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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.
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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 Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton Speaks at University of Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton Speaks at University of Chicago
Date: 4/1/1969Call Number: PM 115 R2Format: Reel 2Collection: Fred Hampton
Same as PM 115 R1 at 7 1/2 ips Part 1 Chairman of Illinois for the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton, speaks at the University of Chicago about the U.S. prison system and the fight for equal rights among people of color. Speech gives insight on Black Panther Party’s school of thought regarding education and politics, with a focus on the “Breakfast for Children Program” and the defense fund for Black Panthers needing bail, including Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Dennis Moral, Bobby Hutton, Michael “Mickey” White, and Bobby Rush. Question and answer session with the audience at the end of the tape gives depth to the Black experience at this time.
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.
All Power to the People All Power to the People
Date: 1/1/1997Call Number: V 014Format: VHSProducers: Lee Lew LeeCollection: Black Power/Black Nation
Opening with a montage of four hundred years of race injustice in America, this powerful documentary provides the historical context for the establishment of the 60's civil rights movement. Rare clips of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton and other activists transport one back to those tumultuous times. Organized by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, the Black Panther Party embodied every major element of the civil rights movement which preceded it and inspired the black, brown, yellow, Native American and women's power movements which followed The party struck fear in the hearts of the "establishment" which viewed it as a terrorist group. Interviews with former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, CIA officer Philip Agee, and FBI agents Wes Swearingen and Bill Turner shockingly detail a "secret domestic war" of assassination, imprisonment and torture as the weapons of repression. Yet, the documentary is not a paean to the Panthers, for while it praises their early courage and moral idealism. it exposes their collapse due to megalomania, corruption, drugs, and narcissism
Kiilu Nyasha Interviews Akua Njeri (formerly Fred Hampton’s wife) Kiilu Nyasha Interviews Akua Njeri (formerly Fred Hampton’s wife)
Date: 10/1/1999Call Number: PM 159Format: Cass A & BProducers: Kiilu NyashaCollection: Fred Hampton
Kiilu Nyasha interviews Akua Njeri (former wife of Fred Hampton) about his murder in December of 1969.
The Murder of Fred Hampton - Part 1 The Murder of Fred Hampton - Part 1
Date: 1/1/1971Call Number: CD 064Format: CDProducers: Film Group of Chicago: Mike GrayCollection: Fred Hampton
Audio from film. Directed by Howard Alk. Produced by Mike Gray. Associate Producer: Emmett Grogan; Camera: Mike Gray, Howard Alk; Sound: Jones Cullinan, John Mason, Chuck Olin; Editor: Howard Alk; Assistant editors: Jones Cullinan, John Mason; Additional Photography: Gordon Quinn; Production Manager: Jim Dennett. In 1968 the Film Group, a Chicago production company, began filming a documentary about the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and their chairman Fred Hampton. A fiery orator, Hampton was only 20 years old at the time, but his electrifying words and actions were inspiring young Black people to demand respect and to insist that their power and voice be felt in local politics, in any politics. But Fred Hampton's dream included all people when he proclaimed in the voice of the prophet, "... if we don't stop fascism it'll stop us all." At that same moment the FBI/CIA was implementing their notorious domestic counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) aimed at illegally suppressing domestic dissent and aimed especially at growing radical political organizations like the Black Panther Party. One FBI memo stated their charge as the need to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unite and electrify the militant black antinationalist movement." Working with local police departments, the government moved against Black Panther chapters and leaders across the country. On December 4, 1969, in a predawn FBI-directed Chicago police raid, four Panthers suffered gunshot wounds, and Mark Clark and Fred Hampton were murdered. Within hours, Panthers arranged to get the Film Group crew into the scene and they were able to record the carnage. The film shows vividly what the police do to those who dare to openly, aggressively challenge government authority. In addition, the footage of the bloody, bullet-riddled wreckage directly contradicted the State's Attorney's version of the raid, and so filmmakers and Panthers came together to prove that Hampton had been the designated target of the violent, punitive raid. The film's inquiry pursues official spokesmen and traps them in their own lies and attempt at a cover-up of a brutal orchestrated assassination.
The Murder of Fred Hampton - Part 2 The Murder of Fred Hampton - Part 2
Date: 1/1/1971Call Number: CD 065Format: CDProducers: Film Group of Chicago: Mike GrayCollection: Fred Hampton
Audio from film. Directed by Howard Alk. Produced by Mike Gray. Associate Producer: Emmett Grogan; Camera: Mike Gray, Howard Alk; Sound: Jones Cullinan, John Mason, Chuck Olin; Editor: Howard Alk; Assistant editors: Jones Cullinan, John Mason; Additional Photography: Gordon Quinn; Production Manager: Jim Dennett. In 1968 the Film Group, a Chicago production company, began filming a documentary about the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and their chairman Fred Hampton. A fiery orator, Hampton was only 20 years old at the time, but his electrifying words and actions were inspiring young Black people to demand respect and to insist that their power and voice be felt in local politics, in any politics. But Fred Hampton's dream included all people when he proclaimed in the voice of the prophet, "... if we don't stop fascism it'll stop us all." At that same moment the FBI/CIA was implementing their notorious domestic counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) aimed at illegally suppressing domestic dissent and aimed especially at growing radical political organizations like the Black Panther Party. One FBI memo stated their charge as the need to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unite and electrify the militant black antinationalist movement." Working with local police departments, the government moved against Black Panther chapters and leaders across the country. On December 4, 1969, in a predawn FBI-directed Chicago police raid, four Panthers suffered gunshot wounds, and Mark Clark and Fred Hampton were murdered. Within hours, Panthers arranged to get the Film Group crew into the scene and they were able to record the carnage. The film shows vividly what the police do to those who dare to openly, aggressively challenge government authority. In addition, the footage of the bloody, bullet-riddled wreckage directly contradicted the State's Attorney's version of the raid, and so filmmakers and Panthers came together to prove that Hampton had been the designated target of the violent, punitive raid. The film's inquiry pursues official spokesmen and traps them in their own lies and attempt at a cover-up of a brutal orchestrated assassination.
Roots of Resistance Roots of Resistance
Date: 5/13/2002Call Number: CD 101Format: CDProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Rough Backup. In 71 carefully selected minutes, you will hear: Ho Chi Minh speaking in English to the U.S. anti-war movement Fannie Lou Hamer leading the singing of Go Tell It On the Mountain and much, much more. Topics include civil rights and Black liberation, Vietnam victory, the prison movement, Puerto Rico, Chile, Native American movements, women's liberation, the International Hotel. Among other voices you will hear are: Assata Shakur, Amilcar Cabral, Lolita Lebron, Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Ruchell Magee, Angela Davis, Fred Hampton, Mario Savio, Bernardine Dohrn, Kathy Boudin, Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark, Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Cesar Chavez--and the list goes on. The CD also features poetry recited by June Jordan, Judy Grahn, Marge Piercy, and Meridel LeSueur, with music by Joan Baez, Victor Jara, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and others. The voices and sounds on this CD are but a tiny fraction of a wondrous multiplicity of recorded sound, with in-depth analysis, live coverage, incisive interviews, highly-produced documentaries, poetry, music, and raw materials on many topics--all found in The Freedom Archives. There's no way we can convey the entire collection on just one CD - that's why we call it Volume 1!
Roots of Resistance Roots of Resistance
Date: 5/13/2002Call Number: CD 102Format: CDProducers: Freedom ArchivesCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Rough Backup. In 71 carefully selected minutes, you will hear: Ho Chi Minh speaking in English to the U.S. anti-war movement Fannie Lou Hamer leading the singing of Go Tell It On the Mountain and much, much more. Topics include civil rights and Black liberation, Vietnam victory, the prison movement, Puerto Rico, Chile, Native American movements, women's liberation, the International Hotel. Among other voices you will hear are: Assata Shakur, Amilcar Cabral, Lolita Lebron, Winnie Mandela, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Ruchell Magee, Angela Davis, Fred Hampton, Mario Savio, Bernardine Dohrn, Kathy Boudin, Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark, Salvador Allende, Fidel Castro, Cesar Chavez--and the list goes on. The CD also features poetry recited by June Jordan, Judy Grahn, Marge Piercy, and Meridel LeSueur, with music by Joan Baez, Victor Jara, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and others. The voices and sounds on this CD are but a tiny fraction of a wondrous multiplicity of recorded sound, with in-depth analysis, live coverage, incisive interviews, highly-produced documentaries, poetry, music, and raw materials on many topics--all found in The Freedom Archives. There's no way we can convey the entire collection on just one CD - that's why we call it Volume 1!
Eyes on the Prize: Ain’t Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972) & A Nation of Law? (1968-1971) Eyes on the Prize: Ain’t Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972) & A Nation of Law? (1968-1971)
Call Number: V 109Format: VHSProducers: PBSProgram: Eyes on the PrizeCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Ain’t Gonna Shuffle No More (1964-1972) - Muhammad Ali...Howard University...Gary, Indiana...Through these names, African Americans reclaimed their heritage in different ways. A Nation of Law? (1968-1971) - The Black Panther Party...Fred Hampton...Attica...These names equaled controversy in the America of law and order promised by President Nixon. Urban rebellion & campus unrest, protest and reprisals.
The Murder of Fred Hampton The Murder of Fred Hampton
Date: 1/1/1971Call Number: V 158Format: VHSProducers: Film Group of Chicago: Mike GrayCollection: Fred Hampton
Directed by Howard Alk. Produced by Mike Gray. Associate Producer: Emmett Grogan; Camera: Mike Gray, Howard Alk; Sound: Jones Cullinan, John Mason, Chuck Olin; Editor: Howard Alk; Assistant editors: Jones Cullinan, John Mason; Additional Photography: Gordon Quinn; Production Manager: Jim Dennett. In 1968 the Film Group, a Chicago production company, began filming a documentary about the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party and their chairman Fred Hampton. A fiery orator, Hampton was only 20 years old at the time, but his electrifying words and actions were inspiring young Black people to demand respect and to insist that their power and voice be felt in local politics, in any politics. But Fred Hampton's dream included all people when he proclaimed in the voice of the prophet, "... if we don't stop fascism it'll stop us all." At that same moment the FBI/CIA was implementing their notorious domestic counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) aimed at illegally suppressing domestic dissent and aimed especially at growing radical political organizations like the Black Panther Party. One FBI memo stated their charge as the need to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unite and electrify the militant black antinationalist movement." Working with local police departments, the government moved against Black Panther chapters and leaders across the country. On December 4, 1969, in a predawn FBI-directed Chicago police raid, four Panthers suffered gunshot wounds, and Mark Clark and Fred Hampton were murdered. Within hours, Panthers arranged to get the Film Group crew into the scene and they were able to record the carnage. The film shows vividly what the police do to those who dare to openly, aggressively challenge government authority. In addition, the footage of the bloody, bullet-riddled wreckage directly contradicted the State's Attorney's version of the raid, and so filmmakers and Panthers came together to prove that Hampton had been the designated target of the violent, punitive raid. The film's inquiry pursues official spokesmen and traps them in their own lies and attempt at a cover-up of a brutal orchestrated assassination.