Our Right to Know: Wendi C. Thomas
By Diana Mitsu Klos
An acclaimed investigative reporter and editor, the pursuit of public records is second nature to Wendi C. Thomas, founder of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism.
The nonprofit newsroom she founded in 2017 focuses on poverty, power and public policy in Memphis. Two-thirds of the city’s population is Black and 1 in 4 lives below the poverty line. There is a long history of distrust concerning law enforcement. Thomas’s work in Memphis includes 11 years with The Commercial Appeal as an assistant managing editor and metro columnist.
On Aug. 20, 2018, the first day of a federal police surveillance trial, Thomas discovered that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) was spying on her. The ACLU of Tennessee had sued the MPD, alleging it was in violation of a 1978 consent decree barring surveillance of residents for political purposes.
A judge ruled against the city, and Thomas says she never got a clear answer on why the MPD was monitoring her. Law enforcement also was keeping tabs on three other journalists whose names came out during the trial. A police sergeant testified that he used the fake account to monitor protest activity and follow current events connected to Black Lives Matter.
Thomas wrote in a 2020 ProPublica story, “My sin, as best I can figure, was having good sources who were local organizers and activists, including some of the original plaintiffs in the ACLU’s lawsuit against the city.”
Two days after the police sergeant’s testimony, Thomas filed a public records request with the city, asking for all joint intelligence briefings, emails or other documents that referenced her or any of the three other journalists that the MPD was following on social media.
It took 433 days to get the records, and Thomas still does not see what would make the police see her as a threat worthy of surveillance in the name of public safety.
“It’s scary to know the police were watching you, but what’s even more terrifying is the prospect of the government acting in secret,” she said.
ProPublica in partnership with MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
The Police Have Been Spying on Black Reporters and Activists for Years. I Know Because I’m One of Them.
MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
Wendi C. Thomas bio
