The new film "BlacKkKlansman," directed by Spike Lee, tells the story of a Black police officer in Colorado Springs who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan. The man who inspired the film — New York Times best-selling author Ron Stallworth — visited the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Raleigh for a Q&A about the film and how he fooled the Colorado Springs Klan members and even former “grand wizard” of the KKK, David Duke.
Senior writer Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez spoke with Stallworth about becoming an overnight celebrity and how "BlacKkKlansman" has played a role in the national dialogue about race and hate groups.
DTH: I just saw you walk out of the movie, can I ask how many times you’ve seen the film?
Ron Stallworth: This is my ninth time, and I have four more (stops on his tour) to go.
DTH: Can you tell me how you felt watching your story unfold on film?
RS: It was very surreal to sit in an audience and hear the words that I wrote in this book spoken by the actors and see events that I lived being recreated — in some cases pretty close to how it actually occurred. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience where you’re floating and watching things happen. The first time it actually brought a tear or two to my eye when I realized that I had achieved this level — something that I never imagined. All I ever wanted to do was tell my story. It’s a unique story, and I just wanted to get it out there.
DTH: Speaking of the level you’ve achieved, it seems like you’ve done many interviews. How does it feel to be thrust in the spotlight like that?
RS: You have to recognize that you’ve been blessed with good fortune in this regard, and you take it and you run with it. I’m just a kid from El Paso, Texas, as well as my wife. All of this has suddenly came upon me, but we are determined to stay two kids from El Paso, Texas. As God giveth; God taketh away, and this could all end tomorrow. But right now, we’re on a whirlwind roller-coaster ride. We’re going to ride it for as long as we can and see what happens afterwards.
DTH: I’ve seen a lot of people thanking you profusely. Does this happen a lot, and how do you feel about this?