Opening General Session
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.”