Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis Race America | Under the Docs Documentary Review

➡ The text discusses a 2016 documentary called “Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race in America.” The film follows Daryl Davis, a black man who has managed to convert several members of the KKK into civil rights activists. The documentary explores Davis’s unique approach to combating racism, which involves direct interaction and conversation with those who hold prejudiced views. It also delves into Davis’s personal experiences with racism and his quest to understand why people can hate others they don’t know.
➡ The text discusses a man who uses his understanding and knowledge to challenge racism, comparing it to losing weight – a process that requires time, effort, and dedication. He uses his musical background to connect with people, even those with racist beliefs, and through these interactions, he manages to change their perspectives. Despite facing criticism from his own community, he continues his mission, using his expertise on the KKK to help its members understand their own roles. His approach emphasizes that American culture is intertwined with Black culture, challenging the beliefs of those who try to separate the two.
➡ The text discusses a movie review and the reviewer’s thoughts on various aspects of the film. The reviewer talks about the portrayal of racial issues, the influence of movies on society, and the story of a character who interacts with the KKK. The reviewer also discusses a debate between the character and two activists about the effectiveness of his approach to combating racism. The text ends with the reviewer expressing confusion about the activists’ criticism of the character’s efforts.
➡ The text discusses a heated debate involving Daryl Davis, a man known for converting KKK members. Davis is criticized by two activists who don’t believe people can change, a belief Davis strongly disagrees with. Despite the criticism and threats, Davis remains committed to his approach, believing in the potential for change. The text also mentions a documentary about Davis, which the author highly recommends for its unique perspective and informative content.
➡ The text talks about a popular Black History Month documentary, “I am not your negro,” and then shifts to a song or poem about buying merchandise from Paranoid American. The lyrics express a mix of emotions, from paranoia to defiance, and ends with a repeated phrase, “you’re welcome,” possibly indicating a sense of accomplishment or defiance.

I can’t believe these guys hate the Boy Scouts. Like, you know what I mean? Like, what the hell the Boy Scouts do to anybody. Under the docks, yeah, under the docks. Under the docks, under the docks, yeah, under the docks. And under the docks is back with Black History Month with two white guys with beards. And today we’re going to be talking about Accidental Courtesy. It’s a documentary from 2016. The full title is Accidental Courtesy. Daryl Davis, Race in America. And this is by Matthew Ornstein. And it comes in at hour and 40 minutes or so.

Not. Not too bad, not too shabby compared to some of the ones that we’ve watched so far. I could have watched this twice if it was the. The Hebrews and Negroes, so that’s fine with me. And I guess I’ll. I’ll wear my heart on my sleeve a little bit. Like, you should watch this twice, and you’ll get way more out of it than some other documentaries that we’ve. We’ve seen recently. This particular one is about a guy named Daryl Davis, who I think that I came across him on like, a Jerry Springer show or something. And I swear this is one of those stories that you hear it and you’re just thinking, like, oh, someone scripted all this.

There’s no way any of this stuff is real. It’s. It’s the inverse of a Clayton Bigsby, you know, Chappelle skit where this large black guy in, I don’t think infiltrate maybe the wrong word, but a black guy infiltrates the KKK and ends up converting the grand wizard members into being civil rights activists. Now, that might be a little oversimplified of what’s actually going on, but that’s kind of what this guy does. And he’s got, if we call these, you know, like, racist scalps. He’s got like 30 racist scalps in his closet. Literally. He’s got robes that he collects of all the different KKK members that he sort of converts.

This is a wild one, man. And I didn’t think that this was true. I thought this was just something made up for Jerry Springer when I first saw it. So this is the first time watching this documentary, I was like, oh, my God, this wasn’t just made up for reality tv. No. And it’s something totally different. And to me, it’s something refreshing. Like, I don’t agree with everything Daryl Davis says in the film or, like, there’s a lot I do agree with, but I think that’s the point, right? It. It. It shows you this new Perspective of, like, trying to change mindsets and adapting people into thinking, like, hey, maybe you’re wrong.

Maybe you’ve been in an echo chamber too long. Also, I gotta point out that this documentary is one of the first in a while that wasn’t lots of archival footage. This is basically Daryl Davis in a car, Daryl Davis on the street, Daryl Davis in an office. Like, we’re following him around and recording his interaction with other people and then getting their takes on him. So it’s a. It’s a very, like, realistic documentary. And it was just shot in a way that you immediately relate to every single person that’s talking in it. And I also really like how Daryl kind of wears his heart on his sleeve, too.

Like, you know what he’s thinking and how he’s thinking it. He’s very frank. He doesn’t play games. And he’s. He’s just, like, a really relatable person in general. Like, I’m watching this. I’m like, I’m glad that this, like, a person like this exists out there. All right, plotting the course for this one. Again, this. This one doesn’t really necessarily make specific claims. We’re just following Daryl Davis around and getting his story. So his story starts out with him loaning his van to some KKK members early on in his life, before Daryl Davis had a mission or a name or anything.

And two of the KKK members were upset that, like, the leaders of their group would even deal with the black man. So they end up leaving. And I guess that’s sort of this seed that gets planted in his mind. And first of all, where are you at in this life where a bunch of KKK guys, like, we need a van and go to something, and you’re just like, you guys can, you know, borrow mine. You can have mine. I don’t know. Like, was. Was he just trying to be a catalyst early on? Was he experimenting to see if I could, you know, what if I touch the stove real quick? What if something cool happens? Right? Well, he starts asking in, like, later on in the film, like, he asked, like, you know, that he had this question.

And he goes in through his life of, like, I had this question why people would not like me when they don’t know me. That’s, like, the bit. The premise of, like, all of this and where it, like, ties everything in together. He’s like, well, why? How could they not like me? And they don’t even know me yet. And. And then he goes into his, like, life story as, like, where, you know, he, he kind of, his dad was a secret Service agent. They flew around everywhere. They kind of lived abroad, you know what I mean? So he was used to being multicultural.

Like he had all kind. He even says, like, I had Japanese, Chinese, Nigerian, French. Like, you know, he just starts naming off all these different races and, and cultures that he’s been around. So he was a lot more adapted to different cultures than probably most Americans at that time. And he tells about this story about him being a Boy Scout and you know, he was the only black kid in the troop or I think in all of them because I think it was like a big parade that they had a bunch of different troops out there and he got to hold the flag and he was super like, you know, he didn’t notice that he was the only black person.

He says in retrospect now I know, but you know, I was just so integrated, I thought the Boy Scouts. And he said people started throwing stuff at him and he got, you know, they’ve, the dead mothers, they got him and they covered him. He’s like, what were they? He said, my, my instinct because I was so like, you know, ignorant at the time that I was like, I can’t believe these guys hate the Boy Scouts. Like, you know what I mean? Like, what the hell the Boy Scouts do to anybody? And then he goes home and his parents ask him like, you know, how’d you fall? And he explains his story and this is his first dose of what race and racism in America look like.

They kind of explained to him and that’s where he kind of gets his philosophy from. Like they tell you a little bit. I liked how they told the story because it was like a real movie where they tell you some stuff and then they, you the like beginning like more 20, 30 minutes into it. Yeah, it’s very like, like Tarantino esque where you’re getting this non linear holographic view of Daryl Davis growing up. And yeah, that’s the best place to start was how he was describing that since he grew up the first, you know, formative years of his life until he was like 6 or 7, he’s outside the, the US and he’s living up in all these different cultures where, you know, it’s, it’s him and like eight or nine other races.

He, he describes all of his early classes like little miniature un’s, right. So there was never a point in which he didn’t realize there’s 20 different types of people out there and then they move back to the US and now he’s like the one black kid in the entire class, sometimes the entire school. And he didn’t understand why people. And the, the other thing that stood out to me in that story was he goes home and he’s, and he doesn’t understand. He’s like, why do they hate the Boy Scouts, mom? And they’re like, oh my God, we have to have this talk since now we’re in America.

And he’s actually brushed up against it and he said, he said he was like, I don’t believe you guys. Like, you guys are messing with me. What’s the real reason? Like it could, he couldn’t even register this because it was the exact opposite of his entire lived experience for 100% of his life. And then he gets his first brush up with good old American racism and one of our greatest exports, by the way. And that he, like, that good old American racism was so much different that it shattered his world view. Like he, like, it was hard for him to integrate this new information in a way.

And that becomes the fascination for him and that becomes the reason why he would loan his van to a bunch of KKK members is because he wants to more understand why do they hate him so much. So when those two guys leave the KKK because their leaders were borrowing a van from a black guy, that just feeds into exactly why he would have done that. Like he wants to understand, like, okay, well why did those guys leave? Why did, why. And he makes a really good point. Later we’ll get into the hidden treasures. He makes his point of that he’s like on better terms with the grand wizard than the grand wizard is on terms with some of the other people that are in his own group just because of these bigger fundamental disagreements that they have.

The other things that we get into is he, he likens losing racism as like losing weight. And it’s like he’s, because he’s a large guy, so he’s like, if you were to look at me, it’s like I could get into fighting shape if I wanted to. You know, I mean, but, but it didn’t happen overnight. And you know, going from being a huge guy into being like a tiny guy, that’s also going to be something that takes a couple years of just non stop work and dedication and discipline. And he, and he equates that to losing.

And we say racism here. I guess this is going to apply to any sort of bias that you’ve been bred into, but that you can lose racism the same way that you could like lose 100 pounds, which I do agree with. I mean like £100. You can, if you hard work and dedication. And then he kind of gets into a little bit more of that world, like this weight too. Like it’s not just like it has to be multiple people. It can’t just be this racism, prejudice way is a little different than just like one person solving all the issues.

Another part I really liked about the movie is he kind of like is he has a music background that’s pretty much he’s a working musician, piano player, guitarist. Like, and he goes into this like we’re talking about, which is interesting. Like I’ll get into the. I’ll leave that for the hidden fact. But he, he’s at a country bar and he’s doing his piano stuff and he walks in. And then like this guy’s like, oh man, I never heard a black guy play. Like Jerry Lee Lewis, you know what I’m saying? Like, and he’s like, well, Jerry Lee Lewis learned from a black guy.

Like, that’s what I like is that he’s a straight shooter. Like, you know how he could have been like avoidant. Then he like went in it. And then I think like his character that you see how he talks. He’s like stern but funny. Like you, you could take him serious, but he’s light hearted enough where you don’t take him serious enough as a threat. So then he’s talking, he gets invited to the table, he doesn’t even drink. And then the, the guy’s like, this is the first time I ever had a drink with a black man.

And he’s like, how? Why is that? And he’s like, silence. And then he says his buddy’s just elbowing him. Come on, man, tell him D, where you from? And then he’s like, I’m, I’m in the kkk. And it turns out he’s like a leader of the kkk. And he’s just like. And he’s laughing it off because he’s like, no way, man. Like, it’s so surreal that moment for me because I’m just like, that is just how life is, right? Like some randomness. That’s like the randomness of life. You’re like, okay, bro, you’re a grand wizard for the kkk.

Yeah, sure thing, man. How many drinks have you had? And then it turns out to be super true. And not just that, but he ends up becoming like good lifelong friends with multiple Grand Wizards and Imperial Dragons and all the different names and even to the point where Again, he has more in common with some of these KKK leaders than like, his, like, you know, his own sort of people from his neighborhood. And one of these things that they’re talking about is that even the ones that he doesn’t convert into to giving up the kkk, they end up looking to Daryl as the authority because Daryl knows so much about the kkk.

There was one guy that we’re talking about that gets promoted from. To like. Like, we’ll just say, like, Imperial Grand Dragon or something. And the guy is too embarrassed to tell the rest of his KKK groups. Like, I don’t know what that means. Like, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now that you’ve given me this fancy title. And it turns out like, they, like, he was expected. I don’t, like, run the books or something. He was supposed to do something. And Daryl told them that because Daryl knew enough. So now you’ve got people in the KKK calling up this big black guy that converts KKK members.

Like, hey, man, can you. Can you give me a job description of what I’m supposed to be doing right now? Here’s my rank. Here’s my file. And he’s like, oh, yeah, well, you’re in Kentucky. Okay, well, that means you have to do xyz. Like, he’s. He actually is one of the world’s, you know, leading most experts on the infrastructure of the kkk, even though he’s the antithesis of it, right? That he’s. He’s sort of dissolving it with, I guess, like, the whole premise of you catch more with honey than you do with vinegar. Like, he’s an embodiment of that.

And he puts it to the test at the highest levels you can imagine, right? Black Eyed goes into the KKK and walks out converting. And the one. There was one example where he’s on the. The Geraldo show, which I think might have been the one that I. That I originally saw him on. And they do a check back in with the family and like, the wife left the. The wizard guy and the daughter left and married a black guy. Like. Like everything that was the opposite of what they originally were proclaiming on this show. And they all credit.

Everyone credits Daryl Davis as the catalyst that, like, changed the trajectory in their lives. And I think, also important thing to lay out in this film, especially being Black History Month, I think Daryl gets a bad rap from his own community, from the black community. And as far as where they’re thinking, like, this guy, how could he he’s betrayed us, you know what I mean? Like, he’s converting, he’s going to enemy lines and he does do a decent job. Like, I don’t agree with everything that he says because some of the things I think are propaganda, but that’s a whole nother topic.

But he goes through the plight of African Americans or Ados. A lot of people call him Ados, the American Descendants of Slaves. Like, he goes through like, hey man, nobody wanted slavery was terrible Jim Crow laws. Like these are realistic things. And he takes these and he tells them to these people that are running these organizations, like the heads of clan, clan members. I forgot the guy, the Nazi party guy from Detroit. He, he has a, a good core with him and he’s like, even presses him like where he goes, what kind of music you like? And he’s like, well I like grunge, you know, metal, like all these rock genres.

He’s like, well, that was invented by a black man. He’s all come on man, like, you know what I mean? He’s like, he thought, he’s like, yeah, everybody says that stuff and he’s like, seriously, like, you know Chuck Berry, he’s like Elvis invented. And he’s like, well, even Elvis, the way. So I like how he, he, he’s putting it. It’s not like he’s bowing down. That’s why I just want to be known. That’s not like he’s going into there and like, yeah, whatever you want. He’s pushing his philosophy and, and sticking to his guns and he’s just being understanding enough to be like, I’ll hear you out, but then you’re going to hear me out.

He has such a, such a clever way of going about it too, where music is usually his foot in the door, but in this case music is just a standin for culture where he’s basically going to these KKK guys or any racist guy and he’s like, tell me your favorite part about American culture. And they list off some stuff. And he’s like, that’s black culture. And they’re like, what? You know, and that, and he, I mean the way that he presents that, it typically goes through music, but you can extrapolate that to see that, that you can’t really differentiate.

Like the things that you enjoy about culture in America also are a shared culture with black culture and that you can’t separate the two because we don’t really live in a vacuum. Even if you think you are so isolated that you’re a grand wizard or the the name of that one guy I was talking about is a great Titan that then went to an exalted Cyclops or maybe vice versa. They have fun. They’re fun names, right? They’re fun names. But like, even an exalted Cyclops in the middle of Kentucky in the kkk, like, you are still influenced by black culture.

If you, if you like Elvis, then you also like Chuck Berry, whether you like it or not. Foreign. Let’s just do treasure, hidden treasure and overboard moments. So I’ll. I’ll let you. I want to know what you didn’t like about the movie. If there’s anything at all. Were there any overboard moments? I could say some of the overboard moments. And this is just me because of like, my propaganda, I think, like some of the, like, plights of like the African Americans, like, which is true, like, is things that did happen. But like my conspiratorial mind, I believe a lot of the civil rights stuff was propaganda and like, pushing to like, divide people in general.

Like, not that that had anything to do with black Americans at all. But I’m saying, like, they were just upon just like as these racist white pawns Americans were. And just a little bit. That’s just me being nitpicky though, right? Like, I’m not like, typical white guy. Take typical white guy, oh, does that guy have blue eyes? We know what he’s talking about. But if I go to the Hidden Treasures, I do have a lot on the Hidden Treasures. I thought one of the really good moments. I think it’s same where you’re talking about the, I don’t know, other things.

The Cyclops Titan guy, I don’t know the exact titles, but he goes like, how did you get in it? I grew up in a black neighborhood and I was getting beat up all the time. And like, I was. I needed reinforcements. I needed to align with a group. And I think the one thing that people don’t talk about when you’re talking about kkk, because they make it seem like the KKK runs, you know, the United States because there has been powerful people in the kkk. But over time it’s changed. And like, even like a lot of these white supremacists and white national groups have changed.

It’s the same as the Bloods and the Crips and, and the Mexican gangs and the Cuban gangs and. And the Italian Mafia. It’s like the same story. Like, yeah, like the Pecker Woods. That’s basically just the KKK outside of the jail system. It’s the Same thing. And it’s like, what does every gang say? Well, we banded together because there was more of this other gang or this other race, and we were getting beat up. So it’s like the ironicness of, like, how it’s all put together. And the other really hidden gem I thought was cool. I was talking about that John Travolta cowboy movie that comes out and how it influenced everybody to change their clubs and bars into, like, cowboy stuff.

And that’s how we, like, met the KKK guy. But I just thought it was interesting. I know it’s like a side, and it doesn’t really have to do with the movie, but I’m like, just the influence that movies have that we. That people always talk about, like, of how movies change people’s perspective in mind. And in this case, it changed bars and clubs to where everybody’s like, well, bring the country bands in. Because he even says, like, well, you know, being a working musician, I have to adapt with the times. And right now, at that moment, country was super hot, so I’m in a country band.

Which in turn, like, put him into position to meet a lot of these KKK people and kind of, like, start this journey that I don’t think he planned on doing, but it just, like, kind of unfolded. I like that you’re just going into, like, every. Walking up to every guy in a country bar, like, you know, this music’s black, right? Like, what? And get all pissed off constantly. That guy’s name, by the way, was Gary, the one that. And. And his story was that he went from exalted Cyclops to a great titan, and that a great titan essentially means county leader.

And he was the one that was like, daryl, help me out. I don’t know what. What I actually need to do. Like, what are my. My job responsibilities now? I thought that was, like, one of the. The biggest ones. I really loved how they were talking about his. His history. So, like, yeah, his dad was in the Secret Service, and then he goes into the international Secret Service. Like, all right, Daryl. Guy that’s in the music industry with intelligence connections. Like, I. I guess it does breed for some pretty interesting personalities, I guess. So now he.

He’s included in the. The CIA, potentially music industry. For. For at least Daryl Davis is. He also has this one part where they’re talking about Ferguson and they’re talking about Michael Brown getting shot and, like, the whole Trayvon Martin, you know, at the Black Lives Matter movement, he kind of touches on it briefly, but when he touches on it, he Talks about how he feels safer surrounded by KKK members than he does going down into Ferguson, you know, like, protesting or just being among people that he thinks that he’s aligned with and that he feels less safe in that environment.

And this is kind of emphasized towards the end of the movie. He sits down with these two black guys that are sort of advocates of the. The BLM movement, and he starts saying some very real stuff to them. And they do not take it at all, man. Like, in fact, they’re kind of painted in this documentary that the only two black guys that he even talks to end up hating him and refuse to go on camera anymore. They get up and leave. And then some guy that’s with them that helped coordinate that interview, he sits down and he starts berating Daryl Davis for having some of the opinions that he has, which I thought was a very clever inclusion in this documentary to just show, like.

And here’s proof of people that you would think, like, oh, of course these guys are going to be aligned with their day. Here’s this guy that’s going out here and converting KKK members into maybe not being civil rights leaders, but at least like, hey, I don’t do that hood stuff anymore, man. And. And the argument was like, okay, how long have you been doing this? Since, what, the 90s? So in. In three decades, all you got are, what, 30 robes? You’ve converted 30 people, and you’re spending all this time with KKK members. Like, why haven’t you spent those 30 years more dedicated to some other, you know, platforms, some other initiatives? And they get.

I mean, they get really, really heated over this. And I. I’m still trying to understand it. Like, I get where they were coming from, but it was like, how. Who are you to look at someone and be like, hey, this 30 years of work that you’ve dedicated your life to, I don’t find any value in that. And now mad at you also, too. I think that they could not come to an understanding it. To me, it’s because a lot of people have watched documentaries like Hebrew Sneakros, and they feel a certain way, and they can’t see a different approach.

Like, they’re not even attempting to understand his approach and where he’s coming from. And then your argument could be back, which I wish I know Daryl Davidson didn’t want to say. Like, this. My argument back would have been, hey, you guys been doing this for what, 60, 70 years? And. And you keep saying that white supremacy and. And all this is more prevalent today than ever. So what have you done. Then I. I got a. I got a whole bunch of notes from this conversation. So just here. Here’s some of the highlights. I think this is maybe.

And I guess this goes to show how good this documentary is. But even if I were to spoil this whole segment, like, you still have to watch the rest of the documentary and even get why any of this stuff matters and that the whole thing is worth watching. But so he taught. He sits down with these two activists, and they have a debate, essentially for about 15 minutes. And the reason that these two activists even get popular, which, funny enough, is Geraldo Rivera. So the same show that makes Daryl Davis, you know, known to the rest of the world, he also makes these two activists at the Ferguson riots.

And basically they get popularized because Geraldo Rivera is asking him something. And they basically dress Geraldo down for trying to sensationalize all this stuff. And they kind of become like, oh, man, those. That guy was badass for talking back to Heraldo on live TV and all this. So they become these, I guess, unexpected leaders in this BLM movement. They sit down with Daryl Davis, and immediately, this is where he was like, how many robes you got? When they hear, like, what, you collect KKK robes? Like, how many you’ve got? He’s like, oh, 26 since 1990. And these are the quotes.

That’s longer than I’ve been alive. Is that it? Like, like, immediately it was like, oh, I’m not very impressed with that. And then one of them, his friends, like, that sound like a fetish. Like, like, now they’re starting to not only, like, make fun of him, but they’re. They’re actually demeaning him. And it blew my mind. I was like, damn, these guys came in hot. I don’t. I didn’t understand why they were so angry. One of them, the activist guys, and he’s, like, talking about how he’s a college dropout. So, like, when he. They introduce him, like, so who are you? And he’s like, my name’s so and so, and I’m a college dropout, he kind of says it tongue in cheek, right? Like, he’s.

He’s a little proud of it. Then when Daryl Davis brings it up a little bit later in that conversation, the guy gets pretty angry. And they. And he, like, stands up and he leaves. Because he was like, well, didn’t. You’re the one that said that you dropped out of college. And he’s like, man, Bill Gates dropped out of college. Steve Jobs dropped out of college. Like, I always. Why why are those always the examples? It’s like they dropped out of college because they had already found like something that was going to make them more money than a college degree was going to make them.

It wasn’t just that they dropped out because they’re too smart for this anyways. He and Daryl Davis is like, you’re nothing but ignorant. He just drops that one on them. And it’s funny because like you were saying, he still says it in this very approachable way. He’s not militant about it. He makes everything that he says, makes it sound like it’s an open invitation to like sit down and talk to him. And these guys have, have completely had it. And as they’re leaving, they say, don’t come to Baltimore. And then his friend’s like, man, this man hate himself, right? They’re like, they’re just non stop chastising them.

And then the producer comes or the, the guy that like had the two activists sit down and he literally tells them, if you follow this dude, then you got a problem. So they’re, they’re talking to like the cameraman, like, hey, if, if you keep making this documentary about this guy, now me and you have problems, cameraman. So it, it was sort of like a very surreal moment in this whole documentary of like physical violence was on the table just because of Daryl Davis’s views. This guy that converts KKK members into not being kkk. And he even goes as far as to say, like, hey, it’s, he’s used to it because he says just as KKK members hate, like the guys that have converted o like have changed their ways.

They hate them more than they hate the Jews or black people or whatever else. Is that their enemy? Because they’re traitors and that’s how they’re treating him. And that’s how you get, you know, like this Uncle Ruckus characters and boondocks, right? I think that’s where they’re associating Daryl Davis with. And because they’re like, oh, you’re break breaking bread with the enemy. But they, they’re not even taking the time to actually see what he’s doing. He’s using a different approach. But because they don’t like that approach, they’re like, no, you’re, you’re a traitor to us and now you’re worse than them.

Dave, is, is Uncle Ruckus based on Daryl Davis? I started to think that watching like, like visually and the, the voice and all that, man, that’s. If not, it’s an unfortunate coincidence, right? And then I guess I was left with one, like, parting thought. And this was at the end of that huge debate he gets into with these two guys. And essentially it boils down to that they didn’t believe that people can change, that if you are, you know, a scumbag at one point in your life, then you always will be. And the only difference is how well you can lie and cover it up.

And that if you take that approach, which is the opposite of what Daryl Davis believes, right? Daryl Davis wouldn’t do what he does if he didn’t think that he could actually convert a Grand wizard into being just like a normal person again. So that was what they were angry about, is like, you’ve wasted all this time trying to change people that can’t actually change. And he’s trying to be like, no, no, no, they really can change if you give it a chance. And they were just at an impasse like that. Neither one of them was going to change their minds towards the other direction.

But it felt like that’s what they were getting so heated over. And he made a good point too, when they were like saying, oh, woods, you know, you haven’t done anything, only 26 since the 90s. And he’s like, yeah, I took out a Grand Wizard. Now there’s not even that, like in Baltimore. There’s not that KKK presence anymore. I did that right, by taking the head of the Snake kind of deal. But also, I think it’s ironic that they don’t realize where they’re saying people can’t change. And that is the same message that the racist people are saying about like, hey, these, these black criminals or these black whatever, like, you know, put ever in a box, whatever box they put them in, they said they can’t change.

And you have the same message. And they can’t even see that. It’s funny that one example too, though, he got fact checked live because he, he was like, there’s no, there’s not a KKK in Maryland anymore. And within 30 seconds, the guy from off screens like, oh, I just, I just looked it up on Google. And then I was like, hold on. So I paused and I looked it up on Google. Sure enough, there’s definitely a presence of the KKK in Maryland. So maybe Daryl was explaining a vacuum that existed for all of 30 seconds. But I don’t think that Daryl Davis took out the entire KKK of Maryland.

I think that that’s not crazy. So again, he’s not infallible. He says some things that maybe requires him, like, I believe that he took out one of the, you know, the biggest chess pieces, but he didn’t stop people from playing chess in Maryland. Foreign. Sink or swim. Where are you at on this one? It’s a swim for me. I recommend this film. It’s in my top 10 of documentaries. I think it’s well produced, has a good message, and it’s something different. It’s not the same old same old. It’s a different approach. Whether you respect the approach or not, it’s a different way of trying to convey the message.

So for me, it’s a swim all the way. 100. This is. Talks about music, history. It’s got, like, a personal connection. All the things that I’m realizing as we do this series that I don’t like. It doesn’t have that. It’s not big on archival footage. And I absolutely learned new stuff. Like, I didn’t even know about Exalted Cyclops and all these different names. And, like, one of the examples, too, is that they’re showing the actual cross on one of the KKK robes. And it has these little, like, black corners in each of the. The divots inside of the.

And he’s like, well, if you look at it, those are actually all K’s. And really it’s Knights of the Klux Klan. There’s four. It’s not kkk, it’s kk. Kk. And there’s just, like, a whole bunch of cool stuff that Daryl Davis just happens to be an authority on all of this stuff. So I just thought that was really interesting. And they even have a quick little clip of Andrew Pendergraph from Whitepride.com which you’ve probably seen in memes here and there. But it’s like this little white kid that does movie reviews and stuff, but he’s, you know, fam.

Like a KKK family. So they do a movie review of Princess and the Frog, and he’s like, yeah, it’s a nice movie. It’s about a black princess, but the prince is white. So it’s really about race mixing. And if we race mixes, there won’t be any more white people. Okay, see you next week. Like, that’s the whole. So it. The documentary, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s also really good. Like, I’m sure that Daryl Davis has been in heated arguments with way more than just these two guys that were activists at Ferguson. But the way that they included it at the very end of the documentary as like.

And here’s the proof of what we’ve been saying this entire time that Daryl is truly is good friends with KKK leaders. Even the ones that haven’t left it yet. They still see him as a peer, maybe not an equal, that might be a little too far, but they see him as a friend. And here’s someone that you would expect to be on the same page as him clearly not being on that same page. So it’s, it’s so many good different conversation starters on this. And it blew my mind because again, the first time I saw Daryl Davis, I thought it was just made up for reality tv.

I had no idea that this was an actual guy that really did all this stuff. On the horizon. I am not your negro. You are just fun to say. It is a fun thing to say. It’s an interesting title for sure. It’s a documentary about James Baldwin. It won some documentary awards and made some waves. This is Black History Month, so it seemed like a good one. This, this is represents, I guess what the Internet says. Like what? If you ask the Internet what’s a really good Black History Month documentary, it’s going to suggest I am not your negro.

Or was that the Internet talking back to me? Ah, it was either or, man. All right, well, we’ll see you for that one. Peace. Yeah under the docks Buried deeper we’re breaking the locks. They collect the dots under the docks under the docks yeah under the docks. Just buy something just by something from paranoia American Just buy something Just buy something from paranormal merry get some merch buy some art Click that link Add to car say it back need that print Nod your head, give consent Buy a comic three or four Think this thought I want more Buy a sticker from the store Think this thought I want more Just buy something Just buy something from paranoid American Just buy something Just buy something from Paranoid American Paranoid.

Yeah I scribbled my life away Driven the right to page Will it enlight your brain Give you the flight my plane paper the highs ablaze somewhat of an amazing feel when it’s real to real you will engage it your favorite of course the lord of an arrangement I gave you the proper results to hit the pavement if they get emotional hate maybe your language a game how they playing it well without Lakers evade them whatever the cost they are to shapeshift snakes get decapitated met is the apex execution of flame you out Nuclear bomb distributed at war Rather gruesome for eyes to see Max them out that I light my trees Blow it off in the face you’re despising me for what? Though calculated and rather cutthroat, paranoid American.

Must be all the blunts folk from For Real. Lord, give me your day your way, vacate, they wait around to hate Whatever they say, man, it’s not in the least bit we get heavy rotate when a beat hits so thank us, you’re welcome, Niggas, for real, you’re welcome? They ain’t never had a deal? You’re welcome? Man, they lacking appeal, you’re welcome? Yet they doing it still you’re welcome?
[tr:tra].