Daryl Davis

“Back in the day, prior to rock and roll, music halls, concert venues were segregated if they allowed black people in at all. You know, there were ropes that went around the sitting sections with signs hanging that would say, 'Sitting for white patrons only,' or 'Colored sitting only.'”

“When I experienced racism here in my own country, I was not prepared for it. I had never heard the word racism.”

“I had to keep myself in check. Like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa.' I'd never sat in a room, five feet away from a Klansman putting on his damn robe. That's what freaked me out a little bit. But I wanted to see a Klansman.”

“Music teaches us how to work together, how to harmonize.”

“I don't believe that Donald Trump is a racist, per se. But some of the things that he does, some of the rhetoric that he uses, attracts racists and that sets the tone. And of course, you are judged by the company you keep.”

“You're not going to beat the meanness out of a mean dog. You start beating a mean dog, it's gonna become more mean. You start beating racists, they're gonna become more racist.”

“Racism is a cancer. Black people have been dealing with this ever since we landed on these shores in shackles and chains. If we've been doing it for that long, those of us who are impatient need to be a little more patient and keep on addressing those things, not ignoring it. White people need to do the same thing. Don't turn a blind eye to it.”

“We've simply been putting Band-Aids on the wounds of racism. We haven't drilled down to the bone to get to its source.”

“A stupid person is someone who has the facts, who has the proper information, and still makes the wrong decision.”

“I respect someone's right to air their views whether they are wrong or right.”

“I don't have any brothers and sisters, so I always relied on my parents to guide me or answer questions.”

“Music is my profession but learning more about racism on all sides of the tracks was my obsession.”

“I am not so naive as to think everyone will change. There are certainly those who will go to their graves as hateful, violent racists.”

“When you make friends with me, you have a friend for life.”

“I decided to go around the country and sit down with Klan leaders and Klan members to find out: How can you hate me when you don't even know me?”

“I came into music kind of late in life - until I was 17 I wanted to be a spy, wanted to be James Bond, so I had to learn rather quickly and practice longer than most people did to play catch up.”

“People learn racism through dialogue. Somebody tells them about it. So if you can learn it through dialogue, you can also unlearn it through dialogue.”

“In most of my encounters with Klan members, we would discuss reasons for why they were members in the first place.”

“Music absolutely played a massive role in bridging many gaps in the racial divides I would encounter.”

“Am I going to vote for Trump? Absolutely not. I do not believe in his platform.”