El Paso native, famed ‘Black Klansman’ author Ron Stallworth & wife battling Covid-19
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso native Ron Stallworth, who inspired famed director Spike Lee's movie BlacKkKlansman, and his wife are battling Covid-19, longtime local journalist Bob Moore tweeted Friday night.
"Please keep these wonderful El Pasoans in your thoughts and prayers," Moore wrote. He provided no further details.
Stallworth is a retired police officer and author of the 2014 book “Black Klansman,” a memoir about his undercover detective work in Colorado where he gained notoriety for successfully infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan.
His book was the basis for the 2018 Academy Award-winning film of a similar name. Stallworth grew up in El Paso and returned to the city with his wife, Patsy, after retiring from police work.
He was welcomed back home last year as the grand marshal for the Sun Bowl Parade on Thanksgiving Day.
Stallworth graduated from El Paso’s Austin High School in 1971, where he was a cheerleader and member of the student council; he was also voted “most popular.”
In the summer of 1972, his family moved to Colorado, where he started a career in law enforcement by joining the Colorado Springs Police Department.
Stallworth quickly developed an interest in undercover police work and was part of the Colorado Springs department’s intelligence section, where he worked on the now-famous investigation that exposed Klan operations.
Ron Stallworth, the inspiration for the movie @BlacKkKlansman, and his wife Patsy are both battling COVID-19. Please keep these wonderful El Pasoans in your thoughts and prayers.
— Bob Moore (@BobMooreNews) October 24, 2020
