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

Preparations for Trial Preparations for Trial
Date: 4/4/2002Call Number: JB 006Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Legal team meet at Cunningham's, note that some things must not be video-recorded for privilege purposes. Camera shots of Oakland office. Betty Ball, witness, and Jamie talk about rally and jury selection. Old man talks about Green Party, Dave Forman, and history of NCEF. Interview with Betty Ball.
Preparations for Trial (III) Preparations for Trial (III)
Date: 4/6/2002Call Number: JB 008Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Continuation of Cunningham opening practice. Discusses evidence, photos of car, the Lord's Avenger, nails, surveillance and phone sweep. Bloom and Serra add-in. Littletree, Ball, and Gary talk.
1st Day of Bari v. FBI (IV) 1st Day of Bari v. FBI (IV)
Date: 4/8/2002Call Number: JB 013Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Wrap-up of rally. Bari counsel, predominantly Serra, interviewed by press - speaks about 9/11 and effect its had on case and movement as a whole. Rosenfeld and Ball interviewed by Jino. Legal team congregating at office - discusses jury selection, COINTELPRO, how to deal with press, and Cherney instructs Cunningham on acoustics.
Last Day of Week 1 of Bari v. FBI Last Day of Week 1 of Bari v. FBI
Date: 4/11/2002Call Number: JB 018Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Cunningham discusses Bloom's health. Betty Ball discusses her experience testifying, as does Gary Ball. Gary and Betty are told they aren't allowed to discuss the testimony with anyone - causes drama. Rosenfeld feels confident about day in court. Back in office, group had big meeting, discusses Gary Ball's testimony, and how to prove FBI was investigating EF!