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

The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
Date: 1/5/1979Call Number: KP 018Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProgram: Life of Fannie Lou HamerCollection: Voices from the South
This recording focuses on Fannie Lou Hamer, known as the lady who was "sick and tired of being sick and tired." This is a tribute to her life and work with Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the struggls she engaged in throughout her life.
Speech by Malcolm X at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, 1964 Speech by Malcolm X at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, 1964
Date: 12/20/1964Call Number: KP 056Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Charles HobsonCollection: Malcolm X
Speech given at DNC about how some African countries won their independence through anger and violence. Black people must speak the language of the captors and recognize that what happens in Mississippi has nationwide impact. There is no difference between Northern and Southern Democrats because they work as a whole not as separate parts. Freedom is not something that is given to you, you must take it and Black people must be equipped to do that in the same way that others have done it in the past. Audio tape is cut off at the end.
We'll Never Turn Back We'll Never Turn Back
Call Number: V 729Format: VHSProducers: Estuary PressCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
We'll Never Turn Back was filmed in Mississippi in 1963 during the dangerous voter registration drives of that era. Appearing in the film are Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) leaders Bob Moses and Julian Bond, as well as local civil rights leaders Curtis Hayes, Hollis Watkins, Amzie Moore and E.W. Steptoe. There are interviews with black farmers and share croppers, including Fannie Lou Hamer, on their experiences (often bloody) trying to register to vote.
Dream Deferred Dream Deferred
Call Number: V 731Format: VHSProducers: Estuary PressCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Dream Deferred was produced by SNCC for its southern voter registration drive in 1964, the year of the Mississippi Summer. It contains interviews with activists, voter registrants and leaders, and features Fannie Lou Hamer's speech, including her famous line: "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."
Bernice Johnson Reagon Part 1 Bernice Johnson Reagon Part 1
Call Number: FI 240Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Barbara LubinskiProgram: Freedom Is A Constant StruggleCollection: Freedom is a Constant Struggle
Biographical nterview with and music of Bernice Johnson Reagon. A "meshing of music and feeling" in the early civil rights movement. Speaks in detail of Fannie Lou Hamer and the role of the Black church.
Bernice Johnson Reagon Part 22 Bernice Johnson Reagon Part 22
Call Number: FI 247Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Barbara LubinskiProgram: Freedom Is A Constant StruggleCollection: Freedom is a Constant Struggle
Biographical nterview with and music of Bernice Johnson Reagon. A "meshing of music and feeling" in the early civil rights movement. Explains origin of the name of the group (Sweet Honey in the Rock).