Blackkkansman: Lee’s Interpretation versus Stallworth’s Truth - Samantha Stafinski
African Americans have employed art such as music, dance, and paintings and sculptures to tell their stories since they were brought to the country against their will. White Americans may have stripped away their ability to speak for themselves in American society but they could never take away their hymns. They 8could hold them in bondage but could not stop their hands from crafting and painting their truths and experiences. As technology advanced, African Americans employed new forms such as movies and television to express both their individual and collective experiences. Shelton Jackson “Spike” Lee is a notary African American Producer, Director, and actor whose movies, “ take a critical look at race relations, political issues, and urban crime and violence.” Both the historical accuracies and inaccuracies of Spike Lee’s Blackkklansman contribute to the period piece's relevance in our current society. Ron Stallworth did in fact experience racial discrimination while serving in the Colorado Police force and he did engage in phone conversations with the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, both of which exemplify the inequality that existed in the 1970s and continues to this day. However, Stallworth connected with a white German woman rather than with a young black activist as is depicted in Lee’s film; this departure from the historical record enables Lee’s film to address the difficult topic of the relationship between the police and Blacks.
Spike Lee’s interpretation of Ron Stallworth stays true to the actual event, highlighting the racial prejudice that Stallworth faced as well as the unbelievable story of Stallworth being in contact with the head of the KKK. Blackkklansman begins with Ron Stallworth at the Colorado Springs Police Department as the lowest man on the force sorting records. This job was given to him because he was the new hire. We see White officers micromanaging him and giving him a hard time, treating him like he is beneath them. Similar racism happened to Stallworth in real life. Stallworth recollected prejudice against him for his afro hairstyle in his memoir “Blackkklansman”. The lieutenant purposefully measured his head incorrectly so his cap for his uniform would not fit correctly. Ron Stallworth claimed that the hat made him look like a “cartoon monkey that amuses a crowd and begs for money” with the cap sitting atop his afro. The lieutenant laughed at his predicament saying, “You can either wear this cap or get a haircut,” The lieutenant was supposed to set an example for all of his subordinates, yet abused his power and displayed racial bias. Racism comes in many forms as Stallworth and Lee both expressed through memoir and film. This accuracy is so prevalent because it seems so scripted, though African Americans know this to be an unfortunate truth. Those who commit these hate crimes do not always scream slurs and do grand gestures. Hate crimes such as this one happen everyday, the subtlety making it harder to snuff those who commit the crimes. Yet here we see it, Lee displays this real life scenario to bring awareness to all types of hate crimes.
Spike Lee does not leave any room for interpretation of Ron Stallworth actual interaction with a chapter head of the KKK in Colorado Springs. The Klu Klux Klan had been publicly snuffed by the government and Southern Americans that were tired of all of the violence by the time the 1970’s came. Their hatred for “enemies of the nation” such as Blacks and Jews carried on through private events such as rallies and speeches. Stallworth was an intelligence detective, meaning that he sought after subversive groups in the area. The KKK definitely fell under that category. One of the arguably funniest parts of the movie Blackkklansman is when all of the special agents turn around and stare at him as he lists off the KKK’s undesired people to chapter head Ken O’ Dell, claiming that Stallworth hates them even though he falls under the category. This is so bizarre and funny because you think this is an exaggeration to get a laugh. In fact, Stallworth’s memoir highlighted this and took it a step further, as he recorded himself saying, “Well I hate n*ggers, Jews, Mexicans, sp*cs,ch*nks, and anyone that does not have pure white Aryan blood in their veins.” To that, Ken O’dell the local organizer of the Colorado Springs KKK answered, “ You’re just the kind of person we’re looking for.” The harsh reality that this hate group still thrives underwraps in a society supposedly “revolutionized”. It is so important that Spike Lee stayed true to the exact wording of what Stallworth actually said because it displays the racist mentalities that permeated in counties in the country, hate still embodied many White Americans.
Though the film is accurate in its portrayal of the racism Stallworth experienced in 1970s America, it does not stay true to Stallworth’s experience in every respect. Lee chose to have his fictional Ron Stallworth meet a college-going Black activist at a Black Panthers meeting rather than a white German woman as a means of addressing the conflict that Blacks, especially Black youths, have with police enforcement across America. In Lee’s film, Stallworth enters the Black Panthers meeting where Stokely Carmichael, also known as Kwame Ture, was speaking. He meets young activist Patrice Dumas at the Black Panther rally, becoming love interests with her. Stallworth does not tell her about the fact that he is a police officer due to the fact that she and many of her African Americans friends have had unjust treatment by law enforcement. We find out in Stallworth’s memoir that he did in fact meet a young woman who heavily agreed with the ideals of The Black Panther Party but she was a German American. We must ask ourselves: Why did Lee make this artistic interpretation? Throughout the memoir Stallworth speaks out about his identity of being a cop, being a Black man in America, and where the two identities clash. Police brutality against Black Americans had been alive and unfortunately thriving, as we see through the riots in Detroit that took 43 of rioters, police officers and civilian lives in 1967 after African Americans responded to a vertern lieutenant killing a fifteen year old Black male. A Civil Rights commission was created after the riot by Lyndon Johnson, known as the Kerner Commission, to assist communities with poor housing and unemployment as well as educating police on Civil Rights policies. The Civil Right Commission had made strides in voting equality, school desegregation, and fair employment, but police brutality still destroyed Black communities. Lee’s choice of Patrice as Stallworth’s love interest provided opportunities for them to share their feelings about police brutality and eventually a perspective of a police officer when Stallworth reveals his true identity. It humanizes both civil rights activists, who have often been depicted as destructive and angry, as well as creates a positive image of police officers who are not racist but do their job to protect the community.
Both Spike Lee’s interpretation and the actual recollection of Ron Stallworth’s investigation of the Colorado Springs branch of the Klu Klux Klan contribute to larger conversations and issues that we still face today 40 years later. The KKK may not do public lynchings and destroy Black communities in one swift go, but now they do it in more discrete ways such as public gatherings, “Klu Klux Klan scholar David Cunningham expands on things that the hate group would do, “Similarly, during the civil rights era, many were drawn to the KKK's militance, but also to leaders' promises to offer members "racially pure" weekend fish frys, turkey shoots, dances, and life insurance plans.” Racial hatred against Black Americans is now hidden by the government and political views, making it harder to destroy the hate. This is why this movie and memoir are not viewed as a period piece, the issues that were prevalent in the 1970’s surrounding racial injustice are still extremely relevant today. Both the historical accuracies and inaccuracies of Spike Lee’s Blackkklansman contribute to the period piece's relevance in our current society just as much as it did in the 1970’s. Spike Lee takes both the event and his own creative freedom to create a film that conveys both the daily struggle of A black police officer infiltrating a hate group designed to destroy everything he stands for as well as his relationship with other black individuals in an occupation that is systematically against them.
1)Robert Stirling, Spike Lee (1957- ), February 25, 2020, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lee-spike-1957/.
2)Ron Stallworth, “Jackie Robbinson and the Black Panthers,”in Blackkklansman 12-13. New York:Flatiron Books, 2018
3)“Ku Klux Klan: A History of Racism,” Southern Poverty Law Center, March 1, 2011, https://www.splcenter.org/20110228/ku-klux-klan-history-racism.
4)Sennott, Adam. “The Original 'Black Klansman' on White Supremacy, Then and Now.” Street Roots. Street Roots, October 31, 2018. https://www.streetroots.org/news/2018/10/26/original-black-klansman-white-supremacy-then-and-now.
5) Blackkklansman, directed by Spike Lee (2018; Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, Focus Features, 2020), DVD
6)Ron Stallworth, “A Call From The Klan,”in Blackkklansman 3-5. New York:Flatiron Books, 2018
7)Blackkklansman, directed by Spike Lee (2018; Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, Focus Features, 2020), DVD
8)Ron Stallworth, “Jackie Robbinson and Black Panthers,”in Blackkklansman 26. New York: Flatiron Books, 2018
9)“Policing the Police: A Civil Rights Story,” Origins, accessed November 25, 2020, https://origins.osu.edu/article/policing-police-civil-rights-story.
10)“Top 5 Questions About the KKK,” PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), accessed December 12, 2020, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/klansville-faq/.
Works cited
Blackkklansman, directed by Spike Lee (2018; Universal City, CA: Universal Pictures, Focus Features, 2020), DVD
“Ku Klux Klan: A History of Racism,” Southern Poverty Law Center, March 1, 2011, https://www.splcenter.org/20110228/ku-klux-klan-history-racism.
“Policing the Police: A Civil Rights Story,” Origins, accessed November 25, 2020, https://origins.osu.edu/article/policing-police-civil-rights-story.
Robert Stirling, Spike Lee (1957- ), February 25, 2020, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lee-spike-1957/.
Ron Stallworth, “A Call From The Klan,”in Blackkklansman 3-5. New York:Flatiron Books, 2018
Ron Stallworth, “Jackie Robbinson and the Black Panthers,”in Blackkklansman 12-13. New York:Flatiron Books, 2018
Sennott, Adam. “The Original 'Black Klansman' on White Supremacy, Then and Now.” Street Roots. Street Roots, October 31, 2018. https://www.streetroots.org/news/2018/10/26/original-black-klansman-white-supremacy-then-and-now.
“Top 5 Questions About the KKK,” PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), accessed December 12, 2020, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/klansville-faq/.