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

Democracy Now!: The Best of Enemies: a story of friendship between a prominent member in the KKK and a Black Civil Rights activist Democracy Now!: The Best of Enemies: a story of friendship between a prominent member in the KKK and a Black Civil Rights activist
Date: 7/4/1996Call Number: KP 123Producers: Pacifica Radio ArchiveProgram: Democracy Now!Collection: General materials
A very interesting and inspiring interview between two friends brought together by their similarities after many years of highlighting their differences. CP Ellis was the Exalted Cyclops of the Durham, NC, Ku Klux Klan when he met Ann Atwater, a militant black community organizer. They were elected to organize the public school system through the AFL-CIO. While there was much hostility to their interactions, they soon learned that they shared many of the same problems as working/lower class citizens struggling in an impoverished school district. Their friendship grew from this connection and led Ellis to leave the KKK. He talks about the hardships he faced as a result of this. Also interviewed is Osha Gray Davidson author of The Best of Enemies: Race and Redemption in the New South a book about the two’s friendship. This book was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1997.
Real Dragon Real Dragon
Date: 5/26/1971Call Number: RD 002Producers: Lincoln BergmanProgram: Real DragonCollection: “The Real Dragon” a news magazine including music and poetry
News reports of May 26, 1971 march on Washington of over 15,000 to protest against President Richard Nixon and voice outrage over his administration's racist actions toward South Africa. The day is called African Liberation day.
Speeches on Race and Immigration (Part 2) Speeches on Race and Immigration (Part 2)
Call Number: CD 606Collection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Speeches from a Vietnamese-American, Mayan-Guatemalan, Japanese-American and an El Salvadoran on racism and immigration experiences in the United States. Copy of SS 034B
Brotando del Silencio (Breaking out of the Silence) Brotando del Silencio (Breaking out of the Silence)
Date: 1/1/1973Call Number: Vin 032Producers: Paredon RecordsCollection: General materials
Songs that give voice to the women of La Raza, or people of mixed racial descent from Latin America. Suni Paz's music empowers both the Chicano Movement and women's liberation. Artist's statement and lyrics contained in the liner notes.
Malcolm X Speaking Malcolm X Speaking
Date: 1/1/1964Call Number: Vin 054Producers: Ethnic Records, Malcolm XCollection: Malcolm X
A compilation of excerpts from speeches given by Malcolm X. The first speech compares the nonviolent protest method employed by the civil rights movement and the black militancy, or self-defense strategy of Black Power and the Nation of Islam. The second speech describes the role of the United Nations in the global black liberation movement. Side 2 includes three speeches about the Birmingham Sunday School Bombing, and more on black militancy and nationalism.