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Racism renounced: A Black man talks with white supremacists

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Daryl Davis

Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW

Acclaimed musician and recording artist Daryl Davis has interviewed hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members and other white supremacists – and influenced many of them to renounce their racist ideology.

In the latest episode of “Let’s Find Common Ground,” we hear his brave and remarkable story. Davis’s personal quest began many years ago, after a concert when he was in a country music band.


After one of his rock and R&B performances, a man told Davis it was the first time he’d seen a Black man play piano like Jerry Lee Lewis. Davis explained the Black origin of Lewis’s style, and the man became a fan. Turns out, he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. This led to Daryl becoming the first Black author to interview KKK leaders and members, detailed in his book, “Klan-Destine Relationships.” Today, Davis owns numerous Klan robes and hoods, given to him by active members who renounced their racist ideology after meeting him.

His documentary film, "Accidental Courtesy", features his process of conversation and understanding to bridge differences and promote racial reconciliation.

Davis earned a degree in jazz and tours nationally and internationally with The Daryl Davis Band. He has worked with Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley’s Jordanaires, The Legendary Blues Band, and many others. As a race reconciliator and lecturer, Davis has received numerous awards and is often sought by CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and other media outlets as a consultant on race relations and white supremacy.

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Daryl is also an actor with stage and screen credits. He appeared in the critically acclaimed HBO police drama “The Wire.”

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‘Patriotic education’: Trump orders federal push to monitor K-12 curriculum

President Trump's latest executive order directing the federal government to monitor K-12 education curriculum targets transgender students and those who support them in schools.

Nurphoto via AP, Allison Bailey

‘Patriotic education’: Trump orders federal push to monitor K-12 curriculum

President Donald Trump has directed the federal government to begin a campaign to monitor and influence K-12 curriculum — a move that former Education Department staff describe as unprecedented interference into the country’s education system with the purpose of targeting marginalized groups, particularly transgender students.

In an executive order signed Wednesday, Trump instructed the secretary of education, secretary of defense and secretary of health and human services to work with the attorney general to enforce “patriotic education” andeliminate federal funding for schools promoting “indoctrination” based on “gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”

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African American Literature Matters

Girl (6-8) looking at book in library, silhouette

Getty Images//Terry Vine

African American Literature Matters

This year's observance of Black History Month carries forward the centennial anniversary of the Harlem Renaissance. However, in this reflective season, we find ourselves at a crossroads that would be painfully familiar to those pioneering writers and artists of the 1920s.

The significance of African American literature has never been more profound. This is neither an imaginative nor conspiratorial factoid, especially amid the systematic dismantling of DEI initiatives, ethnic-centered curricula, and history. With six states and counting passing anti-DEI laws, universities nationwide are discontinuing their diversity programs. And more than 30 bills across the United States now target diversity initiatives in public colleges, threatening to unravel decades of progress in educational equity and cultural understanding. These actions are not just judicious administrative decisions. On the contrary, there are meticulously coordinated attempts to mute the very voices and existence of people and their sociocultural experiences and artifacts across generations. Illuminating why African American literature and ethnocultural genres remain paramount.

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Trump’s "anti-" rhetoric answer to great replacement theory

Several blocks spaced out.

Getty Images / Sakchai Vongsasiripat

Trump’s "anti-" rhetoric answer to great replacement theory

The Fulcrum’s Executive Director Hugo Balta, whose social media platform exhibits highly factual and credibility ratings from the Media Bias/Fact Check, recently wrote in an op-ed, “This is the time to advance on DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] initiatives,” as opposed to President Trump and Elon Musk’s anti-DEI movement.

Let’s explore Mr. Balta’s contention from a research-based and reference-laden perspective to see if his position is true or false.

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Advance DEI, do not retreat from it

Diversity Equity and Inclusion Text on Wood Block

Getty Images//Nora Carol Photography

Advance DEI, do not retreat from it

  • President Donald Trump has directed that employees of federal offices focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) be placed on paid administrative leave.

This action is part of a broader initiative led by Elon Musk, who heads the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has previously criticized DEI initiatives, labeling them as detrimental.

The ongoing debate around DEI laws and programs has seen significant opposition from some Republican leaders, who argue that these initiatives may undermine merit-based systems in hiring and education, particularly for white individuals.

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