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

African Liberation music and poetry African Liberation music and poetry
Call Number: AFR 005AFormat: Cass ACollection: Africa- General Resources
Liberation music in African and African Jazz styles, all the songs have a political message. Issues raised are about Africans living under oppressive white rule, struggle for land and political power, and how oppressed people in countries like South Africa, Namibia, El Salvador, and Guatemala are being called to rise up against oppression and racism.
Interview of a representative of SWAPO (South West African People’s Organization) of Namibia by American students Interview of a representative of SWAPO (South West African People’s Organization) of Namibia by American students
Call Number: AFR 026AFormat: Cass ACollection: SWAPO- Namibia
Begins with African people singing about Namibia. A representative of SWAPO (South West African People’s Organization) is interviewed by a couple of American students who are trying to help SWAPO. The SWAPO representative stresses the need for basic materials for schools in Namibia, such as books, chairs, scholarships, and uniforms.
Ahmed Obafemi of the RNA (Republic of New Africa) speaks on struggle in Namibia and the South West African People’s Organization. Continuation of AFR 032. Ahmed Obafemi of the RNA (Republic of New Africa) speaks on struggle in Namibia and the South West African People’s Organization. Continuation of AFR 032.
Date: 2/27/1982Call Number: AFR 033AFormat: Cass ACollection: May 19th Communist Organization
Continuation of AFR 032. Ahmed Obafemi, East Coast Region Vice President of RNA (Republic of New Africa) speaks about three different fronts in Namibia: one being the people’s front against United States and South African imperialism, the second one being the international fronts of solidarity with liberation movements in Africa, and the third being the primary front, armed struggle. He comments on SWAPO (South West African People’s Organization) giving aid to Namibia through all means, material and morale. Lastly he talks about the history of SWAPO and how it has grown. Tape 3, 2/27/82 DTB Forum SWAPO
Independence of Angola Independence of Angola
Date: 11/15/1975Call Number: AFR 083AFormat: Cass ACollection: Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique
Radio News Program on the independence of Angola. About the newly won independence of Angola (11/11/1975), ending violence between the Angolan people and their Portuguese colonizers. The MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) is recognized for its strong Leadership of the struggle for independence. Augustino Neto, leader of the FNLA (National Front for the LIberation of Angola) and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola - led by Jonas Savimbi). He speaks about the cooperation he saw between the different African countries, and celebrates Angolan independence. Also discussed are the problems in Rwanda between the different racial groups and the negotiations among colonizers and the people of Rwanda. Also various people speak about Vietnam, Chile, and world events.
African Liberation music and poetry African Liberation music and poetry
Call Number: AFR 004AFormat: Cass ACollection: Africa- General Resources
Liberation music in African and African Jazz styles, all the songs have a political message. Issues raised are about the oppressed black people living under white rule, limits to land and political power, and how oppressed people in countries like South Africa, Namibia, El Salvador, and Guatemala are being called to rise up against oppression, racism, and classism, and to liberate themselves.
Interview with Jose Uirab Interview with Jose Uirab
Date: 12/12/1983Call Number: AFR 075AFormat: Cass ACollection: SWAPO- Namibia
Jose Uirab talking about the state of the Namibian people’s struggle for liberation from South Africa as of 1983. Discussed is the political and military struggle within Namibia, the role of U.S. Imperialism and Israel by aiding South Africa, the reaction to the liberation activity from the white population of South Africa, and other issues related to African Liberation struggles.