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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Researchers worldwide rely on open-source technologies as the foundation of their work. To equip the community with the latest advancements in digital and physi...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
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.
