The Gangs of Zion: A Black Cop's Crusade in Mormon Country

by Ron Stallworth

New York Times  bestselling author of Black Klansman, Ron Stallworth, returns with another firsthand account of trailblazing police work in the most unlikely place for a Black cop in the ’90s.

Determined to pursue his passion for undercover work wherever it leads, Ron Stallworth finally lands in Salt Lake City, Utah. Once again, he’s an outsider—not only as a Black man on a mostly white police force but also as an unapologetic nonbeliever in a state dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But soon after his first drug bust in the Beehive, Stallworth makes a startling discovery—Bloods and Crips are infiltrating Mormon Country, threatening to turn the deeply conservative community into a hotbed of crime. Kids are bombing homes while carrying pocket versions of the Book of Mormon, yet his fellow cops are in denial that gangs are wreaking havoc in their Christian town. 

Now Stallworth has a new mission. Whether facing off with skinheads at a downtown bar or schooling white Crips blasting “F*ck tha Police,” he is intent on stemming the tide of gangs into the state. But those he expected to be his allies either have their heads in the sand or their own agendas—from the racist Mormon legislator to the community activist exploiting a fatal gang incident to spread paranoia over an imaginary race war.
As he butts heads with these so-called leaders, Stallworth also realizes that gangsta rap has the key to the g-code. He becomes obsessed with—even defensive of—the music he once loathed and puts himself on the front lines of America’s culture war. Now he’s spitting uncensored lyrics before Congress and taking the stand in the 1993 murder case that puts hip-hop on trial.

But the more Stallworth speaks truth to power, the more determined the gatekeepers in Utah are to silence him, and not even twenty-three years of police work could prepare him for how low they would stoop.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Memoir, True Crime, Crime, Audiobook

279 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2024

About the author

Ronell Eugene Stallworth is an American retired police officer who infiltrated the ranks of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado Springs in the late 1970s. He was the first African-American police officer and detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department.

The 2018 film BlacKkKlansman is based on his experience infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan.

Reviews

[pk · Rating 1 out of 5]

i'm very interested in the topics of both gangs and mormons, so naturally this was theoretically a perfect read for me as i delve deeper into popular true crime slop-and slop this was! the book wasn't even that bad, his writing was amateur but readable, but man was this man a jackass. he writes in the beginning and later follows up in the end this altercation with boots riley (who i am not a particular fan of) about how boots claimed he worked for the FBI to destabilize radical groups, and goes a long way to "disprove this"...but only on a technicality. no, of course he didn't work for hoover, he was too young; but a page before that, he admits to working undercover as a cop to infiltrate black radical groups boots was affiliated with, which he claims to document in black klansmen, which i haven't read but will be. he also spends the whole book talking about his transformation into the "hip hop cop" who testified at various trials and senate hearings about the nature of rap music. and to be clear, his position was always that rap shouldn't be censored and that rap was the cry of the urban black masses, but the whole thing still as described rubbed me the wrong way. and then at the end had the balls to call boots riley a race traitor for "lying" about him being involved in the FBI-when, a page before, he admits he did go undercover into those groups. like, bruh?

[Diane Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm, well there wasn’t much in this book about The Gangs of Zion, other than that they exist. Instead this is a rather pompous autobiography about a black cop in a gang unit in Salt Lake City, Utah in the 1990s.

In Utah, being black was unusual and being a black cop was unbelievable for the white males in charge of the state. That cop, who is also the book’s author, tried to tell his superiors, seemingly alone, that gangs were settling into Utah. No, crips and bloods couldn’t infiltrate our nice homogeneous LDS community, they thought. They were wrong.

In the book, the author describes how he used gangsta rap lyrics to see how gangs operate. He needed to use lyrics rather than personal experience because he has never been associated with gangs IRL previously either—just like the white guys running his department. He is their gang expert solely based on the color of his skin, which is just blatantly racist.

Ultimately, The Gangs of Zion is a fair autobiography of a black male cop who had to fight the patriarchy of both a white male government and an omnipresent religion in a state where black people are looked down upon. Could he make his voice heard? However, the book basically uses gangs more as a setting rather than as a major plot arc so the title is definitely a misnomer. 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Legacy Lit for providing me with an advanced review copy.

[Cassie | Cassie’s Next Chapter]

This was fine, and engrossing enough at the beginning. But it got really annoying how self-important he sounded and it made the tone and reading experience really difficult. DNF at 50%

[Michaela Kollin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I had liked this more than I did. It was kind of meandering and plotless. That might be an unfair criticism to make of a book that’s based on a real person’s life experience but I ultimately think there wasn’t enough narrative meat on the bone to justify adapting this into a book. There were also moments where the tone came across as self-aggrandizing or aggrieved in an off-putting way.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorado College mentioned!!!! #RollTyges 🐯🐯

[Tbone · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've ever wanted to see how someone who identifies as very black and very much a cop at the same time thinks and operates.....this is the book. I"m LDS and most of his career was spent in Utah while gangs were growing in Utah all the while alot of those running the state and running the police departments in the state just didn't want to admit they had gang problems for one reason or another. A very interesting read............as their was a movie....the Black Klanssman. That movie was made about this author. It was based on his life. He has very diff political leanings than I do and he made that very clear. However by that point in the book i grew to like this author very much and didn't really care about the political stuff at the end. One of my fav parts of the book is..........Ron detests religion............but he really gives a huge shout out to the member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at one point........mainly because when his wife was dying of cancer....even though he and his wife were not members of the church....the members of the church really stepped up and helped care for his family as his wife died of cancer. Something that the church his wife atteneded did not do. Overeall a great read and good insight into youth and gangs as well. And alot of the BS of poltics and power exposed as well.

[Brendan Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I did not finish this book.

It is rare that I'll review a book I didn't complete; I'll usually unshelve it and move on, but Stallworth's book is very well done, it just had so much profanity that I felt it wasn't helping me.

But I assert that the author was "Getting things done!"; he is living as a black man in a racist world, and has a black cop in the same. He faces gangsters calling him "Pig" for being a cop (and much worse), and other cops, freezing him out and stymieing his career, and through it all, he is fierce, brave, effective and insightful. He goes to great lengths to understand white people, gang members, hip hop culture and more. He doesn't slink, he doesn't waver, so I really give him props.

I was going to give this book 4 stars due to the content, but will give it 5, as the author is a champion in his world, and conveys his dilemmas well.

I can't recommend the profanity, but mostly it is used to convey specific ideas; it just took me places I didn't want to go too much. Maybe like the white Mormon cops and officials not wanting to face the fact their cities were falling prey to L.A. gang violence. They denied the author's claims, despite overwhelming evidence.

I recommend the messages of this book highly, as I understand them; I'm sorry I didn't want to read it 'til the end.

[Jessica Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ron Stallworth faced a lot of adversity as a Black cop. He didn’t fit in with his mostly white coworkers and many Black people saw him as a traitor. But he loved working undercover and doing what was right. I really enjoyed getting to know him. He said someone once called him “a crazy motherf*cker” and that he took that as a compliment- and he certainly was! He knew he had to assert dominance with gang members and he did a whole lot of bluffing so these men and boys would think he’d beat them up for disrespect. But he was also a loving and devoted father and husband and a big takeaway I got from this book is that children in gangs need to be treated like humans and shown a better way of life. Stallworth and his co-author Sofia Quintero created a memoir that educated me and made me feel emotionally connected to the people in it. Thank you so much Legacy Lit and Grand Central Pub!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book and very fast-paced. Ron explains gang culture through his analysis of OG gangsta rap and observes and reports how the Utah government of the 1990s fails to recognize, respond and prevent gang issues in their community. There is (not surprisingly) a lot of denial where the Mormon church is concerned and financial and political agendas inhibit the issues from receiving the attention and expertise needed to eliminate them. It is all very frustrating to read about, especially because in my experience, the tone in Utah is largely identical to that of the 1990s. Not 5 stars for me because at times, Stallworth comes off as arrogant and self-congratulating. However, he deserves the recognition he calls upon himself- even if it is not customary to be one’s own cheerleader.

[DaniPhantom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright The Black KKKlansman is one of my favorite movies, and I really enjoyed the book; but this one felt like a miss for me. I do understand Stallworth’s POV as a black cop, and what that must feel like, but I feel like the commentary in this book was more surrounded about how rap music can influence people, the way people treated him as a black cop in Utah, and comebacks. I wanted there to be more data, info and stories about Mormons and how they intertwined with gang culture, but it seemed overshadowed by the writers political POV. No, I don’t support Mormons either.

[Debbie Delliskave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eyeopening look at the government follies that allow gang violence to spread

I was surprised at the events that occurred in Utah even though I was living here. It wasn’t until I was teaching that I realized gangs were here. Even then many parents and neighbors doubted it due to the lack of action by the government agencies.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I grew up in Salt Lake City during the time frame of the up tick in gang activity described in this book. Stallworth describes the politics of SLC/Utah well. Other reviews speak poorly of Stallworth’s pride in his work…as he should. He overcame so much in his life, career, personally, racially. He should be highly proud of the work he did. Really enjoyed this book.

[Jeremy Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ron Stallworth balanced humanity with policy, justice with mercy. It would be a very different world if all cops were like Mr. Stallworth. But as he demonstrates in this book, institutional powers don't actually want good cops on the streets.

[Nicolle Okoren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other reviews were very negative but I really enjoyed this and found it to be a fascinating defense of hip hop music.

[Rafael Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book on criminal activity in Utah.

[Alan Adams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stallworth comes off as arrogant and self-congratulating.

“We got .357s, we got .38s, we got .45s, we got MAC-10s, we got AK-47s, we got Uzis… And what do you all have?” It was a good thing Stallworth didn’t have any of those guns because he couldn’t handle the one issued to him by his department. Stallworth fails to talk about his failure to qualify with his gun at an annual qualification. He finally passed the qualification course after months of trying and with the help of medication. That’s just what we need, a cop who can’t shoot and on medication. And as for his claim of the Americans with Disability Act, it was his department that brought it to Ron’s attention.

Stallworth said (referring to the Clearfield Job Corps): “I call bullshit,” I said. “You’re a liar.” No matter how many times I confronted him and his staff, nothing changed. Who is this person at the Job Corps center is he talking to? Was it Job Corps director John Crosby, associate director Celeste McDonald, or maybe Sandra Kinji? As usual Ron fails to identify the people at the center. Ron fails to mention that in 1991 the Job Corps officials were trying to minimize the program’s influence on gangs. It was around this time a massive housecleaning began with the installation of a new director, John Crosby, and he would not tolerate such things even as minor as doodling gang graffiti on a class notebook. Ron also fails to mention that after John came in as director 72 students had been expelled from the program.

Stallworth became a pain in the side of many people and organizations. It got so bad that the Utah local NAACP stopped taking his calls. It wasn’t that they wanted money, they simply just got tired of all his BS.

There are so many errors and fallacies in this book that if one looks closely, they too will find little evidence to support the authors claims. But I’ll just leave with this, from Stalworth's first employment in Colorado he had always wanted to work for the DEA, “my goal was to become a federal agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration” and he always wanted to achieve that goal to the end of his career. The only problem…the DEA didn’t want him. Ron wanted to work with the Utah liquor squad, but they didn’t want him. Ron wanted to work at the police academy, he even applied but was rejected for reasons Ron would not talk about. Close to the end of Rons career supervisors went to other law enforcement agencies to see if they would “take” Ron and no one would. They went to the Attorney Generals office and were turned down, they went to the Utah Department of Corrections and were turned down, they went to Salt Lake City Police Department to see if they would put him back on their task force and chief Ruben Ortega said they would not take Ron. Stallworth even wanted to be one of those evil politicians he talks about but lost the election for Layton City council. Why would Ron spend the last 3 or 4 years of his career behind a desk hating every moment, and then pay $13,000 to retire one year early from his 20 years career? Maybe he too found that no one from the DEA to the local city council would hire him.

So yes, Stallworth comes off as arrogant and self-congratulating.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this book. I saw the movie BlacKkKlansman, but had not read the book, and so I went into this without knowing Ron Stallworth’s writing style.

I found the premise to be interesting, and I enjoyed learning about the link between the gang activity in Utah and the Job Corps program. I think it’s interesting how Stallworth was able to learn more about gangs through studying rap lyrics/music. However, I do feel like this book could have been significantly shorter and maybe needed some edits. A majority of this book discussed various speaking engagements that Stallworth was invited to in great detail, many of them being very similar in nature. It felt like every other chapter was a recap of Mr. Stallworth’s accolades, or a list of how many people respected him. He often did this when writing about someone who he clashed with, almost as if to justify his position.

As someone who is from a police family, I understand Mr. Stallworth’s frustration with knowing what needs to be done and wanting to make a difference, but being constantly shut down due to politics and agendas. That being said, there would be whole chapters dedicated to someone who the author felt slighted by, and I didn’t feel like it was always needed.

There were some accounts that were put in that seemed to be included just to give the reader a sense of how intimidating the author was/is. Some of it was difficult to picture how this could have happened in real life (walking into a bar full of sk*nheads and fully taunting them to their face, but walking out without anyone fighting him, for example).

Overall, I think a lot of my personal difficulties with the book boiled down to writing style/author’s voice, but I think anyone who is interested in the culture of the time (80s/90s), especially the rap music of that era, would enjoy this.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Aryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I think of Utah, I have the image of a very heterogeneous, middle to upper middle class white community full of devout Mormons. Something along the first 2 - 3 minutes of the musical The Book of Mormon. Ron Stallworth brings to light a different Utah, one where things are not so shiny and bright. As a Black police officer, he stood out on the police force. As an officer determined to shed light on the gang problems of Utah, he became an inconvenient expert. Stallworth explains how he came to be a police officer in Utah, and how he ended up becoming an expert on gang intervention strategies and gangsta rap in the 90s.

Stallworth is clear and forthright when it comes to stating his opinions and recounting his experiences. Some of those opinions might surprise you. The refusal of politicians and community leaders to acknowledge the existence of a systemic gang issue and deliberate attempts to stop Stallworth’s progress is unlikely to surprise you. Stallworth had allies and supporters, but his (many) detractors are one of the things that left a lasting impression on me when I consider the tone of the book. His personal battles with superiors and community leaders are a key point of the book.

I definitely recommend this book, I found it a propulsive read that it was hard to walk away from. Stallworth’s writing style is conversational and down to earth.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

[Magen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ron Stallworth first came to prominence for the film based on his memoir Black Klansman. I remember finding out that he later served on the force in Utah where I grew up, so you can imagine how curious I was to read this memoir about that time in his career.

As much as I appreciate Stallworth's no nonsense attitude, problem solving creativity, and dedication to social justice, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in this book. Rhetorically and narratively, it's a mess. Is this a personal? A lecture on race relations? A foray into the seedy, racist underbelly of white Utah theocracy? In seven hours (on audio) Stallworth tries to tackle all of this but ultimately tames none. He comes close a few times to making relevant observations and conclusions, but his Boomer sensibilities or lack of familiarity with Mormon culture, among other issues, get in the way. Stallworth is also somewhat off-putting in his stubborn and often contradictory self righteousness.

What I'd hoped for from this book was more self reflection on Stallworth's intersecting identities as a police officer, a black man, and a religious minority. I did not get that. He writes instead as though he could do now wrong, that reconciliation is unnecessary. I hoped also for such self reflection to inform some sort of guidance to help society navigate the tensions we deal with today. All I got was that cops should listen to more rap music to impress and make friends with young people. Nice advice, I guess?

[Jen Juenke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard book to review. On one hand I learned a lot about gangs in Utah. Not a lot of knowledge, just that there were gangs in Mormon country.
I learned about the Jobs Corps and how that seemed to bring the gangs into Utah.
I learned about gansta' rap and why the police needed to learn about it.

However, I didn't learn what efforts the author really did to combat the gangs.

I read a ton of personal bravado from the author to the gangs and to his superiors, but none of that was to combat gangs.

I felt that this was a disjointed book that dealt with a ton of different issues from gangs, the Mormon Church, gansta' rap, gangsters, political fighting and fighting amongst police brass.

I wish that the author had stayed on topic and would have talked about how to combat gangs, how to recognize gangs, etc.
This was a meandering book, while entertaining did NOT enlighten me on the actual gangs of zion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

[Noah Goodling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't often read biography, because the author is often, intentionally or not, biased to believe that their methodology and approach is the correct one. This is certainly true of this book, and at times the author's confidence in himself can come across almost as a self-fulfilling prophecy, or with some arrogance. If you can get past that, however, this is a fascinating book that deals extensively with the difficulties of being a Black cop, especially one who was a trailblazer often the first/only in the departments he worked in. It also obviously deals with gang culture, and more importantly in a place that one often doesn't think of it - in the sleepy downtown and suburbs of Salt Lake City. Some great insights about how gangs start and metastasize, and what appeal they have for the youth who get involved, as well as how Black culture is often twisted to seem violent, while the same standards are not put on white culture. A worthwhile read, and a quick one.

[Rada · Rating 3 out of 5]

A firsthand account of trailblazing police work. Determined to pursue his passion for undercover work wherever it leads, Ron Stallworth landed in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a black man and an unapologetic non-beliver, Ron was an outsider. But soon after his first drug arrest, Stallworth makes a discovery – Blood and Crypts are infiltrating Mormon country, threatening to turn the deeply conservative community into a hotbed of crime. Kids are bombing homes while carrying pocket versions of the Book of Mormon in their jeans, yet Stallworth’s fellow cops are in denial that gangs are wreaking havoc in their christian town. Sometimes you need an outside perspective to help you see things that you are blind to. Stallworth doesn’t pull any punches; in his police work, or in the telling of it. He calls out his fellow officers and politicians about their denial. I was in high school in the 90’s. Gangsta rap was all the rage. Stallworth used that music to crack the codes of the gangs to better police them. It was interesting to read a book about a time and place that you grew up in and also had no idea that all of that was going on.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hidden Gem

I was pleasantly surprised about this book I liked the fact that it was Very telling about the area that I currently live in and what I saw when I was part of a neighborhood watch group It brought together points of things I had heard and seen on the television. I wondered why they were never addressed Because I did watch the kids that were going to job corps when they came into Ogden. They acted differently then teens from Utah. So it gave me a lot more insight into what was actually going on.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was all over the map on this one. My initial reaction was surprise that this is considered non-fiction as Stallworth's narrative came across, initially, as almost unbelievable. The middle of the book pertaining to Salt Lake City settled in to being a straightforward story of crime and policing. His closing chapters on approaching retirement struck me as him being angry with his lot in life. At times I thought him both as someone I would like to meet, or avoid, depending on how he got out of bed that day.

[Tot B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure why most reviews say that Ron Stallworth comes off as arrogant when he was the black sheep in the police department. He had to prove himself every day that he was a meritorious officer and involved after retirement. I enjoyed learning about what he did for the department(s) and his handling of young men who decide that they should be in a gang. At the same time, he had to enforce laws, but always took a humanistic approach.

[Izabel | izreadsthings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started off liking this book, but ultimately he might be the most arrogant author I’ve ever read? This man has never made an error in his life and everything he’s ever done has been justified. And he’s perfect 🩷

thank you to Legacy Lit for the ARC!

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, this was a remarkable blend of bravado, arrogance and whininess. I can do all of that on my own, I don't need to read about others' efforts.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 actual rating

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such an interesting read. I liked his last book much more, and I think this one was a little uneven, but still absolutely fascinating.

[Eric Probst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting and unique insight into gangsta rap, gangs, and Mormon community in Utah. A true crusader in Stallworrh.