Diversity Book Club November Discussion-Lakeside Room
Looking for some unconventional reads for the fall? Grab a cup of warm, mulled cider and curl up with the Fall Season picks of the St. James Diversity Book Club (formerly the Adventure Book Club). The Diversity Book Club is an outreach ministry of the St. James’ Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission.
Group discussions will be held once a month in the St. James’ Toppie Bates Lakeside Room immediately following the 10:45 a.m. worship services. Light refreshments will be served. The books and dates for the Fall Season are listed below. There is no obligation to participate in both discussions. Join us when you can. Our goal is to enrich your reading experience thorough fellowship and sharing ideas—along with tasty treats.
Nov. 19 at noon: Black Klansman: Race, Hate and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth
In 1978, a 25-year-old Black police officer in Colorado Springs responded to a Ku Klux Klan recruitment ad in the classified section of the local newspaper. The officer, Ron Stallworth, wrote to the P.O. Box listed in the ad, posing as a white man. A few weeks later, he received a phone call, asking him to “join our cause.” Stallworth answered yes, launching one of the most incredible investigations of his career. Stallworth teamed up with a white colleague, who impersonated Stallworth when his physical presence was needed. However, Stallworth conducted most of his conversations with local Klan leaders by phone. He even communicated with Grand Wizard David Duke. The book, published in 2018, details Stallworth’s months-long investigation into the local KKK.
The Spike Lee movie, BlacKkKlansman, is based on Stallworth’s memoir. A New York Times’ review of the book can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/books/review/black-klansman-ron-stallworth-best-seller.html .
