deals with love and hate from the black community. He travels the country, lecturing about his activities and talking with people. His life story and his work are well worth examining and experiencing. 

Highly recommended.