Last week I was listening to Adam Grant's Rethink podcast. The guest was Daryl Davis, a black musician who has spent decades doing something most of us would find unthinkable: sitting down face-to-face with members of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, listening to them, and through empathy and curiosity, helping many leave hate groups behind.
What struck me wasn't just his extraordinary work. It was also his advice for the rest of us, the ones who can't imagine doing what he does.
Not everyone belongs on the front line
Daryl Davis and Jeff Schoep, who also joined the podcast, are what he calls "on the front lines"—directly engaging with people in hate groups. But Davis readily acknowledges that this isn't for everyone.
"Some people, they can't do that," he explained. "They cannot bring themselves to sit down with a KKK member or a neo-Nazi. 'I can't sit with those people. I'm afraid of them. Or I'm afraid I might punch them out. They just irritate me or whatever.' Got it. You don't belong on the front line."
And here's the crucial part: that's okay.
Davis offers an alternative that transforms feelings of helplessness into purposeful action. If you can't be on the front line, maybe you can be on the back line. Maybe the sideline. Maybe online. The key is to find the line where you feel most comfortable and participate from there.
Find your line.
For me this feels empowering. We often feel paralyzed by social problems because we think we need to be heroes, putting ourselves in uncomfortable or even dangerous situations to make a difference. But Davis is telling us something different: sustainable change requires people working at different levels, in different ways, according to their capacities and strengths.
All lines matter equally
Perhaps the most powerful part of Davis's message is this: "There's no line that you can be on that is any more important than any other line."
The person making meals for organizers on the back line isn't less important than the person on the front line. The person sharing resources online isn't contributing less than the person attending rallies. We need people researching, writing, donating, educating, supporting, organizing, and yes, sometimes directly engaging.
"We all have to work together, put all these lines together," Davis said, "and that's how we create a great society."
His words triggered honest self-reflection. Where can I actually show up consistently? Where do my skills, temperament, and circumstances allow me to contribute meaningfully?
What Davis offers is a vision of change that's both realistic and hopeful. It acknowledges our different capacities while insisting that everyone has a role to play. It replaces guilt and overwhelm with clarity and purpose.
So, the question isn't whether you're brave enough to be Daryl Davis. The question is simpler and more personal: What's your line?
To hear the full conversation between Adam Grant, Daryl Davis, and Jeff Schoep, listen to the Rethink podcast episode "Talking people out of hate."