[Freedom archives news] You can support the Freedom Archives

Freedom Archives Events freedomarchivesnews at freedomarchives.org
Mon Jul 20 12:23:47 EDT 2020


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Summer 2020

Dear Friends,

In times like these we add our voices and commitment to those currently 
in struggle as we remain focused on preserving, honoring and uplifting 
stories of uprising and resistance.

*Some Best Laid Plans Were Postponed:*

COVID-19 delayed a collaborative project we’ve been working on since our 
visit to the Literacy Museum in Havana, Cuba during December of 2017. 
Inspired by this visit and subsequent conversations, we have partnered 
with the Literacy Project to build, deliver and setup a DIY book scanner 
that the museum can use to digitize the hundreds of bound volumes 
documenting the history of Cuba’s literacy campaign. In 1961, Cuba 
mobilized 250,000 volunteers who taught 700,000 people to read and write 
in one year; 100,000 of the teachers were under 18 years old and over 
half were women.  Cuba continues to demonstrate what internationalism 
looks like as they contribute medical expertise in fighting COVID-19. We 
hope to circle back to this project when conditions become safe to 
contribute to the preservation of their revolutionary history.

In mid-March, we had plans to visit Puerto Rico to begin interviews for 
our next documentary, Puerto Rico: Flames of Resistance, focusing on the 
Puerto Rican independence struggle. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic 
postponed our trip. Despite this initial setback, we look forward to 
documenting oral memories of this dynamic anti-colonial movement and 
plan to visit the island before the end of 2020.

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*Moving Forward:*

We’re excited to announce that Nathaniel will be transitioning into the 
role of co-director! We have now been working together since 2012. 
During those years of mutual growth, we have developed a deep political 
commitment to the Archives and our roles in the community as well as a 
close friendship. Nathaniel has been doing consistent educational work 
on a weekly basis in San Quentin throughout those years and has deepened 
our collective experience and practice with people under lock and key. 
Nathaniel has also worked with our amazing volunteers and interns and 
the scores of scholars who look to us and our resources to carry on 
building roots of resistance.

Nathaniel played a crucial role in building our collective that produced 
/Symbols of Resistance/. He has been instrumental in taking our archival 
data management and website to new heights and has led us to become an 
even more robust resource for radical history.

*Our Accomplishments in Challenging Times:*

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Focused on the US Prisoner Movement 1970 – 1978, we’ve created a robust 
set of collections of periodicals and other material revealing a rich 
fabric of prisoner-led organizing that not only propelled social justice 
and movement work on the outside but also won legitimate gains for folks 
behind bars. These materials represent an important perspective--that of 
the prisoners themselves—and highlight how their agency and leadership 
advance the conversation on prison justice and prisoners’ rights, 
providing in-depth analysis of prisoner strikes, rebellions, advocacy 
for political prisoners and more. Many of these materials are digitized 
and can be found on our search site.

We’ve also added a number of issues of /Tricontinental/, a periodical 
published by the now inactive Organization of Solidarity of the Peoples 
of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL), to our collection and hope 
to have them cataloged and accessible soon. These periodicals cover a 
wide range of topics with the goal of providing information about 
revolutionary struggles around the globe and creating international 
solidarity with leftist political movements. Special thanks to Rob 
McBride for his work on this project.

As always, we’re envisioning new projects, supporting movement work and 
engaging with students, researchers, teachers, activists, interns, 
filmmakers and you!

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/*Please Support Our On-Going Work!!
*/

We know that as conditions on our planet continue to change, our work 
will have to shift as well. We look forward to your continued support. 
  Consider donating on line and becoming a monthly sustainer.


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