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

Footage from National Archives Footage from National Archives
Date: 3/23/2004Call Number: JB 111Format: DV CamCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Stills of the Bill of Rights, Vision USA episode (1979) on Redwood Trees and logging of them, Army-Navy Screen Magazine episode (1944, no sound), and Brussels Universal and International Exhibition of 1958.
Footage from National Archives (II) Footage from National Archives (II)
Date: 3/23/2004Call Number: JB 112Format: DV CamCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
"You Can't Get Away With It," a Universal short on the FBI, as referred to as 'G-men.'- positive spin with footage of J. Edgar Hoover. "Courtroom Demeanor and Testimony," by the Peace Officers' Association of the State of California, Inc. is an informative short on what title suggests. Footage of unknown case, courthouse packed. Unedited clips of J. Edgar Hoover giving an address to US public about internal threats.
Footage from National Archives (III) Footage from National Archives (III)
Date: 3/23/2004Call Number: JB 113Format: DV CamCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Footage of FBI Academy, FBI Firearms Ranges, and FBI training simulations. FBI presents "Document Examination," a short on what title suggests. Discover Magazine presents "Highlights from Conference on 'Terrorism in a Technological World,'" with footage of President Ronald Reagan's speech on US policy towards terrorists; Edwin Meese III, US Attorney General, on the necessity of an antiterrorism policy, Vice President George Bush on the language of the policy and terrorism as greatest threat to democracy. Army-Navy Screen Magazine presents "Battle of the United States," with J. Edgar Hoover.
Interview with Howard Zinn Interview with Howard Zinn
Date: 3/31/2004Call Number: JB 116Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Howard Zinn was not allowed to testify as a witness in the Judi Bari v. FBI trial, so Mellis asks Zinn to discuss what he would have said if he had testified. Testimony was designed to show that the FBI on basis of its past activities has made up stories, gone outside the law, and violated constitutional rights, and that its about the protection of the system as is. Zinn gives detailed history of FBI and of US government justifying violations of constitutional rights on basis of national security. Goes into specifics on Church Committee. Says that when Bari was bombed he was immediately suspicious of FBI.