
Prison Journalism: Black and Gay in prisonTurns out it's not much different from a normal day on the outside for black and gay prisoner.
by Prison Journalism Project
08-06-2023 17:11
in LGBTQIA+
A worldwide symbol of LGBTQ community.
Photo: Pexel.com.
Prison Journalism Project trains incarcerated writers to become journalists and publishes their stories. Subscribe to Inside Story to receive exclusive behind-the-scene looks at our best stories, as well as author profiles and other insights.
--
Being Black and from Phoenix, Arizona, I wasn't afforded the same opportunities as other kids.
I was born and raised in south central Phoenix, surrounded by a vibrant Black community. But the area, in my experience, was heavily influenced by homophobia within churches, which were pillars in preserving strong Black families.
My family attended Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, and as a kid I was sent to a youth summer camp where the pastor told me I was possessed with demons and then put his hands on me to release me from the curse of homosexuality.
--
ALSO READ: Prison life: The daily routine of an inmate at Pollsmoor
I was told I was abnormal. I was going to hell. My dad said I would not be anything but a fag. And, in turn, that meant to me that I was unloved and unworthy. So, for the greater part of my life, I have been engaged in a war within and against myself.
I have been suicidal since I was 12 years old, and have struggled with low self-esteem and severe depression. And after my mom died eight years ago, I began using methamphetamine.
--
I was homeless, grieving, hopeless, vulnerable and desperate. God wouldn't hear me because I was gay; my dad was unavailable for the same reason. So I found my peace in party and play, the term used by gay men to smoke meth and have sex, often unprotected. A series of bad situations with people, never substantial enough to be considered relationships, led to STDs, more drug usage and eventually prison.
Now, I have PTSD. I am in recovery. And I am currently incarcerated for a charge of disorderly conduct and am down to my last 80 days of an 18-month sentence.
ALSO READ: Prison Journalism: When what goes around comes around' is a good thing
I am currently in the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program, which is a therapeutic community. Prisoners like myself take part in a program that explores the causes of our addictions, their effects and provides us with some resources to aid in our recovery.
But the RSAT program, like most of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Re-entry programs, promotes heterosexuality and is negligent - at best - of the specifics of being a homosexual.
More often than not, I find myself educating staff and prisoners alike about the realities of being a gay man. In my conversations with straight men on sexuality I am often giving perspective to their one-dimensional worldview.
For them, it is expected and demanded that gay men come out the closet and show respect, but these obligations are seldom reciprocated. Instead, people like me are forced to be gender-conscious and sexually aware, and yet when we ask for the same from the rest of the world we are forcing gay upon everyone or being disrespectful.
But just as being born straight was not a choice for them, or being born Black was not a choice for me, being born gay is the same - I just got lucky!
To be fair, that's not so different compared to the outside. Being gay in prison is merely a smaller experience of what being gay in south central Phoenix is like on a normal day.
In my experience, though, being a gay man has meant that I have to be tougher, smarter, more self-reliant and more resilient than straight men, both in and out of prison.
A lot of gay men in prison (or cheetos, as they're called in here), are more than complacent in surrendering to their abuse. There are innumerable incidents of sexual assault, harassment and other abuses that slide under the radar - prisoner on prisoner, as well as staff on prisoner.
I've seen male inmates violated in the shower, on the toilet and even in housing units by both male and female staff who watch us, like voyeurs.
For me, being incarcerated has taken the best of me; I have given more than I have received and lost more than I have gained. I have nonetheless been unapologetically audacious and honest about who I am as a Black gay man because I have nothing to prove - or to lose - at this point.
Disclaimer: The views in this article are those of the author. Prison Journalism Project has verified the writer's identity and basic facts such as the names of institutions mentioned.
Written by MARKEL L. SUMLER
This article was originally published in partnership with Prison Journalism Project, a national, independent news organisation that trains incarcerated writers to be journalists and publishes their writing.
Do you have contact with a prison inmate who would like to write for The South African website?
If so, send an email to info@thesouthafrican.com or a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211
You can also follow @TheSAnews on Twitter and The South African on Facebook to get the latest prisoner journalism articles.
SOCCER QUIZ | FIVE simple answers could win you R500 in cash! ENTER HERE
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
21/05/2026
Game Creek Video Columbia and Celtic, NEP Supershooter 8 will house onsite produ...
21/05/2026
Freshly graduated, this upstart producer, director, and camera operator is already working as an AP on videoboard shows for the Philadelphia Phillies
In the li...
21/05/2026
Media Links has announced a channel partnership with Clearcast Asia, a broadcast...
21/05/2026
SiriusXM and NASCAR have announced a multi-year renewal of their broadcasting agreement. SiriusXM will continue to carry live broadcasts of every NASCAR Cup Ser...
21/05/2026
Audio-Technica held a demonstration event at its Technica House location in New ...
21/05/2026
Ateme has announced that RTL Deutschland has selected Ateme's software-based...
21/05/2026
LiveU has announced that BCC Live deployed the LU900Q intelligent production unit for the first time during the 2026 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North Americ...
21/05/2026
ATSC has announced that Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media and Senior VP of Advanced Technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, will receive the 2026 Mark Richer ...
21/05/2026
BBright has published a technical analysis of the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), de...
21/05/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) will be hosted in Paris, France, from July 6 through August 23. The event marks the f...
21/05/2026
Chyron has announced PRIME Scorebug, a scorebug solution built on the PRIME Platform for on-premises sports production, and has expanded Chyron LIVE with purpos...
21/05/2026
Media Links has announced the integration of its Xscend IP transport platform with Skyline Communications' DataMiner xOps platform. The integration will be ...
21/05/2026
As live sports productions continue to demand more flexible, scalable, and cost-...
21/05/2026
In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...
21/05/2026
Hey Miami & Atlanta post-production folks!
Shade is hosting a free private suite at a Braves game (6/2) and Marlins game (6/5) and have about a dozen extra tic...
21/05/2026
The Suns and Mercury become the first NBA and WNBA teams to make games available under a single broadcast partner across both over-the-air and streaming....
21/05/2026
iPhones are part of the the regular production rotation for Friday Night Baseba...
21/05/2026
In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...
21/05/2026
Heather Matarazzo as Dawn Wiener in Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse...
21/05/2026
Spotify has always been about helping you find something you want to listen to. And over the years, we've learned your taste and the moments that matter to ...
21/05/2026
Getting concert tickets today can feel like a race you're set up to lose.
You show up at the right time, refresh endlessly, and still miss out. Too often, ...
21/05/2026
In 2022, Spotify entered a new chapter by introducing audiobooks to our platform. Since then, we've grown our catalog to include more than 700,000 titles, e...
21/05/2026
Opening remarks
ALEX
Good morning everyone, I'm Alex [Norstr m].
GUSTAV
And I'm Gustav [S derstr m].
ALEX
Whether you've been following our j...
21/05/2026
Today, Spotify hosted our third Investor Day in New York City, offering the fina...
21/05/2026
Spotify hat heute seinen dritten Investor Day in New York City veranstaltet und der Finanzwelt tiefere Einblicke in das Gesch ft, die Produktstrategie und die l...
21/05/2026
Aujourd'hui, Spotify a organis son troisi me Investor Day New York. En pl...
21/05/2026
Oggi, a New York City, Spotify ha presentato il suo terzo Investor Day, offrendo...
21/05/2026
Hoy Spotify celebr su tercer Investor Day en Nueva York, donde ofrecimos a la c...
21/05/2026
Hari ini, Spotify menyelenggarakan Investor Day yang ketiga di New York City, me...
21/05/2026
2026 : (Investor Day) , , . ...
21/05/2026
Hoje, o Spotify realizou seu terceiro Investor Day em Nova York, oferecendo co...
21/05/2026
Spotify Investor Day ...
21/05/2026
Spotify bug n, 20'nci y l d n m m z kutlad m z bu y lda, finans camias na, i modelimiz, r n stratejimiz ve uzun vadeli vizyonumuz hakk nda daha detayl ...
21/05/2026
Two new Story Packs join orchestral instrument line-up
Sonuscore have just introduced two new additions to The Score, marking the instrument's first maj...
21/05/2026
30,000 samples, 99 presets & 504 loops
Heavyocity are well known for their hard-hitting cinematic instruments, and their latest release is no exception to t...
21/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz AI powered voice to data: The future of air traffic control take...
21/05/2026
SKY RAIDER II INTERNATIONAL's modular open systems architecture delivers expanded operational reach and mission flexibility....
21/05/2026
ASO-enabled WESCAM MX-10 systems conduct systematic wide-area maritime search patterns, autonomously managing sensor scan operations to expand coverage, reduce ...
21/05/2026
HBO Max, a new addition to Gracenote Data Hub, is home to the most sports programming among major streamers
NEW YORK May 21, 2026 New analysis by Gracenote...
21/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/05/2026
The UK's leading event for the creative industries united thousands of professionals for two days of networking, debate, industry insight and getting hands-...
21/05/2026
Recreating Doug Trumbull's Slitscan VFX - After Effects Mastery
Graham Quince May 21, 2026
0 Comments
In this After Effects tutorial, I'm divi...
21/05/2026
Cavalry: An Array of Fun Stuff
Simon Ubsdell May 21, 2026
0 Comments
Arrays are a really powerful feature of Cavalry and here we'll go over some o...
21/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...