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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, In his memoir Black Klansman, El Paso resident Ron |
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Stallworth delivers a riveting account of his experiences as an |
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African American police detective leading an undercover |
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investigation into the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s, and his book is |
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receiving renewed interest since being adapted into an Academy |
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Award-winning film by director Spike Lee; and |
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WHEREAS, Ron Stallworth was born in Chicago and moved to El |
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Paso when he was just four years old; initially, his family lived in |
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the heart of the city's small but proud African American community, |
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which had a long history of advocating for civil rights, including |
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challenging racist voting laws and successfully pushing for |
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desegregation in area schools; he later lived in neighborhoods that |
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were primarily made up of white and Hispanic residents, a situation |
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that forced him to negotiate a less familiar cultural landscape; |
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after graduating from Austin High School in 1971, he moved to |
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Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he joined a cadet program with |
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the city's police department; he was promoted to police officer and |
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then became the first black detective in the history of the agency; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, In the late 1970s, Detective Stallworth initiated a |
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seven-month undercover investigation in which he infiltrated the Ku |
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Klux Klan through phone conversations with local members and KKK |
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Grand Wizard David Duke; for face-to-face meetings with Klan |
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members, a white police officer posed as Mr. Stallworth; this |
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investigation successfully thwarted Klan activities, including |
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several cross burnings and a plan to bomb two gay bars in Denver; it |
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also revealed the presence of KKK members in the United States |
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military and the North American Aerospace Defense Command; and |
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WHEREAS, Shortly after the investigation ended, Detective |
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Stallworth left Colorado Springs, and he went on to work with law |
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enforcement agencies in Arizona, Wyoming, and Utah before retiring |
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and returning home to El Paso; in 2013, he penned Black Klansman to |
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chronicle the Colorado Springs investigation; and |
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WHEREAS, A revered law enforcement officer and an acclaimed |
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author, Ron Stallworth has distinguished himself through his |
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efforts to document and combat racism, and his achievements are a |
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source of great pride in El Paso and beyond; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Ron Stallworth on the success of |
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Black Klansman and honor him for his important work; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Stallworth as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |