King Alfred Plan
Encyclopedia
The King Alfred Plan was a fictional CIA
-led scheme supporting an international effort to eliminate people of African descent
. Specifically it defined how to deal with the threat of a black
uprising in the United States
by cordoning off black people into concentration camps in the event of a major racial incident.
The Plan first appeared in John A. Williams' 1967 novel, The Man Who Cried I Am, a fictionalized account of the life and death of Richard Wright
. In the afterword to later editions, Williams compares the King Alfred Plan to intelligence programs devised by J. Edgar Hoover
in the 1960s to monitor the movements of black militant
s. It also bears similarities to rumors in the early 1950s surrounding the McCarran Act, an anti-Communist law, in which political subversives
were to be rounded up and placed in concentrations camps during a national emergency. When his novel was first published, Williams photocopied portions of the book detailing the King Alfred Plan and left copies in subway car seats around Manhattan
. As a result, word of the King Alfred Plan spread throughout the black community and the truth of its existence was often assumed to be unchallenged. Performer and musician, Gil Scott Heron created the song "King Alfred Plan", included on his (1972
) album Free Will
, that takes the Plan at face value.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
-led scheme supporting an international effort to eliminate people of African descent
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
. Specifically it defined how to deal with the threat of a black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
uprising in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by cordoning off black people into concentration camps in the event of a major racial incident.
The Plan first appeared in John A. Williams' 1967 novel, The Man Who Cried I Am, a fictionalized account of the life and death of Richard Wright
Richard Wright (author)
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
. In the afterword to later editions, Williams compares the King Alfred Plan to intelligence programs devised by J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
in the 1960s to monitor the movements of black militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
s. It also bears similarities to rumors in the early 1950s surrounding the McCarran Act, an anti-Communist law, in which political subversives
Subversion (politics)
Subversion refers to an attempt to transform the established social order, its structures of power, authority, and hierarchy; examples of such structures include the State. In this context, a "subversive" is sometimes called a "traitor" with respect to the government in-power. A subversive is...
were to be rounded up and placed in concentrations camps during a national emergency. When his novel was first published, Williams photocopied portions of the book detailing the King Alfred Plan and left copies in subway car seats around Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. As a result, word of the King Alfred Plan spread throughout the black community and the truth of its existence was often assumed to be unchallenged. Performer and musician, Gil Scott Heron created the song "King Alfred Plan", included on his (1972
1972 in music
-Events:*January 17 – Highway 51 South in Memphis, Tennessee is renamed "Elvis Presley Boulevard"*January 20 – The début of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon at The Dome, Brighton, is halted by technical difficulties,...
) album Free Will
Free Will (album)
2001 compact disc reissue bonus tracks.-Personnel:Musicians* Gil Scott-Heron - vocals, piano, guitar* Horace Ott - conductor, arranger* Brian Jackson - acoustic piano, electric piano, vocals* Gerald Jemmott - bass* Pretty Purdie - drums...
, that takes the Plan at face value.