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

Martin Luther King Jr. "Something is happening in our world" Martin Luther King Jr. "Something is happening in our world"
Collection: Martin Luther King Jr.
Excerpt from "I've been to the Mountaintop" speech. This speech was given April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple, Church of God in Christ Headquarters, in Memphis, Tennessee shortly before Rev. King was assassinated.
Meridel Le Sueur "Let the Bird of the Earth Fly" Meridel Le Sueur "Let the Bird of the Earth Fly"
Collection: Gender and Sexuality
Meridel Le Sueur, with Matthew Siegel on flute, recites part of her poem - "Let the Bird of Earth Fly". Meridel was a lifelong revolutionary, writer, and feminist visionary of French, Irish, and Lakota ancestry, and a Minnesota-based supporter of AIM and all liberation struggles.
Paul Robeson Speaks at Marine Cooks & Stewards Union Paul Robeson Speaks at Marine Cooks & Stewards Union
Collection: Paul Robeson recordings
Sample of Paul Robeson, the great African-American Singer and activist, in a rare recording, takes from a speech to a union gathering in San Francisco.
Voices from Radio Habana Cuba Voices from Radio Habana Cuba
Producers: Radio RebeldeCollection: Cuba
Sample from actual broadcast of Radio Rebelde, the clandestine station of the Cuban Revolution. The announcer introduces Fidel Castro, who calls for a general strike to defeat the Batista tyranny.
Ruchell Magee Ruchell Magee
Producers: Mark SchwartzCollection: Ruchell Magee
Ruchell Magee, sole survivor of the Marin Couthouse rebellion. he based his defense on the right to rebel, from the court decision on the Amistad slave ship, since made famous by the Spielberg film. Ruchell Magee remains in prison. This excerpt is from many prison related reports by Mark Schwartz.
Pres. Allende UN Speech Sample Pres. Allende UN Speech Sample
Collection: Chile
Chilean President Salvador Allende speaks to the United Nations, denouncing the effects of colonialism.
Estadio Chile - Message of hope in spite of the horror Estadio Chile - Message of hope in spite of the horror
Collection: Chile
Excerpt from interview by Nina Serrano with Joan Jara, the wife of Victor Jara, discussing his life. Joan reads a poem entitled, Estadio Chile - Message of hope in spite of the horror.
Growing up in the Black Nation Growing up in the Black Nation
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesProgram: COINTELPRO 101Collection: Geronimo Pratt
Geronimo Ji Jaga reflects on how growing up in the Black Nation among enemy forces gave him a deep respect for defenders of the community.
My History of Resistance My History of Resistance
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesProducers: Lisa Rudman, Judy GerberCollection: Geronimo Pratt
Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt recounts his personal history as a soldier in Vietnam, how he trained black communitiesin the US in self defense and was targeted by the FBI's COINTELPRO program.
Geronimo Ji Jaga on Black Liberation Geronimo Ji Jaga on Black Liberation
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Geronimo Pratt
Geronimo Ji Jaga explains the emergence of the Black Panther party as a small piece of the Black Liberation movement.