A black detective, Ron Stallworth, infiltrates the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) in the 1970s. No, it’s not fake news and it’s not the beginning of a joke. All of it seems too good a story to be true, but Stallworth is a real guy and his tale is the focus of BlacKkKlansman, the newest film from iconic director, Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing, Malcom X, 25th Hour), and executive producer, Jordan Peele (Get Out).

The film is based on Stallworth’s incredible memoir, Black Klansman, but this film is just the beginning of this wild true story.

Who Is The Real Ron Stallworth?

Stallworth became a police officer on his 21st birthday in 1974, making him the first black graduate from the police cadet program in Colorado Springs. In BlacKkKlansman he’s played brilliantly by John David Washington (the son of Denzel Washington).

Stallworth got stuck with all the menial tasks given to new recruits while enduring the racist slurs from other officers. Despite the American Civil Rights Movement, America was still deeply racist. Those problems still persist today, giving Lee plenty of opportunities to draw parallels between Stallworth’s story and now.

Stallworth was vocal about his desire to join the undercover narcotics investigation team and would often sell himself to them as an asset. Finally, Stallworth got his break when he was asked to go undercover at a Black Panther rally.

The undercover squad was so impressed they made Stallworth the youngest and first black undercover narcotics detective in the history of Colorado Springs Police Department. Stallworth’s primary job was to read local newspapers and look for suss activity. One day, Stallworth noticed an ad in the classifieds for the KKK with an address listed. So, he wrote them a letter asking for more information and using his real name because he didn’t think it would lead to anything.

Two weeks later, Stallworth got a phone call.

---

Did Stallworth Really Infiltrate The KKK?

He sure did, and it began with a discussion with a member of the KKK over the phone. Stallworth told the mysterious man on the phone that he was a white man who hated every minority in America. Stallworth’s rant impressed the KKK so much that they wanted to meet him straight away.

Stallworth didn’t want to blow the biggest break of his career, so he arranged for a white undercover detective named Chuck (changed to Flip Zimmerman in the film and played by Adam Driver) to pretend to be him in a face-to-face meeting. Stallworth did most of his detective work over the phone, rotating with other detectives when he couldn’t answer the calls. The KKK never suspected they weren’t talking to the same person. Chuck met the KKK as ‘Ron’ and they bought it.

---

How Long Did It Take?

Stallworth and Chuck kept up the act for seven months and were only suspected of sounding different on the phone once! The excuse of a sinus infection saved the investigation. As the investigation grew, more undercover detectives were added to the case while Stallworth befriended the Grand Wizard and future Presidential primary candidate, David Duke (played Topher Grace of That ‘70s Show).

---

What Were They Looking For?

Stallworth’s investigation was mostly about keeping tabs on the KKK in case they had something sinister planned. Stallworth shared information with other government agencies and they found certain members of the KKK were high-ranking officials with access to defence facilities. They were quickly reassigned.

The craziest part of the story is when the real real Ron and the fake ‘Ron’ (Chuck) showed up together for Ron Stallworth’s KKK induction ceremony. Stallworth gets to attend the meeting because Duke will be in attendance and requires police protection after death threats are made on his life. Stallworth gets the gig as his bodyguard and shows up to the ceremony, he even manages to take a Polaroid selfie with Duke while the fake Ron is standing in the background.

---

Stallworth Was Too Good At Being In The KKK

The investigation was so successful that ‘Ron’ was offered a promotion within the KKK, which led the chief of police to shut down the case. Stallworth was ordered to destroy all the evidence of their undercover operation out of fear it would get out that high-ranking government employees were members of the KKK.

Stallworth kept the secret while working as an investigator for 20 years. In 2006, he began talking about his experience infiltrating the KKK and his book was released in 2014.

---

Does Stallworth Dig The Film?

Talking to Vanity Fair, Stallworth said, “I sat riveted in my seat watching all that unfold on the screen, as did the people who were in the screening with me. We were amazed by what we saw, and we were shocked by what we saw, and we had no words to describe what we saw once it was over with. We just sat in stunned silence.”

Stallworth also highlighted the contemporary themes of his story in hands of the Lee: “I hope they [audiences] recognise that racism is alive and well, that the Klan has never gone. It’s always been around, and will continue to be around, and that you shouldn’t focus on just a group called the Klan. It’s the whole white-supremacist movement, no matter what they call themselves—be it Klan, Nazis, alt-right, skinheads—the basic ideology is the same. They consider themselves superior to others because of their white skin, and we should not sleep on that,” Stallworth added.

In the 2018 political climate, Stallworth’s story is more important than ever and BlacKkKlansman is essential viewing.

—

(All images courtesy of Universal Sony Pictures)

—

BlacKkKlansman is new to buy or rent on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital.