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

Real Dragon Real Dragon
Date: 5/26/1973Call Number: RD 044Program: Real Dragon Collection: “The Real Dragon” a news magazine including music and poetry
Real Dragon Watergate and Africa, interspersed with limericks.
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.
Warning: The Media May Be Hazardous to Your Health Warning: The Media May Be Hazardous to Your Health
Call Number: V 274Producers: Jenai LaneCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Images of commercials and media protestors are woven together to create a humorous, yet sobering look at sexism in the 90's. Based on a slideshow by activist, writer and national lecturer Ann J. Simonton.
Southern Prison Blues Southern Prison Blues
Date: 1/1/1963Call Number: Vin 046Producers: Everest Records, Tradition, Harry OsterCollection: General materials
A collection of traditional blues songs about prison life performed by prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. Produced by folklorist Harry Oster. Songs chronicle the injustices and inherent racism of Southern prison life.
Ballads of Black America Ballads of Black America
Date: 1/1/1972Call Number: Vin 052Producers: Folkways Recordings, Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, Pete Seeger, Jeanne HumphriesCollection: General materials
A collection of songs from the Ballads of Black America project, which sought to educate children about black leaders in American history, including Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Paul Robeson. The project was started by Reverend Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick, who also founded the Deacons For Defense and Justice during the civil rights movement. Accompanied by Pete Seeger and Jeanne Humphries. With extensive liner notes.
Judge Bruce Wright Speaks Judge Bruce Wright Speaks
Publisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
In a speech given on November 4th 1989, Judge Bruce Wright talks about the legacy of racism in the courts. He specifically focuses on how the US Supreme Court has served as a historical ally of institutional racism in the United States.