Search Help

How does this work?
There are many ways to search the collections of the Freedom Archives. Below is a brief guide that will help you conduct effective searches. Note, anytime you search for anything in the Freedom Archives, the first results that appear will be our digitized items. Information for items that have yet to be scanned or yet to be digitized can still be viewed, but only by clicking on the show link that will display the hidden (non-digitized) items. If you are interested in accessing these non-digitized materials, please email info@freedomarchives.org.
Exploring the Collections without the Search Bar
Under the heading Browse By Collection, you’ll notice most of the Freedom Archives’ major collections. These collections have an image as well as a short description of what you’ll find in that collection. Click on that image to instantly explore that specific collection.
Basic Searching
You can always type what you’re looking for into the search bar. Certain searches may generate hundreds of results, so sometimes it will help to use quotation marks to help narrow down your results. For instance, searching for the phrase Black Liberation will generate all of our holdings that contain the words Black and Liberation, while searching for “Black Liberation” (in quotation marks) will only generate our records that have those two words next to each other.
Advanced Searching
The Freedom Archives search site also understands Boolean search logic. Click on this link for a brief tutorial on how to use Boolean search logic. Our search function also understands “fuzzy searches.” Fuzzy searches utilize the (*) and will find matches even when users misspell words or enter in only partial words for the search. For example, searching for liber* will produce results for liberation/liberate/liberates/etc.
Keyword Searches
You’ll notice that under the heading KEYWORDS, there are a number of words, phrases or names that describe content. Sometimes these are also called “tags.” Clicking on these words is essentially the same as conducting a basic search.

Search Results

First communiqué of the Weather Underground, Declaration of War First communiqué of the Weather Underground, Declaration of War
Date: 5/1/1970Call Number: KP 003Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Weather Underground Organization
Delivered by Bernardine Dohrn, this is the first public communiqué since the group went underground. The announcement touches upon the following topics: The lines are drawn and revolutionary violence is the only way. Weather is officially underground. A call to youth culture “guns and grass united in the revolution”. And a declaration of solidarity with the Black Liberation struggle.
Fifth Communique from the Weather Underground Fifth Communique from the Weather Underground
Call Number: KP 005Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Weather Underground Organization
This is the fifth public communication from the Weathermen since going underground. They call for a youth culture of total resistance, and immediate national action if Nixon bombs N. Vietnam, invades Cuba or intervenes in the Middle East. The Fall Offensive was to be a week of youth fighting pigs around the country. Same as CD 397
Women’s Poetry Women’s Poetry
Date: 3/1/1975Call Number: KP 231Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: WUOProgram: Nothing Is More Precious ThanCollection: Weather Underground Organization
Women’s poetry written and read by women of the Weather Underground for International Women’s Day and commemorating the Townhouse explosion in 1970. Voices of Bernardine Dohrn, Cathy Wilkerson & Kathy Boudin. Poems from Sing a Battle Song especially one for Assata Shakur
Bernardine Dohrn- The Declaration of a State of War Bernardine Dohrn- The Declaration of a State of War
Call Number: KP 081Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Weather Underground Organization
Bernardine Dohrn, a member of the Weathermen, discusses her groups declaration of a state of war. She claims “revolutionary violence is the only way” and that “freaks are revolutionaries and revolutionaries are freaks.”