Hey, Thoughty2 here.
We humans have a natural desire to belong, which is probably why we’re constantly forming groups
and societies to belong to. Getting together with people who share common interests can be a rich
and rewarding experience. There are quite literally millions of clubs and associations
to choose from and they are as diverse, and in many cases bizarre, as humanity itself. Many
associations have prerequisites for membership. Take for instance the Ejection Tie Club, which is
for pilots who’ve survived being ejected from an aeroplane. That’s a pretty niche group by anyone’s
standards, but membership numbers are surprisingly high at about six thousand people worldwide.
Pilots who’ve tried and failed to eject from their stricken planes could potentially be
eligible to join another unusual club instead - the Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People.
The group was founded by Lal Bihari after his application for a bank loan was denied
on the grounds that he was, in fact, deceased. That came as a bit of a shock to poor old Bihari,
who considered himself to be in pretty good health. But it turned out his uncle had bribed
a state official to have Bihari declared dead in order to steal his inheritance.
As a result, Bihari was considered legally - if not biologically - deceased for almost 20 years.
This might sound like another fairly niche group, but the association currently boasts a staggering
20,000 members - all of whom are legally dead. Luckily, you don’t need to be deceased or
the survivor of a freak accident to find a group of like-minded people.
For example, simply being a white supremacist with an interest in fundamentalist Christianty
and burning crosses should be enough to get you through the door of the Ku Klux Klan,
a notorious hate group whose membership numbers peaked at around four million in
the mid 1920s - that was, about 3.5% of the US population at the time. Of course, if you aren’t
pale-skinned and a fervent protestant, your chances of acceptance into the KKK are dismal,
but those odds weren’t enough to deter Ron Stallworth,
the first and last black man to become a card carrying member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Ron was used to being in the minority. Born in 1953, he joined the Colorado Springs Police
Department as a cadet in 1972 and became the first African-American to graduate from the training
program two years later. From the beginning, Ron wanted to work undercover and soon enough he was
presented with the chance to do just that when he was asked to attend a speech given by Kwame Ture,
a prominent Civil Rights Activist, at a local nightclub. A few times during Ture’s speech Ron
caught himself shouting and chanting in agreement, so it’s fair to say it probably wasn’t the most
challenging undercover assignment in history, but that would soon change. The successful
completion of the Kwame Ture job saw Ron being posted to his department’s Intelligence Unit
where he continued to blaze a trail, becoming the first black undercover Narcotics Detective
in Colorado Springs Police Department history. It was in late 1978 that Ron came across a KKK
recruitment drive in the classifieds section of a local newspaper.
Who knows what the ad said, perhaps something like ‘Group of white bigoted cretins seek new members
for carrying burning torches and shooting cans. Love of silly hats a must’.
Any interested individuals were to contact Ken O’Dell – the organiser of the Colorado
Springs Chapter of the Klan, so Ron sent off an appropriately worded letter declaring,
amongst other things, his desire to put a stop to the persecution of the white race.
Expecting to be sent a brochure or pamphlet of some kind, Ron was caught off guard when
he received a telephone call two weeks later. The man on the line was Ken O’Dell himself,
and he wanted to enquire further as to Ron’s motivations for joining the Klan.
It was around this time that a few glaring problems with Ron’s plan to investigate the KKK
first came to light. Firstly, there was no plan, and secondly, he’d used his real name
in the letter. Luckily, Ron was both quick witted and very good on the phone. He launched into an
angry rant about pretty much every ethnic minority he could think of, then rounded things off with
an improvised story about an impertinent black man who’d dared to date his sister.
Needless to say, all of this was music to Ken O’Dell’s big racist ears. It was clear that Ron
was just the type of guy the Klan was looking for. But before Ron could celebrate this small victory,
Ken dropped a bombshell - he wanted to meet his new recruit in person.
Of course, a face-to-face meeting presented Ron with a minor problem - namely that,
far from being a white supremecist, he wasn’t even white. Keen to avoid an impromtu lynching,
Ron quickly set about finding himself a body double. The plan was simple - he would continue to
play ‘white Ron’ over the phone and in any written correspondence, but whenever he was required
on Klan business in person, a suitably white colleague of his called Chuck was drafted in.
There was unfortunately one small issue with this approach - Ron and Chuck had completely
different speaking voices. Surprisingly, on only one occasion during the entire 7 and a
half month investigation did anybody actually notice this obvious vocal discrepancy. During
one of Ron’s phone calls with Ken, the Ku Klux Klan boss asked Ron why his voice sounded strange,
and Ron calmly explained that he was suffering with a sinus infection. Despite the fact the two
men had seen each other just hours before, Ken accepted the explanation without the slightest
hint of suspicion, even going so far as to kindly offer some treatment advice.
What a stand up guy. So, thanks to a combination of sheer stupidity, good acting
and perhaps the poor quality of phone lines in the late 70’s, the Klan remained convinced there
was only one Ron, a man who suffered with allergies despite his perfect Aryan genes.
With Chuck’s help, Ron had successfully infiltrated the Klan, and he began to
extract as much information as possible while monitoring any potentially subversive activities.
Motivated by a lifetime of racism, Ron threw himself into his assignment.
He worked hard to endear himself to his Klan colleagues who he described as ‘not
the brightest bulbs in the socket’. The bulb that shone the dimmest, though, was local leader Ken.
In Ron’s own words, the man was a total idiot. Soon after their initial meeting,
Ken invited Ron over to his house to take part in an important Klan meeting. Chuck,
of course, attended in Ron’s place, wearing a wire so Ron could hear what was going on.
It turned out that the meeting was to discuss the logistics of burning four 17-foot crosses at
‘strategic’ locations nearby. All those assembled agreed that it would be a deeply moving religious
experience. But thanks to Ron and his undercover operation, the cross burnings were thwarted.
As well as hoodwinking the Palm Springs chapter of the KKK,
Ron also managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the Klan’s global leader at the time, David Duke,
who carried the awesome title of Grand Wizard, despite his clear lack of a Hogwards education.
Ron was accidentally introduced to Duke when he phoned the Klan’s head offices in the hope
of expediting his official acceptance into the organisation. Klan membership would mean that
Ron was eligible to participate in all Klan activities, so he was eager to speed up the
process. Ron’s enthusiasm clearly struck a chord with Duke, who promised to personally see to it
that Ron had his membership card and certificate posted out to him ASAP. To this day Ron carries
his membership card, which was signed by the Grand Wizard himself, in his wallet.
It seems that Ron genuinely charmed the Klan leader,
and their excellent rapport would lead to one of the most unlikely relationships of all time,
with the two chatting on the phone once or twice a week.
Ron would massage the Grand Wizard’s ego and Duke would reveal all kinds of information during their
calls. Every now and then, Ron couldn’t help baiting Duke, even asking him how he could be
sure that a ‘smart ass’ black man wouldn’t fool him over the phone by posing as a white man. Duke
confidently explained that black people talked differently, so there was no chance something
like that could ever happen. Wizard my arse. Duke later visited Colorado Springs for a PR blitz
which happened to coincide with Ron’s induction into the Klan and, in a strange twist of fate,
the real Ron Stallworth was assigned to protect Duke after he received death threats. When
Stallworth met Duke, he explained that he didn’t agree with his philosophy or political ideology,
but that his beliefs wouldn’t interfere with Ron’s ability to ensure Duke’s safety. Ron made no
effort to disguise his voice, but Duke never made the connection between his protection officer and
the man he spoke to so frequently over the phone. At one point in the day, Stallworth asked for a
photo with Duke, saying no one would ever believe that he had been the Grand Wizard’s bodyguard.
Brilliantly, it was Ron’s white body double Chuck who took the polaroid photo,
and just as it was being taken, Stallworth put his arms around Duke and another Klansman.
Being the massive racist that he was, Duke wasn’t best pleased with this turn of events,
and he tried to stop Ron leaving with the photo. At which point Ron played the police card
and threatened to arrest Duke for assaulting an officer. During their next phone conversation,
Ron asked if anything interesting had happened on his visit to Colorado Springs, to which Duke
replied with a racial slur-infested story about a cop who’d threatened to put him behind bars.
Thanks to Ron and Chuck’s combined efforts, the undercover mission revealed a lot of
useful intelligence about the Klan’s activities in Colorado Springs and beyond. During the course of
the investigation, a number of Klan members were revealed to be part of the military,
including two senior members of the North American Aerospace Defense Command with
top level security clearance. Both men were reassigned. The undercover agents were also
successful in preventing the detonation of a nail bomb in a Colorado Springs gay bar,
a plan which had been cooked up by the KKK and a local neo-nazi group.
In the end, Ron and Chuck were perhaps too good at their jobs. Recognising Ron’s dedication and
loyalty, Ken O’Dell eventually put him forward as the future chapter leader for Colorado Springs,
at which point it was decided it was probably best if the investigation were closed
and all evidence of its existence destroyed. After all, it would certainly take a bit of explaining
if word ever got out that a couple of policemen were paid up members of the KKK. Ron complied
with his orders but kept his membership card and the Polaroid of him and Duke as souvenirs.
Remarkably, the world would probably never have heard this incredible tale had Ron not
revealed the investigation in a 2006 interview. The story would go on to inspire the 2018 film,
BlacKkKlansman, and serve as a source of much red-faced embarrassment for the Ku Klux Klan.
If you’ve ever wondered why grown men wear pillowcases over their heads,
perhaps that’s why. Thanks for watching.