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

Coit Tower Action Coit Tower Action
Date: 5/15/1989Call Number: V 496Format: Hi-8Producers: Lisa RudmanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Bay Area Pledge of Resistance occupies Coit Tower and unfurls banner in order to draw attention to the election of the ARENA party in El Salvador, the party which organized the death squads that killed thousands of El Salvadorians. Members of Pledge are carrying out this action to do the work the mass media doesn't in their coverage of El Salvador.
Libya Travel Restrictions Protest Libya Travel Restrictions Protest
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: V 509Format: Hi-8Producers: Lisa RudmanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Protestors demand a reversal on the US government's ban on travel to and from Libya. Takes place outside of the Federal building in San Francisco.
Anti-Nazi Protest – John Brown Anti-Klan Committee Anti-Nazi Protest – John Brown Anti-Klan Committee
Date: 4/2/1989Call Number: V 511Format: Hi-8Producers: Lisa RudmanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
An anti-Nazi and anti-Skinhead march through Napa to protest the growth of both Northern Californian groups. Other groups include ACT UP/SF, Rainbow Coalition, Women Against Racism, Rock Against Racism, Napans Against Prejudice, Women Against Imperialism, and CISPES. A heavy police presence leads the demonstrators to call for the police to point their weapons at the Nazi and Skinhead supporters and not at the anti-nazi protesters. A forum held by the JBAKC a month after the Napa protest recounts the history of the United Racist Front and the stake the government has in protecting and nourishing fascist groups like the KKK. Discusses the new movement of anti-nazi and anti-racist skinhead groups like Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice and Skinheads for Racial Unity. Speakers call for the development of a coalition of Anti-racist groups on the left.
Activist Interviews Activist Interviews
Date: 3/1/1991Call Number: V 512Format: Hi-8Producers: Lisa RudmanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Interviews with Jim Denison on Gay Leftist politics, Gloria Alonzo and Fidel Pena creating an AIDS awareness center at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, and Eric Larsen explaining why he decided to take a militant stance by deserting from the army.
Red Dragons protest war toys - Geronimo Pratt Parade and Press Conference Red Dragons protest war toys - Geronimo Pratt Parade and Press Conference
Date: 12/1/1986Call Number: V 529Format: Hi-8Producers: David SternCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Red Dragons, a children's group, protest against the selling of war toys like Rambo and GI Joe because they promote war as normal and fun. They attempt to go into a toy store to show the owners their petition and the owners then call San Francisco police to break up the demonstration. The Committee to Free Geronimo Pratt picket outside San Francisco's World Trade Center where the California Parole Board hears cases. Press conference held afterwards features actor Danny Glover, Pratt's attorney Stuart Hanlon, Pratt's wife Ashaki Pratt, and various activists from prisoner rights organizations, all calling for the release of Geronimo.
Rodney King Demonstration and Dyke Zap National Coming Out Day Rodney King Demonstration and Dyke Zap National Coming Out Day
Date: 4/17/1993Call Number: V 568Format: Hi-8Producers: Lisa RudmanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Documents the heavy police presence at a demonstration in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco against the Rodney King verdict. dyke zap at Fruitvale BART station by Women Against Imperialism who agitate and raise awareness about lesbian parenting in response to high profile cases across US of lesbian parents losing custody of their children.