Review: Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of Lifetime
Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of Lifetime by Ron Stallworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What is it about?
Ron Stallworth joins as a police cadet, with the intention eventually to be a teacher. However, he becomes the first black police officer in the Colorado Springs Police Department. He wanted to go undercover and got his chance at a nightclub where Stokely Carmichael is giving a speech.
Ron had also responded to an ad in the local paper and requested information about the Ku Klux Klan. This got a bit out of hand quickly as they contacted him by phone and wanted to meet. As a black police officer, obviously he couldn’t do this, so a colleague went in his place. This then became an official intelligence gathering operation with Ron speaking to the local chapter of the KKK leader and even David Duke himself. Little did the KKK know, their member Ron Stallworth was a black cop.
While some of this is lighthearted, there is a very serious point to it all and they managed to prevent cross burnings and other violence the Klan were planning.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, it’s an inside look at a violent, racist organisation in the 70’s showing just how hateful people can be. It’s well written, very absorbing and thought provoking
View all my reviews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What is it about?
Ron Stallworth joins as a police cadet, with the intention eventually to be a teacher. However, he becomes the first black police officer in the Colorado Springs Police Department. He wanted to go undercover and got his chance at a nightclub where Stokely Carmichael is giving a speech.
Ron had also responded to an ad in the local paper and requested information about the Ku Klux Klan. This got a bit out of hand quickly as they contacted him by phone and wanted to meet. As a black police officer, obviously he couldn’t do this, so a colleague went in his place. This then became an official intelligence gathering operation with Ron speaking to the local chapter of the KKK leader and even David Duke himself. Little did the KKK know, their member Ron Stallworth was a black cop.
While some of this is lighthearted, there is a very serious point to it all and they managed to prevent cross burnings and other violence the Klan were planning.
Would I recommend it?
Yes, it’s an inside look at a violent, racist organisation in the 70’s showing just how hateful people can be. It’s well written, very absorbing and thought provoking
View all my reviews
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