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

Brief speech of Cesar Chavez on march Brief speech of Cesar Chavez on march
Date: 7/3/1973Call Number: KP 042Producers: Emiliano EcheverriaProgram: KPFA general/La RazaCollection: Latin@
March with music and intro. Cesar Chavez speaks in both Spanish and English on United Farm Workers (UFW) campaign.
Mobile Lynching, John Trudell Speech Mobile Lynching, John Trudell Speech
Date: 3/28/1981Call Number: FI 148Producers: Lincoln Bergman, Barbara Lubinski, Heber DreherProgram: Freedom Is A Constant StruggleCollection: Freedom is a Constant Struggle
Reports on US Department of Defense plan for war casualties, a lynching in Mobile, Alabama, strong speech by Native activist John Trudell, on overcoming capitalist materialism and living in harmony with Mother Earth.
Out of the Darkness Out of the Darkness
Date: 1/1/1984Call Number: Vin 048Producers: Fire on the Mountain, Pete Seeger, Kate Wolf, Holly Near, Don Lange, Cris Williamson, Charlie King, Jesse Colin Young, Dick Gaughan, Sweet Honey in the RockCollection: General materials
A compilation of protest songs against nuclear energy and war sung by folk singers, including Pete Seeger, Kate Wolf, and Jesse Colin Young. Themes include peace and environmental justice.
Joni Mitchell- Ladies of the Canyon Joni Mitchell- Ladies of the Canyon
Date: 1/1/1970Call Number: Vin 049Producers: Reprise, Joni MitchellCollection: General materials
Joni Mitchell's third studio album. A collection of folk songs that became highly influential, many with a distinct social consciousness. Notable tracks include "Big Yellow Taxi," a song about environmental issues, and "Woodstock," which chronicles the pivotal music and arts festival with a critical eye.
Judy Bari on the Timber Workers Judy Bari on the Timber Workers
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesCollection: La Lucha Continua: a talking mural in San Francisco
Charismatic environmental and social justice leader Judi Bari was born November 7, 1949 in Baltimore, Maryland. Judi was a fighter and organizer for many social and environmental justice causes. The common denominator was her indignation over injustice, whether in the form of war, racism, sexism, political repression, economic exploitation, or the unnecessary destruction of ecosystems. Here she speaks on building a rapport with timber workers.