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.
RodrÃguez
________________________________
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on March 26, 2019.
________________________________
Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate