Discussion
Questions
BlackkKlansman:
Race,
Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime
By Ron Stallworth
Publisher: Flatiron Books, Sold by Macmillian
ISBN-10: 1250299055
ISBN-13: 978-1250299055
ASIN: B078X26S6C
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This nonfiction book might not be what you expect as it is different from some of the movies available with about the same title. In this story, the author, Ron Stallworth, was working in the police force. At first, he only thought he would earn money and become a high school teacher. We are lucky he did not and became a writer who shares such informative reading material.
Stallworth was the frequent voice on the phone to people like David Duke in the KKK, while another white officer went to the in-person events. The two men team worked together to investigate the KKK while pretending to be enthusiastic members. They had to be careful much of the time to not reveal the truth of what they were doing. Besides fooling the people in high positions within the Klan, they had to keep their true feelings to themselves. It was a difficult "acting" assignment, and there were some close calls. The book has some humorous portions, but overall this was a very serious project.
Included in the book are photos that prove the author's story. His very own KKK membership card and other memorabilia are in the special images section. The entire investigation didn't last that long and was successful as by knowing when crosses would be burned, the author could tip of the police in his office. The police would then drive by and in that way stop the activities. Although the Klan and other racist groups were in the area, no high profile problems occurred.
I had no idea of many of the activities and pledges people made to these groups. It seems to be the basis of some of the white supremacy hate speech going on today. There were hundreds of thousands of members in the one location mostly described in the book.
The author was also invited to some secret meetings, like offices inside what appeared to be a mountain. Another time, he was able to see some confidential files with valuable information, although he could only take notes in the limited amount of time provided. It was all news to me and very interesting reading. It is a fairly fast read because of the "police blotter" style of writing and the author's clear language. This book would be good for book club discussions or reading to learn for oneself.
Thank you for reading!
Carolyn Wilhelm, UDEMY Instructor for Self-Publishing from the Very, Very Beginning
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