Benedict J. Fernandez

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

- FBI File on Benedict J. Fernandez (5 April 1936-January 31, 2021)
- Records maintained on Benedict J. Fernandez (5 April 1936-January 31, 2021)

Benedict J. Fernandez's obituary can be found here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/03/arts/benjamin-j-fernandez-dead.html

In addition to standard practices, please conduct:

- Searches of the Electronic Case File System (ECF)
- Searches of Special Agent in Charge (SAC) safes, including records that were previously held in SAC safes
- Searches of SENTINEL
- Searches of Electronic Surveillance (ELSUR) Indices, the Microphone Surveillance (MISUR) Indices, the Physical Surveillance (FISUR) Indices, and the Technical Surveillance (TESUR) Indices
- Searches of the Investigative Data Warehouse (IDW), including IDW-S, SPT, and DOCLAB-S sub-systems/indices
- Searches of the Data Integration and Visualization System (DIVS)

I request all cross-referenced records be provided. If any responsive or cross-referenced records have been destroyed and/or transferred to NARA, please provide all records related/pursuant to their destruction/transfer. This includes but is not limited to:

- Confirmation of destruction and destruction slips
- File Numbers or other forms of ID of the aforementioned destroyed records
- Documents/records with any references to the destruction of the aforementioned destroyed records.
- Transfer slips
- Any other documentation relating to, mentioning or describing said transfer or destruction, to include but not be limited to confirmation that the Bureau has no other copies of said records

I want **ALL** records identifiable with this request, even though reports based on those records may have been sent to department headquarters or other department offices, and even though there may be duplication between sets of files. Please produce all records with their administrative markings intact, and all reports, memos, and documents to include any and all administrative pages. In any responsive material, please black out rather than white out or cut out material.

I request the administrative case file (including search slips and processing notes, i.e email correspondence and text messages) for this request. When searching email records, please search for any tracking information/identification assigned to this request, including but not limited to appeal number/ID, request number/ID, tracking number/ID, etc.

This part of the request is to be processed only after you have completed processing all of the above parts. This part does not request that you create any new record; rather, it requests the records that you will have created in processing the above parts, and will therefore exist before you conduct the search for this part. See McGehee v. CIA, 697 F. 2d 1095, 1100-05 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (agency must use time-of-search cut-off date, not time-of-request).

Wherever possible, please release responsive documents as individual files. Compiling all responsive documents into a single PDF reduces accessibility and ease of use, providing unnecessary complication.

Given the anticipated amount of responsive pages, I'm requesting for interim releases of responsive records (otherwise known as a "rolling release").

**I ask that you understand that I am requesting any and all records concerning the subject in any way, including but not limited to those listed in the General Index and any and all other indexes.**

BACKGROUND

Benedict J. Fernandez, (born 5 April 1936-January 31, 2021) was an American journalistic, educator, and documentary street photographer.

Benedict J. Fernandez was born in New York City's Hispanic East Harlem area. After being laid off from a job at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Fernandez became a professional photographer. Fernandez documented the American civil rights movement in the 1960s and documented some of Martin Luther King Jr.'s private moments with his family. He established the photography department at the Parsons School of Design. Following his time at Parsons, Fernandez continued his career in the 1990s as a founder and CEO of Hoboken Almanac of Photography and the Almanac Gallery in Hoboken, New Jersey, and as a senior fellow in photography at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Fernandez married Siiri Fernandez in 1957.

Fernandez took some of the most well-known and iconic photos of the civil rights movement, Vietnam protests, Newark Riots, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's personal life (including his daughters and family).

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Michael Quinn