Should there at any time become a clear and present danger initiated by any radical element threatening the operation of the government of the United States of America, members of this radical element shall be transported to detention centers until such time as their threat has been eliminated – code, King Alfred.

– Gil Scott-Heron, “The King Alfred Plan,” Free Will, Flying Dutchman Records, 1972

Andres L. Hernandez’ code: KING ALFRED presents a conceptual exploration of The King Alfred Plan, written by John A. Williams in his 1967 novel The Man Who Cried I Am.  Williams believably details The King Alfred Plan as a secret government proposal to capture, detain, and eliminate Black Americans en masse in the event of nationwide urban rebellion.  Upon the novel’s release, and as a result of Williams’ guerrilla marketing activities, the King Alfred Plan became a significant point of community and national debate, and a wake-up call to Black people for the potential of state-sponsored internment and genocide.  Through direct referencing of the fictional plan, and a creative reimagination of its implications and impact, Hernandez recovers histories of Black activism, urban uprising, and government repression from the late 1960s to the present.

To read more about the exhibition, please visit the exhibition page here.