PHOENIX — Juneteenth is a day to celebrate “all Americans, white, black and every other person,” said race relations expert Daryl Davis. The Chris & Joe Show on KTAR News 92.3FM Wednesday marks the fourth year that the United States has observed the federal holiday.
The holiday celebrates the final emancipation of Confederate slaves after the Civil War, with the first ever “Juneteenth” occurring on June 19, 1865.
Davis said. Chris & Joe Shaw The descendants of slaves should celebrate their freedom, and the descendants of slave owners should celebrate their freedom from guilt.
“Some of these bondages are physical, like shackles, some are mental, some are emotional. Whether white, black or any other race, let us break free from them and move forward together, rather than trying to hide them. … Let us expose them and move forward together.”
Davis, author of “The Fate of the KKK: A Black Man’s Adventure in Joining the Ku Klux Klan,” became famous for using sympathetic persuasion tactics to get KKK members to give up their robes.
“I firmly believe that a missed opportunity for dialogue is a missed opportunity for conflict resolution,” Davis explained, “so I start by finding out what we have in common. For example, we might both like James Bond. Our difference might be that he likes Sean Connery and I like Roger Moore, but we both like James Bond.”
“So you find common ground. Talk to your worst enemy for five minutes and you’ll find common ground. Talk to him for ten minutes and you’ll find more, and eventually you’ll have more in common than contrasts. And the little contrasts, like skin color, become less and less important, and you start to think, ‘Why did I hate this guy just because of the color of his skin?'”
His work as an activist has taken him to 53 countries across six continents, and he says wherever he goes, people find a way to get along.
“There are five things people want: to be loved, respected, listened to and treated fairly. And they want the same things for their families that you want for yours. … These are commonalities.”
Davis says listening is the first step in developing a compassionate approach.
“Have the conversation: ‘I can’t put myself in your shoes, but can you tell me what it’s like?’ Give the other person an opportunity to describe what it’s like,” Davis says.
