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

Black Liberation Army - Fact or Fantasy Black Liberation Army - Fact or Fantasy
Date: 1/1/1974Call Number: PM 165Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Ron Magee, Rest of the News, Claude Marks, Bruce Soloway, Mark SchwartzProgram: Rest of the NewsCollection: BLA
Interviews and discussion concerning the Black Liberation Army and it’s alleged members. The question is raised as to the actual existence of the group which some claim to be a fabrication of the media and police to justify increased repression of Black revolutionaries. Various criminal trials of black activists are looked at to reveal how the local Police, FBI, News Media, and U.S. Justice System have worked together to pursue a repressive course to combat what they see as a threat to the very structure of American Society. Interviews detail use of police violence and torture to intimidate and demoralize the black radical movement. The cases of the “New York Five”, Joanne Chesimard (Assata Shakur), and Fred Hilton are described, along with the killing of Fred Hampton and the imprisonment of Muhammad Arif and Victor Cumerbash. Black Liberation Army prisoners (Herman Bell and Gabriel Torres) are interviewed extensively. Family members speak to the violence and repression of the police at a press conference. The murder by police of Twyman Myers is extensively addressed.
Africa Today - Premiere of Legacy of Torture Africa Today - Premiere of Legacy of Torture
Date: 1/1/2007Call Number: M 073Format: CDProducers: Walter TurnerProgram: Africa TodayCollection: Master recordings
Interview with Claude Marks about the upcoming premiere of Legacy of Torture - just days before the arrests of the San Francisco 8.
Continuation of Meeting/Ward Churchill (I) Continuation of Meeting/Ward Churchill (I)
Date: 4/11/2002Call Number: JB 019Format: DV CamProducers: Bernandine MellisCollection: Materials shot and collected in the making of The Forest for the Trees
Bari counsel meeting continues - Forum about COINTELPRO and Bari case at New College of San Francisco. Karen Pickett introduces case, Littletree tells of the Lord's Avenger letter, how Ward Churchill had contacted Bari telling her this was apart of COINTELPRO, update on the case, and tells of interrogation of Shannon Marr. Ward Churchill unpacks COINTELPRO - retells story of Mark Clark and Fred Hampton, relating to Bari, as each were victims convicted of a crime while FBI was behind each plot. Trying to show pattern, gives BPP and AIM as examples.
Letter to Huey from Algiers Letter to Huey from Algiers
Author: Elsa Knight ThompsonPublisher: KPFADate: 3/11/1971Volume Number: March 11Format: CorrespondenceCollection: Huey Newton
Letter to Huey to accompany audio track of video released in NY previous week, from Algiers, inviting Newton to record his answer at KPFA.
Elsa Knight Thompson Letter in response to Cyrill Abels Elsa Knight Thompson Letter in response to Cyrill Abels
Author: Elsa Knight ThompsonPublisher: KPFADate: 3/24/1969Volume Number: 24-MarFormat: CorrespondenceCollection: Cleaver, Eldridge
Letter in response to Cyrill Abels re: Eldridge Cleaver having rights to talk he gave on KPFA re: Bobby Hutton shooting, and correspondence leading up to this KPFA clarification letter.
Charles R. Garry Letter to Editor Charles R. Garry Letter to Editor
Author: Charles R. GarryFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Black Panther Party Articles From the 1970s
Letter to Editor criticizing The SF Chronicle for its Feb. 26 editorial saying BPP misbehaves in the courtroom, and criticizing Judges Julius Hoffman, Charles Mark, John Murtagh, as well as racist system; on same page, another editorial, "Judge Hoffman Again," criticizing Hoffman
The Black Panther Party: Its Origin and Development as Reflected in its Official Weekly Newspaper The Black Panther Community News Service The Black Panther Party: Its Origin and Development as Reflected in its Official Weekly Newspaper The Black Panther Community News Service
Publisher: US House of RepresentativesFormat: Government DocumentCollection: Black Panther Party Community News Service
Congressional Hearings focused on the Black Panther Community News Service. Conducted by the Committee on Internal Security, House of Representatives. I. Publication and Subscription Data II. Organization of the Black Panther Party III. The Black Panther on Violent Revolution IV. Marxism-Leninism is a Guide to Action V. Relations with Other Domestic Organizations VI. Relations with International Groups VII. What We Want What We Believe- The Panther Formal Platform and Program VIII. Activities IX. The Purge of Provacateur Agents, Kooks and Avaricious Fools X. Party Finances XI. Activities of Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, Raymond Hewitt and David Hilliard.