Renowned Rock/Blues Musician, Conflict Navigator, Unifier, and Author

Daryl Davis

“A missed opportunity for dialogue is a missed opportunity for conflict resolution.” — Daryl Davis

Daryl Davis is a renowned blues and rock musician who’s toured the world playing with musical legends, including 32 years as Chuck Berry’s piano player. That’s his profession. But Daryl also has a unique obsession: Using civil conversation to ignite positive change with people who hate him because he’s Black – members of the Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacist groups. Encountering racism first hand at ten years old, Daryl wondered, “How can they hate me when they don’t even know me?” Daryl started meeting his detractors in person over 40 years ago to have a patient conversation about their beliefs. Through active listening and not looking to change their minds, an amazing thing happened: Many conversations led to understanding and genuine friendships. In some cases, KKK leaders disavowed their old beliefs and gave Daryl their robes and hoods. The average person may never face these kinds of extreme conversations, but Daryl empowers people with personal stories and practical ways to build bridges at work, at home, and in their community – one conversation at a time. Daryl’s work is chronicled in his book Klan-Destine Relationships and the documentary Accidental Courtesy. Daryl’s TEDx talk has nearly 12 million views.

  • Resolving Conflict • Active Listening • Kindness & Civility • Conversations That Ignite Change • Building Trust & Collaboration • Build Bridges – Not Walls • Empathetic Leadership

  • Keynote Workshop Interview Breakout Panel

  • • FROM DISCORD TO HARMONY: TRANSFORMING CONFLICT INTO COLLABORATION - Conflict is unavoidable in everyday life – it’s how we react to it that matters. Maybe you’re a manager trying to defuse tension among employees…your co-worker doesn’t share your beliefs or background…or you have a long-simmering disagreement with a family member or neighbor. The one thing all conflict has in common – nothing gets solved until the opposing sides talk about it. In his presentation, Daryl Davis empowers people with a universal tool kit to resolve conflict at work, at home, and in the community – one conversation at a time. The average person may never face the kinds of extreme experiences Daryl has had, but his lessons serve as great examples of the positive change that can happen when people have the courage to listen to one another without trying to change each other’s minds.

    • MEETING HATE WITH HUMANITY: THE POWER OF CIVILITY AND DIALOGUE - Daryl Davis draws on 40+ years of engaging KKK and far-right White supremacist groups to unpack why hate crimes and rhetoric are on the rise. The daily headlines are troubling, but Daryl reminds audiences hate is learned – and what is learned can be unlearned. He encourages people to engage and educate, not shun and cancel, those with toxic beliefs, and he shows them how. “Ignorance breeds fear, fear breeds hate, and hate breeds destruction. Engaging and finding common ground is the key to defusing fear.” As a musician, Daryl promotes harmony over discord, and believes we can all play a part in making positive change by meeting hate with civility and building bridges instead of walls. “There’s only one race,” he says, “the human race.”

    • HAIL, HAIL ROCK AND ROLL – THE ULTIMATE BRIDGE-BUILDER - At its inception, Rock ’n’ Roll was called “the devil’s music” among many derogatory names by its detractors. Some cities banned it altogether. Rooted in Black R&B and Blues, its infectious beat led young people in the South to leap over the rope that segregated Whites from Blacks in the audience. The 1957, Chuck Berry lyric, “Hail, hail Rock’n’Roll, deliver me from the days of old,” in his hit song School Days, celebrated the music as a turning point in race relations. Daryl brings that history forward into his own story, using music as a common denominator and proving that musical and racial harmony go hand-in-hand.

TESTIMONIALS

“Daryl is one the most eloquent people I’ve come across and I found his keynote speech to be very riveting and compelling.”

— Evergreen Financial


“Your advice on how to ‘sit down and listen to others’ was very well received. The standing ovation you received was proof positive that the message resonated with everyone.”

— Managing Director, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.


"By learning from [Daryl's] most extreme experiences, and from those who sit on the extreme side with whom he engages, we could learn leadership lessons that might help all of us... It’s through his courage that we may all explore some of our own.”

— Executive Director, Leadership Rhode Island