86R20708 ST-D

By: Fierro H.R. No. 968

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, In his memoir Black Klansman, El Paso resident Ron Stallworth delivers a riveting account of his experiences as an African American police detective leading an undercover investigation into the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s, and his book is receiving renewed interest since being adapted into an Academy Award-winning film by director Spike Lee; and

WHEREAS, Ron Stallworth was born in Chicago and moved to El Paso when he was just four years old; initially, his family lived in the heart of the city's small but proud African American community, which had a long history of advocating for civil rights, including challenging racist voting laws and successfully pushing for desegregation in area schools; he later lived in neighborhoods that were primarily made up of white and Hispanic residents, a situation that forced him to negotiate a less familiar cultural landscape; after graduating from Austin High School in 1971, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he joined a cadet program with the city's police department; he was promoted to police officer and then became the first black detective in the history of the agency; and

WHEREAS, In the late 1970s, Detective Stallworth initiated a seven-month undercover investigation in which he infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan through phone conversations with local members and KKK Grand Wizard David Duke; for face-to-face meetings with Klan members, a white police officer posed as Mr. Stallworth; this investigation successfully thwarted Klan activities, including several cross burnings and a plan to bomb two gay bars in Denver; it also revealed the presence of KKK members in the United States military and the North American Aerospace Defense Command; and

WHEREAS, Shortly after the investigation ended, Detective Stallworth left Colorado Springs, and he went on to work with law enforcement agencies in Arizona, Wyoming, and Utah before retiring and returning home to El Paso; in 2013, he penned Black Klansman to chronicle the Colorado Springs investigation; and

WHEREAS, A revered law enforcement officer and an acclaimed author, Ron Stallworth has distinguished himself through his efforts to document and combat racism, and his achievements are a source of great pride in El Paso and beyond; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas Legislature hereby congratulate Ron Stallworth on the success of Black Klansman and honor him for his important work; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Mr. Stallworth as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives.