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

Panel discussion on Huey Newton’s Legacy Panel discussion on Huey Newton’s Legacy
Call Number: KP 135Format: CassetteCollection: Huey Newton
Excerpt from panel discussion hosted by Walter Turner on KPFA recorded just after the death of Huey P. Newton in 1989. Panelists include Johnny Spain, Hardy Frey, Janina Abram, and Angela Davis (not in actuality). Reflections on the legacy of Black Panther Party and its effect on emerging black political movements. Some music interruption
Soffiyah Elijah speaks about Torture and Repression against Black Liberation Veterans Soffiyah Elijah speaks about Torture and Repression against Black Liberation Veterans
Date: 1/1/2006Call Number: CD 522Format: CDProducers: National Radio ProjectCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Speaking to the national Network of Grantmakers about the recent Grand Jury targeting former Black Activists, torture in New Orleans in 1973, and the lasting effects of COINTELPRO. Part 1
Soffiyah Elijah speaks about Torture and Repression against Black Liberation Veterans Soffiyah Elijah speaks about Torture and Repression against Black Liberation Veterans
Date: 1/1/2006Call Number: CD 523Format: CDProducers: National Radio ProjectCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Speaking to the national Network of Grantmakers about the recent Grand Jury targeting former Black Activists, torture in New Orleans in 1973, and the lasting effects of COINTELPRO. Part 2 - Q&A
Select B roll from American Revolution 2 & J. Edgar Hoover Select B roll from American Revolution 2 & J. Edgar Hoover
Call Number: C 10 041Format: DV CamCollection: COINTELPRO 101 Raw Materials
A gritty but essential documentary charting social turbulences in late 1960's Chicago. American Revolution 2 includes footage of the 1968 Democratic Convention protest and riot, a critique of the events by working class African-Americans in Chicago, and attempts by the Black Panther Party to organize poor, southern white youths on the city's north side. Using direct sound, a handheld camera, no script, black-and-white film stock, and natural lighting, the directors' no-frills approach appropriately reflects the raw energy of this upheaval. This scathing documentary chronicles the career of J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI for more than 40 years. His lifelong obsession with communists that began with the “Red Scare” of the early 1920s and manifested itself into a mission hell-bent on eradicating anyone suspected of engaging in anti-American activities, be they actors, politicians or protest groups. A masterful propagandist, Hoover took every opportunity given him to create a public atmosphere of outsider paranoia – and his fears ran deep. By the time of his death in 1972, Hoover’s FBI had compiled thousands of individual secret files and completed countless illegal operations.