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

200 Years of the Penitentiary 200 Years of the Penitentiary
Date: 1/1/1990Call Number: PM 282Format: Cass A & BProducers: Robert Foxworth; Jeff HansonProgram: American Dialogues; Second OpinionCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Starting on the B side with American Dialogues, Linda Thurston of the American Friends Service Committee discusses the 200 Years of the Penitentiary project and the war on drugs. Second Opinion with Erwin Knoll features an interview with Brian Glick, author of 'War at Home: Covert Action Against U.S. Activists and What We Can Do About It' (continues onto A side). A side also includes a news program discussing the Iran-Contra affair and the war on drugs.
Fresh Air Fresh Air
Date: 12/1/1998Call Number: PM 313Format: Cass A & BProducers: National Public RadioProgram: Fresh AirCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Eric Schlosser speaks about the Prison Industrial Complex in America and Vivian Stern speaks about prison systems in other parts of the world.
Racism and the War on Drugs Racism and the War on Drugs
Date: 1/1/1996Call Number: PM 325Format: Cass A & BCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
In a panel discussion, several speakers express their views about how racism and the war on drugs are connected. Racism is found in every step of the criminal justice law enforcement process. Blacks and Hispanics are unfairly targeted in the war on drugs. The speakers advocate that federal law enforcement change, and that mandatory minimums, crack laws, and guideline sentences be revised.
The impact of the drug war on women The impact of the drug war on women
Date: 1/1/1998Call Number: PM 357Format: CassetteCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
UC Berkeley presentation on how drug laws affect women. Gus Smith talks about the experience of his daughter, Kemba Smith. Kemba was sentenced to 20-years because of her involvement with her boyfriend, Peter Hall, who was a drug dealer. Although see had never sold or even used drugs she was convicted of conspiracy. Also focuses heavily on the subject of mandatory sentences
The True Purpose of Imprisonment The True Purpose of Imprisonment
Date: 9/21/1991Call Number: PM 421Format: Cass A & BCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Jane Henderson on the Bush system of imprisonment and its demographics, the racist application of the death penalty, and the profit chain of the US Prison Industrial Complex. Ricardo Romero on border patrol, the parasitic system of power, the effect of drugs on struggle and the migration towards fascism. Al-Jundi speaks on control units and sensory deprivation.
The True Purpose of Imprisonment The True Purpose of Imprisonment
Date: 9/21/1991Call Number: PM 422Format: Cass A & BCollection: Political Prisoner Periodicals
Jane Henderson on the Bush system of imprisonment and its demographics, the racist application of the death penalty, and the profit chain of the US Prison Industrial Complex. Ricardo Romero on border patrol, the parasitic system of power, the effect of drugs on struggle and the migration towards fascism. Al-Jundi speaks on control units and sensory deprivation. Copy of PM 421