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.
Fierro
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 968 was adopted by the House on March
26, 2019, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House