Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth

Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth

Author:Ron Stallworth
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Flatiron Books


7

KKKOLORADO

Now with Jim undercover the investigation was feeling like something much larger than my own pet project. The Posse Comitatus and the Klan were attempting to join forces, a marriage I certainly objected to. David Duke was to rally in the city in less than one month, and anti-Klan groups such as the Black Muslims, Black Panthers, and PLP were gathering a counterstorm that we were monitoring.

On December 16 the anti-Klan group People for the Betterment of People held a protest march in downtown Colorado Springs with approximately twenty participants. The People for the Betterment of People was, to be kind, not the best-organized group, but they were well intentioned. It was essentially organized by a concerned housewife in Colorado Springs who wanted to make a statement against hate in her community. They walked on the east side of Tejon Street from Vermijo Street. Marching counter to them on the west side of the street were Ken O’dell, wearing a Klan robe and carrying a Confederate flag, and his second in command, Joe Stewart, wearing a jacket with a KKK emblem.

At one point Ken gave brief interviews to the newspaper and television reporters, telling them they were not there to create confrontation. He even explained the presence of only two Klansmen as an effort to stress the nonviolent aspect of the organization as well as to keep the identities of Klan members secret.

I personally monitored the march by walking alongside Ken and Joe close enough to hear any personal conversation they might exchange between them. Several times, I laughed to myself that the “Ron Stallworth” Ken often talked to on the phone was standing within three feet of him and he never realized the truth of the hoax being played out against him and his cohorts. I was always cautious about the people around me, whether someone would recognize me and call out “Detective Stallworth” or “Ron Stallworth,” which would alert Ken and start him questioning why this black cop’s name was the same as that of the Klansman he had personally selected to replace him as local organizer. I did not say anything and made myself as inconspicuous as possible throughout the march. I was actually enjoying the paradox that I, a “loyal and dedicated Klansman,” was standing three feet from the man who recommended me as his replacement.

One interesting exchange that struck home occurred during the march. We were witnesses to a new day and attitudes toward the Ku Klux Klan. While stopped at an intersection red light, a black man holding his five-year-old son’s hand stopped beside me and was standing next to O’dell. The son looked at Ken curiously, pointed to him, and asked his father, “Daddy, why is that man dressed so funny?”

I started chuckling along with the others standing nearby when the father, looking directly at Ken, replied, “He’s just a damn clown, son.”

Ken and Joe glared at the father and those of us laughing as the light turned green and the march continued for a couple more blocks to its conclusion.



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