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

Discussion of the role of self defense in African and African American liberation. Discussion of the role of self defense in African and African American liberation.
Call Number: AFR 045Format: Cass A & BProgram: The Question of African ManhoodCollection: Robert F. Williams!
Discussion on the role of self defense in African and African American liberation. Robert Harris, Elombe Brath, and Vicki praise Robert Williams’ work and courage to free the black people. Elombe Brath speaks about the “May 8th Case” in New York in which 8 people were arrested for not cooperating with the state. Robert Harris speaks the struggle for African liberation and comments on how the conditions currently are the same as what Robert Williams faced in 1961. He concludes by calling the people to use self - defense to struggle against the state as Robert Williams did. Elombe Brath celebrates the memory of Robert Williams. He talks about the Williams’ sacrifices and work toward liberation, and the support he received from both blacks and whites. He points out that the people need to be educated to get anywhere in life. Lastly, Robert Harris speaks about African Nationalism and his admiration of Robert Williams because he rose to the challenge to free the black people and fight the media. He contemplates the role and importance of self defense in the struggle for liberation.
AAUF- Afro American United Front AAUF- Afro American United Front
Call Number: KP 190AFormat: Cass ACollection: Black Liberation
Civil rights revolutionaries Williams, Criton, Bennett are all Americans who have fled to communist Cuba. In this interview from Cuba, the three explain how each of them began their revolutionary politics. With their beginning involvement in black civil rights during college, their politics began to shape into guerilla revolutionary tactics in order to gain rights for the oppressed. Eventually these three men in separate instances began conducting bank assaults to fund the cause. With an intense manhunt in action, these men separately went underground and ultimately hijacked planes to Cuba. In Cuba, these men met and joined in on the Afro American United Front. The three men reside together in exile.
AAUF- Afro American United Front AAUF- Afro American United Front
Call Number: KP 191AFormat: Cass ACollection: Black Liberation
This is a continuation of an interview in Cuba. Three men in exile, Williams, Criton, and Bennett are all part of the Afro-American United Front. Because of their bank assaults to support the revolution, these men take refuge in Cuba. This interview brings up important subjects such as, community outreach (built five story apt), literary efforts, local work such as factory and farming, and how Cuba and socialism changed their revolutionary thinking.
The Black Man and Self-Defense The Black Man and Self-Defense
Author: Robert F. WilliamsYear: 1962Format: ExcerptCollection: Republic of New Afrika
Chapter taken from Negroes with Guns.
Soulbook #3: the quarterly journal of revolutionary Afroamerica Soulbook #3: the quarterly journal of revolutionary Afroamerica
Publisher: Afro-American Research InstitutionYear: 1965Volume Number: Vol. 1-3 FallFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Soulbook
Table of Contents: That's WATTS Happenin'; Africa, China and the U.S.; The Man From F.L.N.- Brother Frantz Fanon; Do Jesus?; The Facade of Bourgeois Democracy; Reject Notes (Poetry); Partners in White Racism; The Crisis of Negro Reformism and the Growth of Nationalism; The Puerto Rican Revolution; LA REVOLUTION PUERTORRIQUENA; Notes on James Boggs American Revolution THE MAN FROM F.L.N.:BROTHER FRANTz FANON
Black News Black News
Publisher: OYO Enterprises, Inc.Year: 1979Volume Number: Vol. 4-7 MayFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Various Black Liberation Movement Publications
Interview with Kangai, Nigeria, South Afrika, Black Women Under Apartheid, Interview with Robert Williams, karenga on Wallace's Macho Man, POW Forum, Nestle Boycott, OAU Council of Ministers, PAC Calls Congressional hearing