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

Devorah Major Reads Prison Chant Devorah Major Reads Prison Chant
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Devorah Major reads Marilyn Buck's piece on the devastation of incarceration on the family. Devorah Major, San Francisco's third poet laureate, is also a novelist, essayist, teacher and arts activist.
Dennis Brutus Reads One-Hour Yard Poem Dennis Brutus Reads One-Hour Yard Poem
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Professor Emeritus Dennis reads Marilyn Buck's poem on her experience in prison.
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"
Sara Menefee Reads Moon Bereft Sara Menefee Reads Moon Bereft
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Activist and poet Sara Menefee reads Marilyn Buck's poem. Sarah is a long-time community activist, much involved in the homeless and cultural movements. As part of her work with Food Not Bombs, she was arrested for feeding the hungry without a permit. She is a founding member of The League of Revolutionaries for a New America.
Uchechi Kalu Reads Blindfolded Men Uchechi Kalu Reads Blindfolded Men
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Uchechi Kalu Reads Marilyn Buck's poem on racism and the prison system. Uchechi Kalu is a Nigerian-born poet who has conducted writing workshops at schools, prisons and community organizations. Her book of poetry, "Flowers Blooming against a Bruised Grey Sky", is published by Whit Press.
Staajabu Reads The Visit Staajabu Reads The Visit
Format: mp3Producers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Materials Recorded and Gathered for "Wild Poppies"
Straight Out Scribes member Staajabu reads her poem on the emotional turmoil of a prison visit.
Carry It On Carry It On
Author: Assata ShakurFormat: mp3Collection: Assata Shakur
The Tradition written by Assata Shakur.