Is BlacKkKlansman based on a true story? Ending Explained
by A Maria | Updated Apr 22, 2023
BlacKkKlansman
BlacKkKlansman is a dark comedy crime film that was released in 2018. Directed by Spike Lee and written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Lee, the movie is based on Ron Stallworth's 2014 memoir Black Klansman. John David Washington stars as Stallworth, an African-American detective in the Colorado Springs police department in the 1970s.
The film follows his attempts to infiltrate and expose the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 and won the Grand Prix. It was released in the United States on August 10, 2018, a day before the first anniversary of the Unite the Right rally.
Is BlacKkKlansman based on a true story?
The film is based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, who was the first African-American police officer and detective in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1978-79, he led an undercover investigation into the local KKK chapter. Stallworth, portrayed by John David Washington in the film, responded to the chapter's recruitment ad in the newspaper and sent his colleague, played by Adam Driver, to attend the meetings in his place.
Stallworth himself spoke to Duke, the Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, played by Topher Grace, over the phone without Duke realizing his true identity. Stallworth was even assigned to be Duke's bodyguard during a visit to Colorado Springs. Stallworth later wrote a memoir about his experiences, titled Black Klansman, and became an expert on intelligence gathering on gangs.
BlacKkKlansman Cast
John David Washington
Detective Ron Stallworth
Adam Drive
Detective Philip "Flip" Zimmerman
Laura Harrier
Patrice Dumas
Topher Grace
David Duke
Jasper Pääkköne
Felix Kendrickson
Ryan Eggold
Walter Breachway
Paul Walter Hauser
Ivanhoe
Ashlie Atkinson
Connie Kendrickson
Corey Hawkins
Kwame Ture
Michael Buscemi
Jimmy Creek
Ken Garito
Sergeant Trapp
Robert John Burke
Chief Bridges
Fred Weller
Patrolman Andy Landers
Nicholas Turturro
Walker
Harry Belafonte
Jerome Turner
Alec Baldwin
Kennebrew Beauregard
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Mr. Turrentine
Damaris Lewis
Odetta
CAST
CHARACTER
Plot of BlacKkKlansman
In 1972, Ron Stallworth joins the Colorado Springs Police Department as their first black officer and is initially assigned to the records room. Tired of the discrimination he faces, he applies to become an undercover officer and is tasked with infiltrating a local rally where civil rights leader Kwame Ture is speaking.
At the rally, he meets Patrice Dumas, the president of the Black Student Union at Colorado College, and witnesses a racist officer in his precinct harassing her. After being reassigned to the intelligence division, Stallworth reads about a local Ku Klux Klan chapter in the newspaper and calls them while posing as a white man.
He recruits his Jewish coworker, Flip Zimmerman, to meet the Klan members in person while he continues to talk to them on the phone under his white persona. Stallworth establishes a connection with Grand Wizard David Duke and even begins dating Dumas without revealing his true profession.
However, Stallworth learns that the Klan is planning a terrorist attack and that two members are stationed at NORAD. During Stallworth's induction ceremony, Zimmerman, impersonating Stallworth, is initiated while Connie Kendrickson, the wife of one of the Klan members, plants a bomb at a civil rights rally.
Stallworth stops her, but uniformed officers beat him up despite his protests that he is working undercover. Zimmerman arrives, frees Stallworth, and arrests Connie. Landers, the racist officer who harassed Dumas, is also arrested for police brutality.
Although Bridges congratulates the team for their success, he orders them to end the investigation and destroy the records. Stallworth receives a call from Duke, and he insults Duke by revealing that he is black before hanging up. The movie ends with footage of the 2017 Unite the Right rally and a dedication to Heather Heyer, who was killed in the attack.
BlacKkKlansman ending explained
The concluding scene of "BlacKkKlansman" occurs on the day of Ron Stallworth's initiation into the KKK, which brings David Duke to Colorado Springs, inspiring a protest from the Black Student Union and motivating some of the KKK's more extreme members to organize a terrorist bombing. Ron is designated as Duke's personal security, and Flip is there to impersonate the racist Ron.
During the ceremony, they watch a screening of "Birth of a Nation" and the group goes through the ceremony without incident. However, tensions arise at the reception when a Klansman recognizes Flip from a previous arrest, revealing the dual-Ron sting. Meanwhile, Ron amuses himself by playing with Duke, posing for a picture with him.
The situation becomes explosive when the terrorists plan to bomb the reception, but Ron thwarts the attack by discovering Connie's suspicious behavior and calling the police. Connie then plants the bomb in Patrice's car, which harms only the terrorists when it detonates. Ron rushes to save Patrice from the planned bombing of her home, but he is intercepted by the police who don't recognize him as an undercover agent.
The investigation ends shortly after, but not before Ron exposes the sting to David Duke. The movie concludes with Ron and Patrice grappling with their opposing societal roles before the doorbell rings, and the extended epilogue highlights the Klan's history from the 1970s to modern times, denouncing the white supremacist riots in Charlottesville and President Trump's handling of the situation.
Overview of BlacKkKlansman
Directed by
Spike Lee
Written by
Based on
Black Klansman
by Ron Stallworth
Starring
Cinematography
Chayse Irvin
Edited by
Barry Alexander Brown
Music by
Terence Blanchard
Running time
135 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
SPECIFICATIONS
DETAILS
Is BlacKkKlansman based on a true story - FAQs
"BlacKkKlansman" is a dark comedy crime film that follows the true story of Ron Stallworth, an African-American detective who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s.
"BlacKkKlansman" was directed by Spike Lee.
"BlacKkKlansman" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 and was released in the United States on August 10, 2018.
"BlacKkKlansman" won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning one for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Yes, "BlacKkKlansman" is based on Ron Stallworth's 2014 memoir "Black Klansman."