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

Vini Bhansali Reads A 15 year-old Palestinian Woman in Prison Vini Bhansali Reads A 15 year-old Palestinian Woman in Prison
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Vini Bhansali Reads Marilyn Buck's poem on Palestinian political prisoners. As part of Poetry for the People, Vini co-facilitated a writing workshop at the Federal Correctional Institution at Dublin, California (FCI Dublin), where she met Marilyn.
Angela Davis Release Speech Angela Davis Release Speech
Format: mp3Collection: Black Panther Party general
Angela Davis, African-American leader, scholar, and prison abolitionist. She was charged in connection with events at the Marin Courthouse on August 7, 1970. this is from her first statement after her acquittal.
Assata Shakur Communique- Think Positive Assata Shakur Communique- Think Positive
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: mp3Program: Prison MovementCollection: BLA
Assata Shakur, now in exile in Cuba, was liberated from prison in New Jersey where she was held on charges connected with the Black Liberation Army. This is from her first statement after being liberated from prison. She speaks of positive strategies of revolutionary struggle.
Bernardine Dorhn Bernardine Dorhn
Publisher: Weather Underground OrganizationFormat: mp3Collection: Weather Underground Organization
Sent on international Women's Day, 1975 by the Weather Underground, this includes a statement by Bernardine Dohrn and a poem to Assata Shakur by Kathy Boudin, who is herself now a political prisoner. the audio quality reflects the less than ideal recording conditions, but the message comes through.
George Jackson Intro George Jackson Intro
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: mp3Collection: George Jackson
George Jackson and his mother Georgia Jackson, with a Bay Area newscast on the assassination of George Jackson, prison revolutionary and author. Jackson was killed on August 21, 1971 at San Quintin, a year after his younger brother Johnathan Jackson was killed during the Marin County Courthouse Rebellion.
Amiri Baraka introduces Wild Poppies Amiri Baraka introduces Wild Poppies
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Poet, playwright, essayist, teacher and activist Amiri Baraka introduces the audio compendium of poetry, "Wild Poppies", and describes Marilyn Buck's struggle against imperialism with metaphor.
Marilyn Buck Reads Concrete Cocoon Marilyn Buck Reads Concrete Cocoon
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
An excerpt from "The Order: 9 AM PDT", read by the author. Part of "Incommunicado: Dispatches from a Political Prisoner"
Rap for Justice Rap for Justice
Format: mp3Program: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
A rap by Marilyn buck on rebellion against the Prison Industrial Complex, from "Incommunicado: Dispatches from a Political Prisoner"
Marilyn Buck Reads The Tortured Marilyn Buck Reads The Tortured
Year: 2004Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Marilyn Buck reads her short poem on imprisonment. From "Incommunicado: Dispatches from a Political Prisoner"
Marilyn Buck Reads Night Marilyn Buck Reads Night
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Marilyn buck reads an excerpt from her poem, "Night". Originally from "Incommunicado: Dispatches from a Political Prisoner".