if you thought a boogiewoogie blues pianist pounding the keys of a hot piano after literally setting it on fire was wild wait until daryl davis whips out a ku klux klan robe and hoodie from his bag and tells you about the bizarre friendship between hima black manand his buddy roger kelly the white imperial wizard or national head of the ku klux klan kkk who after years of fistthumping arguments over lunches and jokes quit the white supremacy cultfounded in 1865 to carry out lynching campaigns against african americansbut not before apologising to davis and handing him his regalia till date this black blues musician has managed to convert 200 white supremacists and convince around 45 klansmen and klanswomen to quit the kkk simply by befriending them for someone who has actively sought out white supremacists of different raceoriented hate groups as a hobby for the past five decades davis at 59 looks hate in the eye and engages with some of the most bigoted men in america thats what he did when he drove to charlottesville in december to steer a conversation with the imperial wizard of the rebel brigade knights a group that claims affiliation with the kkk and those who led the rally in mumbai to share his journey with college students and meet various think tanks davis tells you why american hate groups arent a thing of the past yet given the boost in membership the organized kkk movement has seen in 2017 according to a study by 2042 the us will be 5050 white and noncolour that is very troublesome for people empowered for hundreds of years so theyre trying to recruit and engage people to stop this it doesnt take long for davis to grab your attention donald trump is a good thing to have happened to america he says when quizzed about the levels of white supremacy in the time of divisive rhetoric from the us president as much as the violence were seeing in this administration the good thing is that hes got conversations that were long overdue started be it race abuse of women sexual harassment gender pay gaps thats why you see more exposure of white supremacy since donald trump came into office its not that new people are joining but in the current political climate a lot of people who were undercover feel more comfortable coming out he says so how does one go around having a conversation about race with a racist and change their mind davis theory is simple knowledge and dialogue by learning as much as one can about their beliefs before you meet them and then allowing them to express their views even if you dont agree challenge them politely not violently if racism is something one learns through dialogue one can unlearn through dialogue too in the end they still may not like you but they will respect you born in chicago to parents working for the us embassy davis remained oblivious