Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime

Title: Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime
Author: Ron Stallworth
Narrator: Ron Stallworth
First Published: June 5, 2018
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Pages: 208
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction, True Crime
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Rating:


Synopsis:

When detective Ron Stallworth, the first black detective in the history of the Colorado Springs Police Department, comes across a classified ad in the local paper asking for all those interested in joining the Ku Klux Klan to contact a P.O. box, Detective Stallworth does his job and responds with interest, using his real name while posing as a white man. He figures he’ll receive a few brochures in the mail, maybe even a magazine, and learn more about a growing terrorist threat in his community.

A few weeks later the office phone rings, and the caller asks Ron a question he thought he’d never have to answer, “Would you like to join our cause?” This is 1978, and the KKK is on the rise in the United States. Its Grand Wizard, David Duke, has made a name for himself, appearing on talk shows, and major magazine interviews preaching a “kinder” Klan that wants nothing more than to preserve a heritage, and to restore a nation to its former glory.

Ron answers the caller’s question that night with a yes, launching what is surely one of the most audacious, and incredible undercover investigations in history. Ron recruits his partner Chuck to play the "white" Ron Stallworth, while Stallworth himself conducts all subsequent phone conversations. During the months-long investigation, Stallworth sabotages cross burnings, exposes white supremacists in the military, and even befriends David Duke himself.

Black Klansman is an amazing true story that reads like a crime thriller, and a searing portrait of a divided America and the extraordinary heroes who dare to fight back.

Review

This is one of those incredible stories that could have only happened before the digital age. The very prospect of a black cop successfully infiltrating the KKK, becoming a card-carrying member, and thwarting local klan events by playing telephone is just absolutely bonkers.

Black Klansman recounts Ron Stallworth’s experiences as the first African American detective in the Colorado Springs police department, from his humble beginnings as a young cadet through his undercover work, most famously his string operation on the local KKK attempting to establish themselves in the state. I think the only unfortunate thing about the entire operation was that all of his work ultimately came to nothing thanks to beauracratic bullshit, and all of his hard work amounted to little more than an amusing story.

He went on to cover other local terrorist organizations on multiple sides of the political spectrum. Stallworth was in a unique position as a black cop in the 1970s, experiencing racism from whites and mistrust from African Americans as a “traitor.” It was interesting to hear about his experiences from the perspective of a law enforcement officer caught in a culture war in the years that followed the civil rights movement.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book which is narrated by the author, and while I struggle with audiobooks and often have to rewind and re-listen to parts to fully grasp everything I found Stallworth’s narration fun and down to Earth. While the book isn’t Earth-shattering by any means, it is an interesting dive into the topic of race in America, and worth a read for how utterly foolish the KKK was through the whole ordeal.

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