[News] Freedom Archives - Remember us for your holiday giving!

[Anti-Imperialist News]

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Your Donation Means So Much to Us
Thanks for your Support!! <http://freedomarchives.org/donation/>

*Winter 2021*

Dear Friends,

On January 1, 2000 we started to convert a storage area in 522 Valencia 
into the Freedom Archives. We were then in the mezzanine overlooking the 
bookstore in 518 Valencia. Pooling our money for the $60 a month rent, 
the hundreds of reel-to-reel tapes we’d been storing for 25+ years would 
finally have a home. We used a friend’s furniture shop to assemble 
shelving modules out of recycled lumber, hauled them up the stairs 
one-by-one, and strapped them in, thinking about earthquake proofing. 
Sometime later we also strapped discarded bicycle inner tubes across the 
faces of the shelves to keep all those ¼-inch reels of audiotapes on the 
shelves (just in case).

Image: /Our New Home/

A huge thank you to all the people whose labor, vision and energy went 
into constructing those shelves—they’ve helped to safeguard invaluable 
historical materials for over 20 years, even as your generous support 
and encouragement made it possible for us to expand our work and 
collections. Since we built them, the shelves have been filled to the 
brim, with ever more space needed. Over those two decades, hundreds of 
youth interns assisted and learned; scholars have done research; diverse 
teams have brainstormed and collectively produced new CDs and videos, 
and we’ve been part of many community struggles. Naturally, we felt very 
mixed emotions as we disassembled the shelving units and boxed up the 
original and subsequent collections to prepare for our move. It is with 
much hope for the future and respect for the legacy of all these amazing 
social justice chronicles that we’ve recently completed moving over 300 
boxes and books, not to mention all the audio equipment, to our new home 
in north Berkeley—the culmination of many moons of searching and 
planning—increasingly urgent as we ran out of space and needed to find a 
permanent, fully accessible, more spacious place. And while the work of 
packing and unpacking is daunting, our new home will further ensure our 
mission of “Preserving the Past – Illuminating the Present – Shaping the 
Future.”

This last year also included some significant projects.

Your Donation Means So Much to Us
Thanks for your Support!! <http://freedomarchives.org/donation/>

 

*99 Books*

Most notably, we developed and launched */99 Books /*– a website that 
marked the 50th anniversary of George Jackson’s death—to elevate the 
breadth of his intellectual curiosity and the way in which he understood 
and engaged the world. Before his murder George Jackson spent over a 
decade in prison where he became one of the most influential organizers 
and thinkers of the Black Power and Black Liberation Movement and a 
member of the Black Panther Party. Central to his transformation into a 
conscious organizer and educator were the oppressive racist prisons he 
was locked up in, the collective struggle and resistance of prisoners, 
and his unyielding dedication to learning and sharing knowledge. Our 
goal is not only to reflect on his development as a revolutionary, but 
explore how he inspired others to engage, (un)learn and struggle too.

	

Check out the "99 Books" Project <https://www.99books.freedomarchives.org>

 

Image: /Logo created by Heba Hamarsheh/

	

*Art Against Imprisonment*

We continue to anchor */Art Against Imprisonment/*—an exhibit and 
internationalist collaboration that highlights the intersecting 
struggles against imprisonment in Palestine and the US. This exhibit is 
a modest testament to the imagination, brilliance, creativity and 
extraordinary courage of prisoners displaying resistance. One of our 
partner organizations, Addameer, is one of six Palestinian civic 
organizations recently declared to be “terrorist” groups by the Israeli 
occupation and apartheid regime. We proudly stand with the six groups 
and call on the international community to *#Standwiththe6 *and protect 
Palestinian human rights defenders.

Check Out "Art Against Imprisonment" <https://artagainstprison.org>

 

*Additional Projects:*

Among many other projects we’ve been glad to provide materials and 
creative support to are:

• */Abolition Now! 50 Years of the Attica Prison Uprising 
<https://www.maysles.org/aboliton-now-50-years-of-the-attica-prison-uprising> 
(Maysles Documentary Center)/*

• */Archiving for the Next Generation: What should a Pan African Peoples 
Archive Look Like? 
<https://kwamenkrumahfestival.com/session-recording/archiving-for-the-nextgeneration-what-should-apan-african-peoples-archivelook-like/>(Kwame 
Nkrumah Pan-African Cultural & Intellectual Festival)/*

• */Panthers After the Party: A Conversation on Black Power Afterlives 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko7Qy86zfNg> (Haymarket Books) /*

• */Documenting and Archiving the Movement 
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vrwz1AKejo> (Black August Archives)/*

 

*Updates on the New Building*

We also carefully opened our doors to researchers with consideration for 
the ongoing COVID pandemic, participated virtually in classroom 
presentations, radio interviews and film screenings, conducted Archival 
training consultations, engaged national archival consortiums, and 
participated in several organizational political education sessions.

Image: /Progress - Our New Shelving/

Image: /Progress TBA - Our Production Room/

We deeply appreciate the ways you have helped us keep on keepin’ on, 
allowing us to serve as a growing educational resource, inspired by the 
examples and lessons embodied in struggles for justice and freedom. Our 
move represents a milestone along that path. We always welcome your 
comments and suggestions. Please make a donation by sending us a check 
or by giving online to help us amplify our efforts and get off to a 
strong start in our new home.

Your Donation Means So Much to Us
Thanks for your Support!! <http://freedomarchives.org/donation/>

In gratitude,

I'm an image

	
I'm an image

	
I'm an image

Claude, Nathaniel, and Danielle

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