The Spook Who Sat by the Door

In the early 1970s Chicago, a white U.S. Senator running for re-election faces backlash after his law-and-order speech. His wife proposes a publicity stunt to highlight the lack of African-American agents in the CIA, hoping to win Black support.

The CIA responds to political pressure by initiating recruitment of African Americans for their training program, but they secretly implement measures designed to prevent completion.

Dan Freeman, secretly a Black nationalist, is the only candidate who actually completes the CIA training. He becomes the agency's first Black officer and is assigned as the Top Secret Reproduction Center Chief, effectively in charge of the photocopier.

Freeman is pulled from the basement copy center to give tours to visiting Senators, helping the CIA appear diverse. The tours are staged to project diversity rather than reflect actual power within the agency.

Freeman understands that he is the token Black person in the CIA and that the agency uses him to symbolize integration. He recognizes his role is image rather than real influence inside the organization.

Freeman completes training in guerrilla warfare techniques, weaponry, and subversion, then serves only a short period to avoid suspicion before resigning. His time in the CIA is more about preparation than tenure.

Freeman resigns from the CIA and returns to Chicago to work in social services. This homecoming marks a shift from espionage to organizing the community.

Back in Chicago, Freeman begins recruiting young African Americans living in inner-city neighborhoods to become Freedom Fighters and teaches them the tactics he learned at the CIA. The group learns guerrilla tactics and strategy under his guidance.

The Freedom Fighters assemble as a guerrilla group with Freeman as their secret leader, aiming to ensure Black people truly live freely in the United States. They plan both militant and non-violent actions to advance their cause.

The group begins spreading its guerrilla warfare ideas across the United States, with Freeman articulating a bold critique of the current status quo. He frames their struggle as a push toward greater freedom and self-determination.

As revolt intensifies, the National Guard and police confront the Freedom Fighters. The conflict escalates as authorities attempt to stop the movement, while public debate over Black militancy grows more heated.

The narrative uses these events to explore Black militancy and the violent reactions White Americans had toward Civil Rights Movement progress. It places the Chicago uprising within broader national tensions and debates.