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I was a CIA Whistleblower. Now I'm a Black Inmate. Here's How I See American Racism
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of The Intercept
Posted: November 14th, 2016
https://theintercept.com/2016/09/13/i-was-a-cia-whistleblowe...
I do my best to resist the thought that prison is a reflection of our society, but the comparisons are unavoidable. From the moment I crossed the threshold from freedom to incarceration because I was charged with, and a jury convicted me of, leaking classified information to a New York Times reporter, I needed no reminder that I was no longer an individual. Prison, with its one size fits all structure, is not set up to recognize a persons worth; the emphasis is removal and categorization. Inmates are not people; we are our offenses. Considering the charges and conviction that brought me here, Im not exactly sure to which category I belong. No matter. There is an overriding category to which I do belong, and it is this prison reality that I sadly compare unto the world: Im not just an inmate, Im a black inmate. Here, I am my skin color. Whenever, in my stubborn idealism, I refuse to acknowledge being racially categorized and question the submission to it, the other prisoners invariably respond, Man, this is prison. What I see in prison is sad, but what Im seeing from prison is worse. During my time in the CIA it became clear, in the organizations words and actions toward me, that they saw me not as an American who wanted to serve his country but as a big black guy. There is a black America, there is a white America, there are many Americas. The greatness and promise of this country lies in equality reinforced by our differences. When I am free, I dont want to feel that Im merely going from one prison to another.
Note: The above was written by Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA agent targeted for prosecution as part of the Obama Administration's "crack down on the press and whistle-blowers." Author James Risen tried to help Sterling expose CIA racism, and later wrote an unrelated book exposing some questionable government practices. Sterling was then sent to prison for what Risen wrote. Risen's latest book exposes major government corruption related to the war on terror.
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