All language subtitles for Accidental Courtesy-Daryl Davis, Race & America-2016

-Move out of the street!

Move out of the street now!

-I want to show you something

that a lot of people walk by
obliviously,

even step on every day,
and don't even realize it.

-So, what are we
looking at here, Daryl?

-Okay, well, we're on the porch

where Lincoln is sitting
in his big chair.

So you know,
two of the greatest speeches

ever given in this country

were the Gettysburg Address
by Abraham Lincoln

and the "I Have a Dream" speech
by Martin Luther King.

Take a look right over here.

In fact, somebody's
standing on it right now.

Excuse me a minute.

This right here --

This is where he stood
and gave that famous speech.

-We will be able
to speed up that day

when all of God's children,
black men and white men,

Jews and gentiles,
Protestants and Catholics,

will be able to join hands

and sing in the words
of the old Negro spiritual,

"Free at last. Free at last.

Thank God almighty.
We are free at last."

-All you have
is an etching in the concrete.

There's no plaque, no sign.

Millions of people
trample all over that

not even realizing
how important that spot is.

He says, "I have a dream."

I call this
stepping on the dream.

Excuse me.

-We don't have the concentration

of the African-American
businesses that we used to have.

You know how you can go

to almost any city
and find Chinatown?

We had our Soul Town.
We had our soul-food places.

We had jazz clubs
in a concentrated community.

We don't have that anymore.
I miss that.

-I'm used to being out
at nighttime.

So I'm always being stopped.

My father was always
being stopped.

But on the night of 9/11,
every street

leading into Washington, DC,
was road-blocked,

and I had to get in line
to be checked.

It was my turn,
and as I pulled up,

the white officer looked at me
and said, "Go ahead, sir."

-Really?

-And I thought,
"Oh, my goodness.

I've arrived."

Because that night...

the cops were not looking
for black people.

I haven't been here
for a number of years.

Suburban DC is where I live,

in Maryland,
right across the line.

We're headed
into the music store here

at Chuck Levin's
Washington Music Center.

Bought my first keyboard
from here.

-I wanted to say I remember when
you came to my middle school,

Green Acres, when I was like
sixth or seventh grade.

-Professor Steckel.
-Yep, yep, yep.

And you talked about the Klan
and that whole thing,

and that, like,
rocked my world then.

And then I started working here,
and you came in here.

And then you're, like, in, you
know, both sides of the world.

And I see Daryl Davis
in all worlds.

-This is my teacher.
How you doing?

-How are you?
-Good to see you.

-He was very popular
and a class leader.

I do remember that.

Otherwise, how would I remember
your name from 1970?

I do remember your name.

-Back when my mom
was sick with cancer,

I would bring her down here
for treatment.

And so during that time,
you know, I'd park the car,

and I'd wander around
Howard University campus.

I'm glad that I came here
to Howard.

Musicians that I worked with,
that I graduated with

were some of the most talented
individuals that I've ever seen.

How you doing, man?
Good to see you. How you doing?

-Good, man. I read your book.
-Oh, you did?

-Yes, sir,
when it first came out.

-Oh, I appreciate that, man.
Thank you.

-It took a lot of heart
and courage.

I wanted to ask him,
"Were you ever scared?"

'Cause I know
I would have been scared.

-Two men in Washington area
are showing

that even
an African-American man

and a member of the Ku Klux Klan
can find common ground.

CNN's Carl Rochelle reports.

-Daryl Davis plays a hot piano.

It's part of the show,
and it makes him stand out.

He also stands out here.

Davis is one of the few
African-Americans

you will ever find
attending a KKK rally.

More than attending,
he is welcome.

-I got more respect
for that black man

than I do you white niggers
out there.

-Let's say
you and 20 other people

have this group
that is anti-racist.

And all you do is talk
about how bad racism is.

Well, what good
is that group doing?

All you're doing
is preaching to the choir.

If you and I agree,
I'm not accomplishing anything

by trying to convince you
of what you already know.

The way you resolve that is
you invite somebody to the table

who disagrees with you

so you can understand why
they have that point of view.

Then, perhaps,
you will figure out a solution

to dissuade their fears.

-We believe
that God has commanded us

to separate ourselves
from other races.

The Klan is not beaten, and
the white race is not beaten.

-It'll be a matter of time.
We're gonna take America back.

It's gonna be the bloodiest war
this country's ever seen.

-And according to the
Southern Poverty Law Center,

there are currently
784 active hate groups

operating across the country,
a number that is growing.

-Among the huge crowds
that greet Donald Trump

in city after city are members
of the newly coined alt-right.

-I would describe it
in the terms

that they don't like to use
and they are redefining --

racist Klan members,
Nazis, Neo-Nazis.

-They had robo calls

that flooded Iowa
and New Hampshire voters.

The message --
"We are white supremacists.

Donald Trump is our man."

-Do you think now

the rest of the country
is beginning to get it?

-I hope so. It's been
a threat the whole time.

There's been a body toll
the whole time.

-There's a guy with a rifle here
shooting at people.

-Police say the suspect has ties
to white supremacists.

-But this is something

that's a wake-up call really
for everyone in the nation.

-White power!
-White power!

-They're not human.

There's nothing about
these people that are human.

-What we have seen
in the last few years

is really an explosion.

When things really took off
in the most dramatic way

was in the fall of 2008,

when we saw the beginning
of an enormous expansion

in the number of both
so-called patriot groups,

or what we all used to call
militia groups,

and hate groups like the Klan.

Klan members are very much still
involved in racial violence,

and they essentially
live on hatred.

-White power!

-There was a Klan plot in Texas,
northwest of Fort Worth,

which involved blowing up
a natural-gas refinery

that was located right next
to an elementary school.

The idea was that all police

and the authorities, EMTs,
and so on

would rush to the site
of this disaster,

and this little, tiny
Klan group, meanwhile,

would run across
to the other end of the county

and start robbing banks
in order to fund the race war.

Federal authorities announced

that had these men
and this one woman succeeded,

they would have murdered

more than 10 times the number
of people killed on 9/11.

-I do believe
integration is wrong.

-We are concerned about what
we view to be a white genocide.

-My people are being
squeezed out of existence.

We would fight to the last
bullet for our people.

-I have seen the future.

I know what can be done.
I know how people can get along.

It bothers me
that they can't see that

when there are so many examples,

or they're not willing
to see it.

DC is known pretty much for
just about every musical style.

Bo Diddley lived here
for a while,

Link Wray,
the legendary Chuck Brown,

Danny Gatton, Roberta Flack,
the late, great Marvin Gaye,

Duke Ellington,
the King of Jazz.

I thought of being a diplomat.

I thought of being
an espionage agent.

I thought of being
a computer programmer.

But a funny thing happened on
my way to being those things --

I saw a rock concert,
a couple of rock concerts

with Chuck Berry,
with Elvis Presley.

And I got sidetracked.

So now I'm a musician.

Today I'm a musician,
actor, author, and a lecturer.

I just arrived
in Los Angeles, California.

I'm here to give a lecture
this evening

at University of California,
Irvine.

It's a pleasure to be here

at University of California,
Irvine.

Thank you all for having me.

This lecture tonight is not
so much about the Ku Klux Klan

as it is about
building relationships

and understanding
and embracing differences.

Always keep the lines
of communication open

with your adversaries,
regardless of what the topic is.

When two enemies are talking,
they're not fighting.

They might be yelling
and screaming and shouting

and beating their fists
on the table,

but at least they're talking,
and they're not fighting.

-I believe in separation.

We've had integration now
for 50 years,

and nobody seems to realize
it don't work.

-I mean, don't you have churches

that only cater to blacks,
though?

-Yeah, because we couldn't
get into the white churches.

Y'all see this fine figure
right here? Huh?

I didn't put this on overnight.
I want to lose it.

I'm not gonna lose it
by tomorrow,

but if I work on it, over time,
it will shrink down.

When you're ingrained
in this stuff,

you're not gonna shut it off
overnight.

Y'all know who Geraldo is?

Okay, I was on his show with
some Neo-Nazis and some Klan.

-KKK kids, children
too young to hate.

Daryl, I want to ask you

have they enacted
children's movement?

-The children's movement started

with a fellow named Tony LaRicci
in the state of Maryland,

who formed the Klan Youth Corps.

-Okay, Mike, why don't you lead
out the various Klan families?

And your name and age?

-My name's Erin, and I'm 12.

-So, what do you think
about your parents

belonging to
these organizations?

-I think it's fine.
-Why, sweetie?

-I mean, they're allowed
to like their race.

They're allowed to be proud
of who they are, too.

-Are you going to be
a member of the group, also?

-Yes.

-So now both daughters
are in the Klan.

And their father --

He got sentenced to 10 years
in a federal prison.

So I thought, "You know what?

I'm gonna call Tina,
the mother."

I tracked down her number.
I called her.

And when I said, "Tina, this is
Daryl Davis," she hit the roof.

She cursed me up one side
and down the other.

Wanted to know
how did I get her phone number,

what did I want,
blah, blah, blah.

I said, "Tina, shut up and
listen to me for a second."

I flew with them to Chicago

and drove them
out to Marion, Illinois,

to the federal penitentiary,

where their father
was imprisoned

so they could visit him.

And nobody in the Klan had
ever done that for them before.

And then so
they had a turnaround.

-Well, my little girl
came a long way, you know,

no thanks to her father and I.

We really did our best
to destroy our kids.

And I do believe God does work

through people --
other human beings --

and he most certainly uses
Daryl Davis as an instrument

because that man
has touched a lot of lives.

-Me and my husband, Harley,

would like to extend
our best wishes

to the city
of Rockville, Maryland,

as you celebrate
the life and legacy

of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Neither me nor my family
are members or are affiliated

with the Ku Klux Klan anymore.

-Last couple questions.
Anybody else?

-This man is an unwritten
civil-rights hero.

Before any other,
it was his music.

When Chuck Berry came out there
playing that rock 'n' roll,

white kids and black kids
could not sit still.

They bounced up out of their
chairs, knocked over the ropes,

and began boogieing and dancing
in the aisles together

for the first time
in American history.

-♪ In the evenin'
when the sun is sinkin' low ♪

-He'll play a lick,
and then I'll imitate his lick.

-And these are things
that you don't plan.

-Right. All spontaneous.
That's rock 'n' roll, though.

♪ Where ♪

♪ Do we go from here? ♪

♪ Where ♪

-I'm standing on the property

of Campovida
in Hopland, California,

where I've been invited to come

and give a lecture
for the Do Lecture Series.

[ Applause ]

-Good morning.

-It's really an honor
to be here.

Thank you all very much
for having me.

How can you hate me
when you don't even know me?

Throughout my life, I've been
looking for an answer to that.

Well, who better to ask
than someone who would join

an organization
whose whole premise

is hating people
who do not look like them?

So I began seeking out members
of the Ku Klux Klan.

They're not hard to find.

You know, they're -- Trust me.
They're all over.

Well, CNN got wind of this
and wanted to do a story.

I got the name of the head
of the Klan in Maryland,

and they said, "Do you think
Mr. Kelly will even talk to us?"

I said,
"I'll do better than that.

I'll get Mr. Kelly
to come back to my house,

and you can interview
the head of the Ku Klux Klan

inside a black man's house."

-I believe
in separation of the races.

I believe that's in the best
interest of all races.

-Does he really?

Or has friendship transcended
the color barrier?

Listen to Kelly at a Klan rally.

-I will follow that man
to hell and back

'cause I believe
in what he stands for,

and he believes
in what I stand for.

A lot of times,
we don't agree with everything,

but at least he respects me
to sit down and listen to me.

And I respect him to sit down
and listen to him.

-We're enemies.

He's the head of the Klan.
I'm a black guy.

But he respected me to sit down
and listen to him.

And in exchange, he sat down
and listened to me.

I did not respect
what he had to say.

I respected his right to say it.

-We get to know one another,
and we do different things.

You know, it hasn't changed my
views about the Klan, you know,

because my views on the Klan's

been pretty much cemented
in my mind for years.

-We kept on doing that.

He and I became
the best of friends.

And over a period of time,

that cement
that was in his mind,

that held his ideas together
began to crack.

And then it crumbled.

And then a few years later,

Roger Kelly quit
the Ku Klux Klan.

Today he no longer believes
in what he said on that video.

And when Roger Kelly
quit the Ku Klux Klan,

he gave me
his robe and hood, okay?

This is the robe
of the Klan leader,

the same one that you saw him
wearing in the video.

And of course...

the hood.

The hood and the mask.

We are living
in space-age times,

but there are too many of us

still thinking
with stone-age minds.

The way to solve this
is you people.

Let's talk to each other.
Let's get the job done.

Thank you all very much.

I enjoy sharing my story,
especially when other people

find it inspiring and
influential on their own lives

because then they in turn go and
share that story with others.

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ I know you never had
money sense ♪

♪ Make just enough
to cover rent ♪

♪ It's not the cash
that's got you feeling... ♪

-In this bag, I have three
of the robes of my collection.

This first robe belonged
to a Grand Dragon.

Grand Dragon is the state
leader, top man in the state.

And "Grand" is signified
by the green.

This fellow wore a dragon patch.

Under his green cape
is another dragon patch.

This Grand Dragon
preferred the satin.

This is the robe of an
Imperial Wizard -- the top guy.

This is a white cotton robe
with blue adornments,

blue stripes, blue sash,
and blue cape.

And of course, you see
the Klan emblem, the MIOAK.

This is the hood.
It's often called a helmet.

Members who want anonymity --

they don't want you
to know who they are --

They wear this mask and peep
at you through these eyelets.

-How many robes like this
do you think you have?

-I don't know. It's hard to say.

I've got a bunch of them.

Couple dozen or more, you know?

-And they each represent
a different person

who is no longer in the Klan.
-Yes. That is correct.

People always say to me, "Daryl,
how can you have this stuff?

Why don't you burn it?"

Well, no, as shameful as it is,

this is a part
of American history.

You don't burn our history,

regardless of the good,
the bad, and the ugly.

And the Ku Klux Klan
is as American

as baseball, apple pie,
and Chevrolet.

The Klan was formed
on Christmas Eve 1865

at the end of the Civil War
by six Confederate generals.

And it was more or less
a social club

where people have the same
ideologies, same beliefs.

They'd dress up in these sheets,
pillowcases, or whatever,

cover their faces,

and they became the para-law
enforcement, if you will.

A lot of the freed black slaves
at the time were superstitious.

And they would come
on horseback,

with their horses draped
in sheets, as well,

and tell these black people

that they were the ghosts
of dead Confederate soldiers.

And this would,
of course, you know,

scare them
and keep them in line.

"These people are free,
but we can still control them."

-Where are we headed today,
Daryl?

-We're headed up to a town
in Washington County, Maryland,

to visit a former Great Titan,

which means a county leader.

He still has
some of those views,

but slowly but surely,
they are diminishing,

as his group of friends
begins to widen in diversity.

Hey, Gary.
How you doing, man?

-How you doing?
-Good to see you.

-Here's my Great Titan
robe here.

Had the black sash,
the stripes, and the belt.

You want me to put it on?

-Yeah.

-I don't think
it'll fit anymore.

-Ideologically wise,
or physical?

-It won't. I'm a little
buffed up now, you know?

-But it still fits
ideological, right?

-Yeah.

-Who's this to your right?

-He's a friend of mine,
Daryl Davis.

He was taking a Grand Dragon
of the Klan

to do an interview
at Howard University,

and I was one of the bodyguards.

And Daryl drove us down.

He was our butler --

or, not butler.

But a chauffeur.

He was our chauffeur
on the way down.

What prompted me to join
was I grew up

in a neighborhood
where, you know,

it was mostly dominated
by blacks,

and, you know, we were
kind of the minority.

And, you know, if you got
in a fight with one of them,

then you had to fight them all.

You were kind of by yourself.

-Did you get into
a lot of fights

with black people or what?
-Fighting a gang.

Yeah, yeah,
I got in a lot of fights.

-What was your title then?

-I think I was a Great Titan.

-What does that mean?

-He can explain more of that
than I can.

-Gary went from a rank-and-file
member to Exalted Cyclops.

He rose to the level
of Great Titan,

which means county leader.

He didn't know what a
Great Titan was supposed to do,

and he was too embarrassed
to ask his higher-ups

what his new duties were

'cause he hadn't studied
enough Klan craft.

He called me.

-All right, Daryl.

♪

-I was born in
Chicago, Illinois, in 1958.

My father started out being
a Secret Service agent,

and then he left
the Secret Service

and joined the Foreign Service.

-How unusual was that
for a black man

in that era to have that job?

-At the time,
it was rather rare.

This is a photo of my dad
and I at the Acropolis.

I first went overseas
when I was 3 years old.

It was great to see
all these different things

I'd never seen before,

but I didn't reflect upon it
as something that was special

because I figured
all kids did this.

I didn't know any better.

I lived in Guinea from
age 10 thorough age 12.

I learned to get along
with anybody

and everybody regardless
of what they looked like,

how they worshipped,
what they believed.

That was my experience
as a young child.

My school might as well
have been the United Nations

'cause every embassy --

people who had kids
in that country in that time,

we all went to
the same school together.

That's how I grew up.

This is my 4th-grade class photo

from Payson Park
Elementary School

in Belmont, Massachusetts.

As you can see, I am the only
black kid in the class.

In fact, I was one of two
black kids in the entire school.

Most of my friends
were 4th and 5th graders.

Consequently,
they all were white.

And a lot of my guy friends
were members of the Cub Scouts.

I'd only been in town
a couple months in 1968,

and they invited me
to join the Cub Scouts.

So, you know,
that sounded like fun,

you know, get to tie some knots,
go camping.

And I joined the Cub Scouts.

On Scout Day, we had a march.

I was the only black scout
in that parade.

And my den mother
let me carry the American flag.

So as I'm marching down
this parade route

with my fellow scouts,

you know, the sidewalks
are lined with people

waving flags and cheering
and carrying on.

And somewhere
down the parade route,

I began getting hit with bottles

and rocks, soda-pop cans.

And me, being naive,

having never experienced
anything like this,

my first inclination was,

"Oh, that group
of people over there

on the sidewalk
doesn't like the Scouts."

Of course, you know,
they were white people.

It did not occur to me
until my den mother,

my troop leader,
my pack leader, my Cubmaster,

you know,
all came back in the line

and huddled over me
with their bodies to shield me

and protect me and escort me
out of the danger,

that I was the only target
of these projectiles.

So naturally, I said,
"Well, why are they hitting me?"

And all they would say is,
"Shh, move along, Daryl.

Hurry. Move along.
Move along. It'll be okay."

They never answered my question.

And so when I got home,
my mother and father,

who were not at the march,
were fixing me up and asking me,

"How did you fall down
and get all scraped up?"

I told them,
"I didn't fall down."

I told them what happened.

And for the first time
in my life,

my mom and dad sat me down

and explained
why I was being hit.

I did not believe them.

My mom and dad were lying to me.

And my mom and dad
had never lied to me.

But they said something
to the effect of,

"There are people
who simply do not like you

for no other reason
than the color of your skin."

Having been all over
the world by age 10,

I saw all kinds
of colors of people.

My classes were filled
with people

from Nigeria, Japan, Russia,

England, France, Germany,
you know, China.

So there were all hues,
all colors.

And we all got along.

And so now you're gonna tell me

somebody doesn't like
somebody else's skin color

and they're gonna
throw things at you?

It was incomprehensible to me.

In 1983, I was three years
graduated from college

with my degree in music,

and country music had made
a resurgence in this country.

A lot of clubs
that were playing top 40

and whatever else
had switched over to country.

There had been this movie
called "Urban Cowboy,"

and they had
this mechanical bull.

Everybody was doing
these line dances and stuff.

So a lot of the bars,

you know, were now
turning into country bars.

And if you wanted
to play music full-time,

you know,
you had to go with the flow.

And so I joined a country band.

-♪ I'm the black sheep
of the family ♪

-We played a truck stop

up in a place
called Frederick, Maryland,

called the Silver Dollar Lounge.

So here I was with this band --

only black person in the band
or in the lounge.

We finished the first set,

and on the break,
I came down off the bandstand.

I'm walking across
the dance floor,

and this white gentleman
in his 40s walks up behind me

and puts his arm
around my shoulder.

And he says, "I really like
your all's music."

I said, "Thank you.
I appreciate that."

I shook his hand.

And he says,

"You know,
this is the first time

I ever heard
a black man play piano

like Jerry Lee Lewis."

And I just said,
"Where do you think

Jerry Lee Lewis
learned how to play?

From black blues and
boogie-woogie piano players."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Jerry Lee invented that."

I said, "No, he didn't."
We argued back and forth.

But he wanted to buy me a drink.

Now, I don't drink, but I agreed
to go back to his table.

So I go back there.

He had a buddy
sitting there at the table.

He pulls a chair around
the other side,

sits next to his buddy,

and I sit opposite both of them.

And then he says,

"You know, this is
the first time I ever sat down

and had a drink
with a black man."

I asked him why,
and he didn't answer me.

He stared down at the tabletop.

His buddy said,
"Tell him, tell him, tell him,"

elbowing him in the ribs.

And I said, "Tell me.
I mean, what's this big secret?"

He looks at me
just as plain as day,

and he says, "I'm a member
of the Ku Klux Klan."

He gave me his phone number
and wanted me to call him

any time I was to come back
to this bar with this band

'cause he wanted
to bring his friends.

You know, his friends.

He'd come with these Klansmen
and other Klanswomen,

and they'd gather around
and watch me play piano

and then get on
the dance floor and dance.

Not in their robes and hoods.

You know, they came
in regular clothes, right?

-One more time, Daryl?

-Why do you prefer to meet
Klan members face to face?

-They can't know the real me

through e-mail
or through Facebook.

Just sitting across
from somebody,

meeting somebody,
getting that sense of them --

That's the key right there.

If you have an adversary,

someone with
an opposing point of view,

regardless of how
extreme it may be --

and believe me,
I've heard things

that have cut me to the bone --

but give that person a platform.

Allow them to air their views.

And when you do things
like that,

there is an excellent chance
that people will reciprocate.

Jeff Schoep currently heads
the National Socialist Movement.

-The National Socialist Movement

is the largest Neo-Nazi
group in the United States.

40-year-old Jeff Schoep,

who goes by the title
"Commander,"

leads about 55 chapters
of the NSM.

-Jeff Schoep,
National Socialist Movement.

-Daryl Davis.

-Nice to meet you.
-My pleasure.

I've heard a lot
about you for years.

-National Socialist Movement
travels all over the country

on behalf of white citizens,
on behalf of white rights.

You know, people ask me,
"Are you a white supremacist?"

No, I'm not a white supremacist.
White separatist?

White nationalist?
Yeah, sure.

Basically, when you have
white people

that are standing up
in society today

that are talking about
white pride or white issues,

they're often called racists
or bigots or hatemongers.

If you watch any of my speeches
or things like that,

I'm not out there saying,
"nigger," "kike,"

or cuss words
or things of that nature.

And most of our leadership
doesn't, either.

You know, white people
should be able to stand up

for white issues,
just as the other races have,

without it being called hate.

-Would you compare yourself
to Martin Luther King?

-In some ways. In some ways.
-Which way?

-He was campaigning
for his causes

in a peaceful manner,
and that's what we're doing.

A black gentleman came up
and he says,

"It's just black rage.
It's just black rage.

That's why they's doing that.

It's just young black kids
taking it out on whitey

'cause it's black rage."

Well, guess what, black man.
There's white rage, too!

The American
melting-pot experiment

is something
that we believe hasn't worked.

History has proven
that we can't all get along.

I'm from Detroit,
so my experience

living amongst many black people

is that a lot of them
feel that white people

have oppressed them
and held them down.

-Is there any truth
to that at all?

-I don't feel there is.
-Really?

-I don't feel there is.

-When they were brought
over here against their will,

forced to work for nothing.

Their women were raped
by the slave masters.

Their children were sold
on the courthouse steps.

-As far as slavery is concerned,
it was a travesty --

a human travesty,
and it was something

that should've never happened
and should've never taken place

and it was very unfortunate,

even though it's been
hundreds of years,

and some of the animosity
I think is still there.

-You can go back 50 years.

We still had Jim Crow laws.

This was, you know,
100 years after slavery.

And we still see it
lingering today.

I'm not justifying hatred,
but I'm just giving you a reason

why there's some
animosity there.

-That's what I'm saying.

It's better if we separate
amongst the racial groups

so we don't have
these sorts of things.

-Do you predict
that there will be a race war,

or do you think
it will be averted?

-To speak a little more frankly
and a little bit more radically,

we wouldn't like
to see a race war,

but if it comes, you know,
we intend to finish it.

What we'd like to see
is a white nation state.

We would like to see our country

liberated from the Zionists,
first and foremost,

and then handle
the racial issues from there.

-So you consider Jews to be a
race, as opposed to a religion?

-Absolutely.

And we feel that they're
basically an enemy of the state.

-Are you a big proponent
of the ideology of Adolf Hitler?

-We are inspired by
the political ideology

of Adolf Hitler,

but I don't like
to get into the Holocaust,

or as we'd say, the so-called
Holocaust, you know?

-Do you believe that it did
happen, didn't happen,

or did not happen to the degree
that we're taught it happened?

-It did not happen to the degree
that we're taught it happened.

-Could I join the NSM?

There are white people
in the NAACP.

-The membership is just open
to white people.

-So it's racist?

-I wouldn't say it's racist.
-Well, what is it?

-It's geared towards
white people.

You men and women
that are here today,

if we are going to take back
this nation,

we have to stand in solidarity.

White power.
-White power.

-What kind of music
do you like, Jeff?

-All kinds of music.
-Yeah?

-Rock, hard-core, Oi!,
RAC, Rock Against Communism.

-And do you realize

that rock was invented
by black musicians?

-Oh, we're not gonna go there.
-Oh, yes, we are.

Oh, yes, we are.
Yes, my brother.

We're going there.

Well, who invented rock, then?

-Elvis Presley.

-You're not
being serious, right?

-Why not?
-I know a man as intelligent

as you are, and trust me,

I'm one of the biggest Elvis
fans you'll ever meet,

but Elvis Presley himself

would say he did not
invent rock 'n' roll.

He attributed it to people
like Chuck Berry

and Fats Domino and the blues.

-You're a musician,
so you probably know

some more things about music

than I do as far as going back
and all that,

but I think it's irrelevant.

You know,
whoever created the music,

if music is good, music is good.

It doesn't matter
who created it, does it?

-Well, it matters
that credit is given

where credit is due
'cause, you know,

you're trying to give credit

to the white forefathers
of this country.

What difference does it make?
I'm here now.

Ben Franklin's not sitting here.
-No.

-Abraham Lincoln's
not sitting here.

I don't give a...about Abraham
Lincoln or Ben Franklin.

I'm just saying,
like you're saying,

"What difference does it make?"

-I know black people invented
peanut butter, and I like that.

-What was his name?

Come on, come on,
come on, come on.

-Was it Carver?
-First name?

-George Washington Carver.

-My man. My man!

-My name is Mark Potok.

I'm a senior fellow at the
Southern Poverty Law Center

in these offices.

We are now
in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Center was formed in 1971,
and essentially,

the idea of the Center
was that it would continue

the work
of the Civil Rights movement,

which, in a kind
of formal sense,

ended with the assassination
of Martin Luther King in '68.

The center really is best known
for its suits

against Klan groups
and other related hate groups.

-I'm trying to get into
the minds of people like that

by actually not putting them,

you know, on the spot
following the research,

but in social situations.

Like, I am
a professional musician.

I would invite them to my gigs
to see my band play,

try to sit down,
have dinner with people.

And through that process,

some of them
have rethought their ideology.

Of course, there will be those
who will go to their graves

being hateful and being violent

and who will never leave,
you know, that ideology.

-Our intention is, if possible,
to destroy these groups.

If that's not possible,
to marginalize them politically.

-But I come from more of a thing
of trying to understand

and trying to set an example
and trying to explain things

and see if they can't
take a stand themselves,

to redirect their thinking

and perhaps rehabilitate
their own ideology.

-We've helped a lot
of people out of groups,

but we don't go in
and have coffee

with a Klan leader at all.

I mean, my experience has been
that by and large,

people come out of these groups
when they're ready to.

-Frank Ancona is the president
and Imperial Wizard

of the True Invisible Empire
Traditionalist American Knights

of the KKK.

-The Klan, being
a Christian organization,

our belief is that
for America to survive,

it needs to be
under white Christian rule.

-We're on our way right now
to see Frank Ancona,

who is the Imperial Wizard

of the Traditionalist
American Knights

of the Ku Klux Klan,

which is currently the largest
Ku Klux Klan organization

in our country.

Hey, Frank. How you doing, man?
Good to see you.

-How are you?
-All right. Great. Have a seat.

-All right.

-I've known Frank for a little
over three years now.

I consider Frank
to be my friend.

-I consider Daryl
to be my friend, as well.

We met through -- Someone was
wanting to do an interview,

so I think we talked
for a few months even

before the interview.
-Yeah, we did.

-Had a lot of good conversations
with each other.

I felt like, "Hey, this is
somebody I can relate to."

I joined because of
the heritage, the history.

I like the fraternal
brotherhood aspect of it,

you know,
the mysteriousness of the Klan.

We're called the Traditionalist
American Knights

because we are
an American organization.

We believe in traditional
American values.

-You made a statement to me --

"The crow and the eagle
don't fly together,

but yet they're both birds."

How far does the TAK go?

Where is the separation?

We can go to school together.
We can work jobs together.

We can play together
in the park.

-As far as reproducing,
we believe --

-Miscegenation.

-Right. We don't believe
in the mixing of the races.

There's, you know, a story
about the Tower of Babel,

where God kind of
spread them out,

all each with their own tribe,
culture, race.

So, I mean, we believe there's
a Biblical principle to it.

I raise my children
as far as Christian beliefs.

I don't push Klan doctrine
on them.

You know, I don't --
That's -- That's their decision.

You know, if they ask me
a question about it,

I'll answer it.

I got a daughter
that's 12 years old.

She's got no interest in it.

She's into playing her XBox
and going shopping at the mall.

-Now, explain why
some Klan groups

will accept Neo-Nazis
into their group,

and some Klan groups,
you know, reject Neo-Nazis.

-Really, we don't believe
in the same thing.

I mean, the Nazis
basically want a white homeland.

That's not the mission
of the Klan.

Nazism, socialism --
That's anti-American.

We're supposed to support
the US Constitution.

We believe in the free
exercise of our rights.

Daryl had been interviewed by
different media personalities.

He actually came
to the defense of

Traditionalist American Knights
on a couple things.

So I wanted to present this

Certificate of Friendship
to Daryl.

-Thank you very much.

It says,
"Traditionalist American Knights

of the Ku Klux Klan
Certificate of Friendship

presented to Daryl Davis
in recognition

for his friendship
and contributions

to the Traditionalist
American Knights

in demonstrating
true friendship."

While I don't necessarily agree
with his separatist ideology,

I consider Frank Ancona
to be a friend of mine.

Actually, I consider him to be
a very good friend of mine.

I've been into his home.

I've met his wife and daughter.

And we've had
great conversations

for several years now.

-Whatever the man may say
at the dinner table,

however nicely he treats
his kids and his dog,

the fact is he is pouring hatred

out there
into the public square,

which goes way beyond
Frank Ancona.

-I don't know
if my point's pointing.

Don't want to be limp.

Ah.

The hood is supposed to
symbolize the head of a dove.

And then the cape
symbolizes the wings.

-I mean, you know, look,
I think you're working

on a retail strategy.

We're working on
the wholesale strategy.

-Mm-hmm.
-You know, we can't wait around.

-I understand that.
-And maybe Frank Ancona

will find redemption,
and good for him.

I'm not motivated by personal
hatred of Frank Ancona.

There's a larger poison at work
here than just the question of,

"Is Frank Ancona
personally a bad man?"

This is the charter
of the United Klans of America,

which was one of the most
dangerous Klan groups,

most violent Klan groups

during the Civil Rights movement
between 1954 and 1968.

This charter was surrendered

to the Southern Poverty
Law Center

at the conclusion of our
civil case against the UKA.

-This went to become known
as the Million Dollar Quartet --

Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins,

Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley.

I've had the pleasure of meeting
all four of these gentlemen.

We're here in Sun Studios
in Memphis, Tennessee,

where a lot of famous people

were put on the map
right here in this studio.

During the daytime,
they have tourists here,

but in the evenings,

musicians come in
and actually record here,

so they can say they recorded
in the same space

as some of these great legends.

-Ready?

♪ Well, that's all right, mama ♪

♪ That's all right with you ♪

♪ That's all right, mama ♪

♪ Just any way you do ♪

♪ That's all right ♪

♪ That's all right ♪

♪ That's all right,
little mama ♪

♪ Any way you do ♪

-♪ Goodness, gracious,
great balls of fire ♪

♪ Kiss me, baby, ow ♪

♪ Feels so good ♪

♪ Hold me, darlin' ♪

♪ Wanna love you
like a lover should ♪

♪ You're fine, so kind ♪

♪ Gotta tell the world that
you're mine, mine, mine, mine ♪

♪ Chew my nails
and I twiddle my thumbs ♪

♪ Real nervous,
but it sure is fun ♪

♪ Come on, baby,
drive me crazy ♪

♪ Goodness, gracious,
great balls of fire ♪

We're standing in front
of the Lorraine Motel

in Memphis, Tennessee,

the site of the assassination
of Martin Luther King Jr.

-These cars were actually
as they were, you know,

when Dr. King was here.
-Uh-huh.

-We've kept the room
exactly as it was --

both rooms, actually --

exactly as it was
on April 4, 1968.

-You know, I was 10 years old

when the assassination
took place.

And I was watching "Bewitched."

All of a sudden,
in the middle of this program

that I'm entranced in watching,

"Beep, beep, beep,
beep, beep, beep."

And the words
"Special Bulletin" appears.

And this guy comes on
saying, you know,

"We are interrupting
this program

to bring you this
special announcement."

-Good evening.

Dr. Martin Luther King,

the apostle of nonviolence
in the Civil Rights movement,

has been shot to death
in Memphis, Tennessee.

-Initially,
I could not understand,

"Why couldn't it wait
until the 6:00 news,

like everything else?"

Maybe my father
would know who he is.

And I told him about this guy
who came on TV

and said that somebody
named Martin Luther King

had just been assassinated.

And my father's head
fell into his hands.

And I'd seen my mom cry.

I'd never seen my father cry,
but he cried then.

And I didn't get it.
I didn't understand it.

And then my father explained
to me who Martin Luther King was

and that my father had marched
with Martin Luther King

and all the great things
that he had done.

And so almost instantly,
this guy became a hero to me.

And I learned very quickly,
you know,

who he was, his significance,

and his importance
not just in my life

but in a lot of people's lives

and what he was
trying to accomplish

in bringing
our society together.

Because of the people like
the ones who threw rocks at me,

these same kinds of people
threw bombs inside his house

and his churches
where he would preach.

-♪ He did not grant ♪

♪ It's hard to think ♪

♪ That this great man is dead ♪

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

-Well, you know,
it's really important

that it not just be
considered history.

This is not a history museum,

although we have history
chronicled in it.

-Right.

-It is a museum that talks about

what was going on
during a period

that was one of
the most significant

in American history

and that it parallels
what's going on today.

We're still fighting to vote.
-Yes, we are.

-We're celebrating
50 years of Selma

and passing of
the Voting Rights Act,

and we still have folks
that cannot vote.

That's why when we talk about
the Civil Rights movement,

we don't talk about it
in the past.

-So what's gonna happen
when Obama gets out of office?

Are we only gonna study Obama
in the month of February

because he's black?
Put him in the February box?

-The National
Civil Rights Museum

is 365, 24/7 black history,

in the context of it
being American history.

This country is what it is,

and it's been through
a lot of growth.

-But it can change, yes.
-Yes.

-It's come a long ways, but it
still has a long ways to go.

-An awful long way,
as news will tell you.

-Get back! Get back!
Get back! Get back!

-Hey! Hey!

-What aspects of his dream

would you say
have become reality,

and which ones still need
to be realized?

-Oh, wow.
That's a huge question.

-It is.
-How long is this documentary?

-It's a living documentary.

-Right, it's got to be.
It must be --

It's gonna be like "Roots."

You can kill the dreamer,
but you can't kill the dream.

-Right.
-And that's so true,

if you understand
what that dream was about.

♪ -Folks, you'd better
stop and think ♪

♪ 'Cause we're heading
for the brink ♪

♪ What will happen now
that he is dead? ♪

♪ Folks, you'd better
stop and think ♪

-I'm standing here
on the tomb of a murderer

and a coward
and a terrible general.

He was also a slave trader

who went on to murder his slaves
instead of freeing them,

like all other
Confederate generals did

at the end of the Civil War.

His name was
Nathan Bedford Forrest,

who went on to become
the first Grand Wizard

of the Ku Klux Klan.

Now, is there a place

for Nathan Bedford Forrest
besides hell?

Yes, there is.

You know, perhaps in a museum
or in the history books.

But I don't think
he should be somewhere,

you know,
where you honor somebody.

I wouldn't have a problem
leaving the name

as Confederate Park

and having all
the Confederate stuff

placed right here,

you know, rather than
scattered all over town.

It's sort of like, you know,
going to see

an internment camp
in Germany or something.

-The director
of the Ku Klux Klan

is hoping the remains
of a Confederate general

will be relocated
from Memphis to Arkansas.

General Nathan Bedford Forrest

is believed
to have started the KKK.

Now, in recent weeks,
a statue that sits

atop the remains
of Forrest and his wife

had "Black Lives Matter"
spray-painted on it.

The Memphis city council
has voted

to remove the remains
and statue,

but KKK director Tom Robb
is concerned

they could still be damaged
if they stay in Tennessee.

-We feel this would be
a proper place,

in a Christian setting.

-Robb says the relocated remains
could potentially end up

just a few yards
in front of the main office.

But he says relocating those
remains outside of the city,

let alone the state,
could be a long shot.

-But then miracles do happen.

-Thomas Robb has the oldest Klan
group in the country currently.

He believes in white supremacy.

He also believes
in white separatism.

He knows the history
of the Klan,

which is why he's gotten
his image away from them,

but yet he still maintains
the name Ku Klux Klan

because it draws attention
to him.

-I'll defend my race, my faith,

and my homeland, come what may.

White people did dominate
this country,

control this country,
created this country,

were the architects
of the country.

They want to preserve
their neighborhoods,

their ethnic identity --

all those things that they can
identify with as a people.

-Now, I guess, in your opinion,
you would call it being defiled

if you were to have
black blood in you,

or if your daughter
or one of your family members

were to have some
black blood in them.

-I would consider it probably

a further erosion
of white people

towards the ultimate conclusion
of white genocide.

-You know Daryl's wife is white?

-I'm aware of that.
-How do you feel about that?

-I certainly find it
reprehensible.

-What is reprehensible about it?
-Pardon?

-What is reprehensible about it?
She loves me.

I love her.
-Whatever.

You know, I'm not
gonna try to argue --

even discuss it, argue,
but the point is,

you know, you're a black man.

You see the world from a
different world view than I do.

-But apparently, she and I
see the same world view.

-Well, I'm telling you
the way I see it.

-I've heard you use
the term "genocide,"

but I understand you don't
believe the Holocaust happened.

-Are you talking about the
Holocaust of the Russian people?

-I just read that you --

-I mean, 63 million
Russian Christian Ukrainians

were killed and murdered
by the Soviets in 1912.

Are you talking about
that Holocaust?

-I read that you awakened
to the myth of the Holocaust

at like around age 13.

-Oh, yeah, I don't think
the Holocaust happened.

-What would you say
to people like me

who will say to you that, yes,
white people came here,

they took over this land
from the Native Americans,

they built this country
on the backs of my ancestors,

on the backs of black slaves.

So now where's my place
in this country?

-Well, first off,

I would like to hear
some words of appreciation.

Think of the thousands
of farm boys

who died in some battlefield
in the Civil War

and spilled their blood

that eventually purchased the
freedom of the African slave.

And I never heard
anybody say thank you.

I'd like to hear that
to begin with.

And then I would like
to hear some appreciation

for the millions of dollars
that are spent every year

on public housing,
for healthcare,

and for all the other things

that the black community
benefits from.

What you benefit from here
in this country is much better

than what you'd be receiving
if you lived in Kenya or Rwanda.

-You came here
voluntarily, okay?

-Right.
-I came here by force.

-I can't help it if my ancestors

could stand
on the shoreline of England

and envision ships

and went back into the woods
and cut down timber

and made ships and sails
and conquered a new land.

I can't help it that
my ancestors could visualize

and see new lands
beyond the horizon.

The moment -- the very, very,
very split second

you become proud,
you become a conqueror again!

-Sitting here next to me
is Rachel Pendergraft,

the daughter of Pastor Tom Robb.

Rachel is the
highest-ranking woman

in what you would call

the Ku Klux Klan
out of all the factions.

-Even though I have
the position I do,

I consider myself
a stay-at-home mom.

I home-schooled three children.
I have six grandchildren.

This is a situation --
white genocide --

that men and women
both need to work on together

and help protect our children,
our families.

-Have you seen the new
Disney princess movie?

-No.

-It's called "The Princess
and the Frog."

The princess is a black,

so that is good for all
the black kids out there,

but the prince is white.

It is all about
how race mixing is good.

But race mixing is wrong.

-If all the people mix all up,

there won't be
any more white kids.

-So don't race-mix.

Be white and proud
and tune in next week.

-Like Pastor Robb said,
it's not all doom and gloom.

We do have a powerful message
for our people.

I mean, who really cares
about race mixing

if we're not God's divinely
appointed authority on Earth?

I mean, who would really care?

It's bringing like-minded
people together.

And so one of the ways that
we do that is with billboards.

-I have no problems
with your billboard --

White Pride Radio.
-Right.

-And I've said that
on national media before.

-I can't have a community
to my own.

I can't have a church to my own.

I can't have a club to my own.

I can't have a golf course
to my own.

I can't have anything
that I can say is mine --

my people --
without them saying,

"You've got to accept me."

-Okay, so what can we all do
together as a nation --

all of us -- blacks and whites,
to get your vision?

-Help save the white race.
-Help save the white race.

-Absolutely.

-Tom Robb will tell you
that he's not my friend.

He'll make that
very clear to you.

I am Tom Robb's friend.

And I feel that one day
he will come around.

-There is growing
outrage tonight

after an unarmed
African-American teenager

was shot and killed by police

in the St. Louis suburb
of Ferguson, Missouri.

-Why can't we fix it

and make a dialogue,
instead of that happening?

Why don't they come
and walk with us?

This is their everyday life,
and they mad.

They're mad. I'm mad.
We should all be mad, man.

We should all be angry because
of what's going on right now.

-We're standing here
in Ferguson, Missouri,

right in front of the
Ferguson City Police Department.

As we know,
Ferguson was the center

of the media controversy
and violence here

just a few months ago.

A black man by the name
of Michael Brown,

who was unarmed,
ended up being shot

and dying right there
on the street,

and his body was left there
for four hours.

All of this was not
about Michael Brown,

or Darren Wilson,
for that matter.

It was about decades
of police abuse.

We've seen many
of these incidents

throughout the country.

-321. We have shots fired.

We have one suspect down.

-I felt safer with the Klan.

When I see a Klansman
walking towards me

in a robe and hood,
I know what he stands for.

When I see a police officer

in a uniform
with a badge and gun,

I know what they're
supposed to stand for.

There's certainly many,
many honest,

decent police officers
throughout our country,

but there is a percentage
who are bad cops.

Good cops need to stop
obeying that code of silence.

It says a lot to how far
we have not come.

-Is that a friend of yours?
-That was my son.

-It was your son?

-This afternoon, we met
Tracy Martin at the crime scene.

He says his 17-year-old son,

Trayvon Martin,
was shot to death.

-He walked out the house
to go to the store.

He was going to the store.

-Police in South Carolina
are looking for a gunman

following a shooting
at a church

in downtown Charleston
Wednesday night.

The shooter walked
into the Emanuel AME Church

and opened fire.

-Here is the situation
in Dallas, Texas.

We have had 11 police officers
hit by gunfire

during an otherwise
peaceful protest.

-We know that the overwhelming
majority of police officers

do an incredibly hard
and dangerous job

fairly and professionally.

We also know that centuries
of racial discrimination --

They didn't simply vanish with
the end of lawful segregation.

As a society, we choose to
under-invest in decent schools.

We allow poverty to fester
so that entire neighborhoods

offer no prospect
for gainful employment.

We refuse to fund drug treatment
and mental-health programs.

And if we cannot even talk
about these things --

If we cannot talk honestly
and openly

not just in the comfort
of our own circles,

but with those
who look different than us

or bring
a different perspective...

then we will never break
this dangerous cycle.

-This is #LunchBagBmore,

and we get solicitations
from around the community.

This is going on
about seven months,

and it just keeps getting
bigger and bigger.

Last time we did 700 lunches.

-We're here at St. Vincent's
Church in Baltimore

right off of Lexington Street
and Front Street.

And we're handing out clothes

and food to the homeless
and to the needy.

We've made
several hundred lunches

and gotten donations of clothes
and different items --

toiletries, toys, et cetera.

Want some lunch?

Here, have a bag.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

-It seems like the uprising

really brought everyone together
in Baltimore.

-Mm-hmm.
-So this is, like,

an extension of that,
how it continues on.

-That's the last one
I got there.

-Aw!
-But I'll get some more, though.

Okay.

Michael Wood is
a very honest individual.

He was not liked by
the Baltimore City Police

because he didn't play
the good ol' boy network game.

-I want police
to actually find ways,

when they see a drug dealer
on the corner,

to figure out
what the root cause is.

He doesn't want to be
on that corner.

Drug dealer's probably
the worst job.

Cops are looking for you.
Robbers are looking for you.

Other drug dealers
are looking for you.

So it's the worst job
in the world.

They don't want that job.

So actively find a way
to solve that problem.

So if he can't get a job because
he's got a felony conviction,

we need to find a way -- an
employer that will take him ---

or we need to fight and say,

"Look, we can't put felony
convictions on applications

because it's sowing
the seeds of crime."

-I think the story says you're,
like, the only black Klansman.

-No, that story's wrong.
I'm not in the Klan.

There are no black people
in the Klan.

If there were,
there wouldn't be a Klan.

Now, what I do
is I meet with them,

sit them down and talk with them

and interview them
and find out, you know,

what's going on up here,

and as a result, some of them
have become friends of mine,

good friends of mine,

and some of them
have ended up leaving the Klan

and now I own their robes
and hoods.

-Oh, wow.
-Yeah.

-What do you do with them?

-I have a collection of them.

One day I'm gonna
open up a museum.

-Really?

I think it's interesting
and even provocative.

I know a lot of people are mad

that a black man
has the Klan robes.

-Yeah. Yeah.
But you know what?

It's better that I have them
than they have them.

-Yeah.

-The police culture's amok.

It's gone so far that the idea

right now is that
if an officer is afraid,

then he can do
whatever he wants.

He can kill at that moment.

-As long as he uses that phrase,
"I feared for my life."

-Right, and we have a society

that has determined that
we should fear the black man.

-Where does that culture

come from initially
in the police department?

-It's that us-versus-them.

You are superior because
you are that thin blue line.

The legal system and the culture

are designed that
these people are never wrong.

In Maryland,
the literal perception

is that the city police --

their purpose is
to control the monkeys

and keep them contained

within the confines
of Baltimore.

That is how people in the
suburbs see city residents.

So how do I get a cop that comes
from that environment

to sit down and talk

and to actually see
that person as a human being?

-First thing you would do is
invite that person to the table

and see what
he or she would say.

And say, "Look, if somebody
is willing to talk to you

and learn something from you,

don't you think that you have

a responsibility
to reciprocate?"

I've been in
53 different countries.

I've been exposed to many,
many different cultures, races,

religions, socioeconomic
statuses, et cetera.

I looked at the Ku Klux Klan
as simply just another culture.

I didn't look at them
the same way

I might have looked at them
had I grown up in this country

and had to fight bigotry,
you know, my whole life.

Robert White
got busted for assault

with intent to murder
two black men with a shotgun.

He went on to become
a very good friend of mine.

-Will you come to my wedding?
-Sure, I'll be at your wedding,

if you want me there.
-Why would you --

Why would you go to his wedding

if you don't believe
in the mixing of races?

-Well, in terms of the wedding,

if he wants me there,
just because it's Daryl.

-As a result of our friendship,
he left the Klan.

This is his Klan robe --
his Grand Dragon robe.

His day job was this.

This is his jacket.

Baltimore City Police Officer.

And I'm glad that
I have this stuff

because it shows that
people can, indeed, change.

It also shows what a lot
of people don't believe.

-Systemic racism in America
invades hiring.

It invades education.

It invades policing.

It invades residency.

So every lane is important,

and every lane needs
to be fought.

-We will fight for Freddie Gray
all night, all day!

-Take back...
-Baltimore!

-Take back...
-Baltimore!

-Daryl Davis.
-Tariq Touré.

-My pleasure.
-Kwame Rose.

-My pleasure.
Daryl Davis.

-I'm a 21-year-old
college dropout.

Most people know me from April.

During the Baltimore uprising,

I'm the guy that
confronted Geraldo Rivera.

Because you're not here
reporting

about the boarded-up homes

and the homeless people
under MLK.

You're not reporting

about the poverty levels
up and down North Avenue.

You're here for the black riots.

-He got Geraldo
on the run, y'all.

-Since the death
of Trayvon Martin,

there's been a trending hashtag
on social media

#BlackLivesMatter.

That's kind of put
in the spotlight the fact

that police have been
killing unarmed black people.

We got to talk about how we
got to end white supremacy,

how we got to build
independent black institutions,

and how we all relate to that.

-This country is
built off economics,

so if we're not talking about
getting our wealth back

or building our wealth,

then we really ain't
talking about anything.

We can go all through
the rhetoric, all the history.

It doesn't work for me.

-Okay, so, in kind of
a roundabout way,

you're more into segregation
than integration.

-No, but do we need
to separate our dollars

and fund our own stuff
and fund our own institutions

and to fund our own businesses?

Absolutely.
Because so far,

our dollars just going up
like a mushroom cloud.

-I know you know
a little bit about Daryl.

What's your perspective
on his work?

-I would just want to know
what the end goal is.

For the layman on the projects

who is receiving
all the ills of white supremacy

and that hate, right,
on a day-to-day level,

how do they begin to even think

about that conversation
that you're engaging in?

-My end goal is
to bring people together, okay?

Bring white supremacists
together with their nemesis.

Unless we learn how to
get along with one another,

this country is a melting pot --

-But why I got to
get along with them?

-Pardon me?

-Why I got to get along
with them?

-Because they are
our fellow Americans.

We all have to live
in this country together, okay?

We do.

Otherwise we're gonna
end up self-destructing.

-So what is this museum?
Who is it for?

-For people like you.
-Oh, no, I'm good.

-Oh, yeah, no, you're not good.

-You ever heard of something
called intergenerational trauma?

-Intergenerational trauma?
-Yeah.

-No, explain it to me.
-It's trauma passed on

from generations through images,

symbols,
different things like that.

So I have a daughter.
She's one years old.

However, whenever the museum
gets built, let's say she's 15.

-Okay.
-It's no way in hell

I'm bringing her there

so she can re-live that
and see all of that.

No, not at all.

What's the point?

-Because in order to know
where you're going,

you have to know
where you came from.

-White folks need
to go see that.

-How many robes
have you collected?

-Roughly, I'd say maybe 25, 26.

-How long you been
doing that for?

-Since about 1990.
-And you only got 26 robes?

-You only got 25 robes?
-You're asking about robes.

You didn't say Klan memorabilia.
I got tons of stuff.

-So since 1990, which is longer
than I've been alive,

you've been trying
to infiltrate the Klan.

But what does that do
for people?

-Well, I'll tell you what.
I'll tell you what it does.

The state of Maryland
had a large Klan organization.

-Mm-hmm.
-When the Imperial Wizard,

which means
the national leader --

When he turned in
his robe to me,

the Maryland Ku Klux Klan
fell apart.

Today there is no more
Ku Klux Klan --

-I beg to differ.
-Let me finish.

Today -- Well, you can't
because I got the facts, okay?

Today there is no more
Ku Klux Klan

in the state of Maryland.

-Infiltrating the Klan
ain't freeing your people.

-I disagree with you.
-I don't see how.

-What about Timothy McVeigh?

-I don't -- He's in jail.

-Oh, he is?
-Wasn't he killed?

Something like that.
So what?

-Obviously you're very
uneducated about it.

-And you uneducated
about the reality

that most of the people
that look like you.

-Every day on the hour,

young black men and women
are being snatched...

-On the minute.

-...and kidnapped
off the streets.

They're ruining
people's lives, right?

Not rehabilitating them

and sending them right back
into the same neighborhoods

that are already
screwed up, anyway.

So when you say, "Oh, well,
we need to be worried

about somebody
blowing some of them up," no!

Somebody's getting locked up
right now that's 16 years old

that never may see
the light of day again

just because they look
like my skin or Kwame's skin

or your skin, for that matter.

So we're talking about
the energy

that you putting into
all them years?

That's a whole lot of years to
be doing that, to be studying.

It sound like a fetish.

-Befriending a white person

who don't have to go through
the same struggles

as you, me,
someone in the barbershop,

or their father,
that's not an accomplishment.

That's a new friend.
That's somebody you can call.

-And this is coming
from a dropout.

-Dude, you don't tell Steve Jobs
he ain't successful.

He ain't had no college degree.

Bill Gates ain't got
no college degree.

But, listen, the way I --
-I'm done.

-You being disrespectful now.

-You can be in the streets
building with people, right?

So stop wasting your time

going into people's houses
that don't love you,

a house where they want to
throw you under the basement.

-So you believe
that nobody can change?

-No, I believe you believe
the wrong people can change.

-What do you mean,
"The wrong people can change"?

-White supremacists
can't change.

-You don't believe
they can change?

-No, white supremacists
can't change.

But I can change your mind
'cause you look like me.

You ain't doing nothing
but collecting something

that's gonna build
your own credibility.

You nothing but a pimp
in a pulpit.

-And you're nothing
but ignorant.

Hey. I'm Daryl Davis.

-Sorry, Daryl, but after that, I
can't shake your hand right now.

-Okay, that's fine.
-I just want to be --

I'm not trying
to be disrespectful,

but I just want to say
a couple things

to you about the interactions
that I just saw.

First of all, man,
you an old head like me.

I remember the day when
Martin Luther King was shot.

I was 6 years old.

And on that day,
I realized I was black.

Not my skin color,
but I realized

what it meant to be black.

I realized that I could die

because I got
this skin color right here.

That's insane that
we live in this world,

that we live in this country

where your skin color
determines your longevity.

For you to come to Baltimore

and disrespect
some of the people

who are on the front line here
in Baltimore

in the way that you did
is reprehensible.

Just like the young man
said to you,

you could have done
a whole lot more work

in the black community

from the '90s to now
to move our people forward,

rather than coming in here
and trying to uplift somebody

that you got a hood
off of their head.

They still wear those hoods.

And while you were saying
the KKK doesn't exist,

I looked up the KKK in Maryland,

and there is a Klan group
in Maryland

right now still very active.

You look it up yourself.

So I'm saying you talking --

You calling somebody ignorant --

You might want to check
your own ignorance around this

before you start calling
my young men in Baltimore,

who are out here putting
their lives on the line.

Kwame marches hard
with me in Baltimore.

Kwame gets arrested
in Baltimore.

Where were you when
the marches were going on?

You were sitting
with your Klan people

and disrespecting my people.

If you can't respect
black people

and respect my people
for doing the work

that they're doing,
take your ass,

and you hang out with them.

Freddie Gray is dead.
Tyrone West is dead.

Anthony Anderson is dead.

All that...you talking about --
these KKK hoods --

Who gives a...?

I don't give a...
about you or your KKK hoods.

Don't come to Baltimore
doing this...again.

Don't come back here!
-Oh, I can't talk now?

-You can talk,
but don't talk that...to me!

-Then why don't you sit down and
be quiet and let me talk, man?

-Get the...out of my face!
-You see how you are?

You're showing
your own ignorance, man.

-Don't disrespect black people.

You got some black in you,

but you sound like
you should have a hood on.

-You said you'd let me talk,
and you walk away.

So you're showing --

-Don't call me ignorant.
-Then what are you showing?

-Don't come here
calling my people that!

-I just did.

-Then don't...with
my people, man.

-You don't talk to the white
supremacists like that!

-You don't know.
You don't know what I do.

You don't know what I do.
-But let me tell you something.

Walk where we come from, and
you gonna have some feelings.

-Let's walk together.

-You wasn't there,
and we not gonna walk now!

-All of you, if you didn't
know him, you know him now.

-This man hate himself,
for real.

-If y'all follow this dude,
y'all part of the problem.

-Do you feel disconnected
from black millennials

or from that age group?

-I've met people like him before
and have had confrontations

with people like him before,
not many.

A Klansman hates a white person
who "sells out,"

so to speak, more so than
they hate a black person.

Just like the young boy
hated me more

than he hated some white guy

because he feels
that I sold out my own race.

He was very definite that
white people could not change.

How is he gonna advance
any agenda in this country,

as diverse as it is?

You see where those people
are standing right there

on this first tier,
the black people?

-Oh, okay, yeah.

-Right there where
they're standing

is where Martin Luther King
gave his speech,

"I Have a Dream."

-Gonna take a picture of that.

I'm Scott Shepherd.
I'm a reformed racist,

a former member
of the Ku Klux Klan.

-Scott Shepherd can relate
to members of the Ku Klux Klan.

-I was full of anger,
full of hate.

-He was one of them
for 21 years.

He even ran for office,

appearing on national talk shows
as a racist.

-I'll be apologizing the rest
of my life, but that's okay.

I was born and raised
in Indianola, Mississippi,

which was a hotbed
of racial turmoil and friction.

The issues
of my dad's alcoholism

played a big part in my life.

There were some incidents
of violence

that would instill PTSD
in a solder.

And that affected me
growing up, you know.

It left me with low self-esteem,

and I projected this hatred
that I had for myself

and this anger
out towards people of color.

At the age of 16, I entered
the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan

and lived a life as a racist.

They fed me the spiel.

"We can take you in,
give you a sense of family

and belonging, protect you,"

'cause they play on fear.

-How did you feel
to get that call?

-Important.

-And that's the idea, right?
-Exactly.

-What was their goal?
-White supremacy

by any means necessary,
including murder.

They destroyed my family.

My older sister --
She called me on the phone,

and she asked me
what I thought I was doing.

I wasn't raised this way.

Do they have the spot marked?

-Huh?
-Do they have it marked?

-Barely. Barely.

-Hmm.
-Right here.

-You wouldn't even be able
to see it if you didn't know it.

-Exactly.
That's him right there.

There's the monument.
-Mm-hmm.

-That's where you're
standing right here.

Let me show you.
Here he is.

That's the back of him.

You see the pool?
-Mm-hmm. You can see it.

-Uh-huh.
-Yeah.

Seen that many of times on TV.

-Would you snap a picture
of my friend and I?

-My change of heart was
in Nashville, Tennessee.

I was at a restaurant,
had a few drinks.

Police pulled me over,
and they got me,

and I failed a sobriety test

and that threw me
into the court system.

I was forced into a rehab
to get out of trouble.

I said, "Yeah,
I'm gonna go to rehab."

Take the paperwork to the judge,
have the charges dropped,

and go on with my racist life.

It didn't happen that way.

I went in that rehab one person
and came out another.

I was forced to take a cold,
hard look in the mirror,

and I saw the problem.

The problem was Scott Shepherd.

When she was on her deathbed,

I was talking to my sister,
and she said,

"Do you ever regret
some of the things you've done?"

I said, "Every day."

And she said, "Well, you know,

you can use your past
to help people."

I opened up a blog.

Once you hit that "publish"
button, it's out there.

I was scared to death what
people were gonna say or think.

And I was totally surprised
by the outpouring of love

and support that I got.

It gets emotional,
you know, for me

because I fell for that crap.

It's very easy to do
when you're in the mind frame

that I was at 16, 17 years old.

-Do you think any of this,
going in that direction,

was your way
of showing rebelliousness?

-Extreme rebellion because
I was raised by a black lady.

I went without seeing her
for years and years and years.

-You couldn't face her.
-Exactly.

Ironically, you know,
when I got out of the movement

and stuff, went to her house,
her arms were open.

-As they always were.
-Right.

I saw Daryl on
the Discovery Channel.

He was making friends
with Klansmen,

and I thought he was a crackpot.

I looked him up on Facebook
or by e-mail,

and we've been friends
ever since.

-I didn't mean to put you
in back of the bus, Daryl.

-Me and Rosa Parks, right?

-It looks smaller than what
it does on TV, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

-It's just slightly
bigger than Graceland.

-Basically, Daryl can probably
accomplish more than I could.

I never thought I'd stand here

in front of this house
with a black man.

-There you go.

With a black man
inside the house, right?

-Right, with a black man
inside the house.

-Yeah, yeah.

So, you know, it is possible
that change can occur.

-Obama lives upstairs?

-I'm not sure where his room is.

-I bet them windows
are bulletproof, aren't they?

-Mm-hmm.

How we all doing this evening?

All right.

-♪ When I was a child,
I used to wonder ♪

♪ How Santa put my toys
under the tree ♪

♪ I said,
"Mama, can you tell me?" ♪

-When you have an alcohol
or drug problem,

the alcohol and drugs
are not the problem.

They're just the symptom.

There's a deeper problem.

And that's the same way
with racism.

That's just a symptom.

I didn't have to address racism.

I just had to address those
issues, you know, within myself.

-♪ Baby, Santa Claus
got some magic things ♪

♪ As soon as you're asleep ♪

♪ A chimney will appear ♪

-DC is very festive
around the holidays.

Of course, we have
the National Christmas Tree.

I really, really have
a strong kinship with Scott.

He has seen the light,

and he feels the need
to give back.

I think one day Frank Ancona
will leave the Klan.

And I think one day

I'm gonna be hanging
this robe up in my museum.

-Frank, how do you
feel about that?

Would you like to see

Daryl's blue shirt
hanging in your museum?

-Actually,
I wouldn't mind giving him

one of our Traditionalist
American Knights T-shirts.

-I appreciate that.
Thank you.

I don't know where I would
wear it, but, you know...

-Right.

-♪ Someone is friendless ♪

-The friends that I've made
I continue to keep.

-♪ In my window ♪

-I never set out
to convert anybody.

I just set out to get
that answer to my question,

"How can you hate me
when you don't even know me?"

And in my quest
to have that answer,

they couldn't answer it.

And some of them ended up
converting themselves.

-Actually changing people's
minds and hearts --

I think that's a testament
to his character

and the power
of what he was doing.

-Can you get a picture
of Mike and I?

-Yeah, that would
be awesome, dude.

-I do think that white supremacy
is the main problem

and privilege
is the main problem.

And if we can get past that,
then we can focus on

all the nuances
of how to make it beautiful.

-♪ What to do make a world
of love for me and you ♪

-I will say this --

For people coming out
of the movement,

role models, I think,
are incredibly important.

-I have seen things change.
I have seen people change.

And that inspires me.
I've changed.

I would hope that by the time
I'm gone,

things like this
will not be as prevalent.

-♪ Some call me foolish ♪

-But if they are,

perhaps this film will
encourage others to do the same

and to do a better job,
you know,

than I've been able to do.

-♪ I want to be there
to help my fellow man ♪

♪ So I keep a heart
filled with mercy ♪

♪ Shared throughout the land ♪

♪ So I keep a light
in my window ♪

♪ So I can ease the pain ♪

♪ That life can bring ♪

♪ Help them find the peace ♪

♪ Their spirit needs ♪

♪ I have been chosen
for this work to do ♪