SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 479
         WHEREAS, BlacKkKlansman, an award-winning movie that most
  recently was honored with an Oscar, tells the story of an
  investigation into the Ku Klux Klan that was conducted by Ron
  Stallworth, a black police officer who was born and raised in El
  Paso, Texas; and
 
         WHEREAS, Mr. Stallworth was hired as a police cadet in
  Colorado Springs and eventually promoted to police officer, and
  he became the first black detective in the history of the
  Colorado Springs Police Department; and
 
         WHEREAS, In 1979, he responded to a classified
  advertisement recruiting Klan members, and when he was asked to
  join the cause, his department agreed to begin an undercover
  investigation into Klan activities, during the course of which
  he established a relationship with national Klan leader David
  Duke; and
 
         WHEREAS, The investigation, conducted over the phone by
  Mr. Stallworth and in person by a white detective posing as him,
  resulted in a curtailing of local Klan activities, such as
  cross-burnings; and
 
         WHEREAS, Mr. Stallworth left Colorado Springs in 1980, and
  he was subsequently employed in law enforcement agencies in
  Arizona and Wyoming, and in Utah, where he worked at the
  Department of Public Safety on gang issues; and
 
         WHEREAS, Mr. Stallworth moved back to El Paso after
  retiring, and in 2013, he wrote the book Black Klansman, which
  was informed in part by his conviction that while our country had
  made much progress in eradicating the influence of racism, there
  is still much work to be done; and
 
         WHEREAS, Growing up in El Paso, Mr. Stallworth was part of
  a small but proud black community with a strong history of civil
  rights advocacy; El Paso and its citizens have for many years
  played a leading role in the dismantling of widespread practices
  of segregation, from the lawsuits that led to the ending of
  all-white primary elections to the desegregation of schools,
  colleges, public accommodations, and sports teams; and
 
         WHEREAS, Despite these achievements, many people in El
  Paso still remember segregated public accommodations and a
  struggle for voting rights and for representation of Hispanics in
  elected and economic leadership positions; and
 
         WHEREAS, BlacKkKlansman is both an exceptional movie and a
  stirring reminder that our society must never stop progressing
  toward greater equality and understanding; Ron Stallworth
  exemplifies his El Paso roots and with his book and the film has
  told a compelling story of significant import; now, therefore,
  be it
 
         RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
  Legislature, hereby commend Ron Stallworth for his efforts to
  advance the progress of and the conversation around civil
  rights and racial equality in our society and extend to him
  congratulations on the success of his book Black Klansman and
  its adaptation as a movie and on the widespread impact of
  its message.
 
  Rodríguez
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
        President of the Senate
     
        I hereby certify that the
    above Resolution was adopted by
    the Senate on March 26, 2019.
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
        Secretary of the Senate
   
   
   
    ________________________________ 
         Member, Texas Senate