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

Herman Bell Out-takes Herman Bell Out-takes
Date: 9/16/1974Call Number: PM 078Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Claude MarksCollection: Herman Bell
Herman Bell talks about Gerald Ford’s appointment and the double standard for justice in the US. Discusses the dehumanization and demasculinization of prisoners and alienation from work. Compares the experiences of native people during colonization to redevelopment of communities in cities at present. Discusses the process of moving people toward consciousness and the US Health Department’s pattern of genocide throughout history.
Interviews with Herman Bell Interviews with Herman Bell
Date: 9/16/1974Call Number: PM 162Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: KPFACollection: Herman Bell
Compilation of interview clips with Herman Bell. Among the topics discussed are Bell’s bank robbery conviction in San Francisco, the history of black rebellions in America, and methods of encouraging people to organize and participate in revolutionary change. There are frequent references to the Black Liberation Army, Black Liberation Army, SLA, Symbionese Liberation Army, and the Weather Underground. Prison conditions and police harassment are also brought up.
Interview with Herman Bell Interview with Herman Bell
Date: 6/21/1974Call Number: PM 164Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Claude MarksProgram: KPFACollection: Herman Bell
Black Panther Herman Bell talks openly about the criminal charges filed against him in New York and San Francisco. The discussion also ranges from examples of police corruption and the relationship between the police and the black community, to the need for “people’s” media outlets to compete with the ruling classes monopoly on information dissemination. Later in the tape Bell talks of the possibility of bringing the case of Human Rights abuses in the U.S. to the attention of the United Nations. And he ends with his analysis of what the differences are between a “real” revolutionary and a superficial one.
Herman Bell - Partial Out-takes Herman Bell - Partial Out-takes
Date: 6/13/1974Call Number: PM 080Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Claude MarksCollection: Herman Bell
Herman Bell talks about Marcus Foster’s assasination and CIA affiliation and the replication of South African aparteid in San Francisco. Discusses his arrest in New Orleans, the practices of intimidation and torture used by police in New Orleans, and the shooting of Twymon Myers in New York.
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
Interview with Herman Bell Interview with Herman Bell
Date: 6/21/1974Call Number: CD 538Format: CDProducers: Claude MarksProgram: KPFACollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Black Panther Herman Bell talks openly about the criminal charges filed against him in New York and San Francisco. The discussion also ranges from examples of police corruption and the relationship between the police and the black community, to the need for “people’s” media outlets to compete with the ruling class monopoly on information dissemination. Later in the tape Bell talks of the possibility of bringing the case of Human Rights abuses in the U.S. to the attention of the United Nations. And he ends with his analysis of what the differences are between a “real” revolutionary and a superficial one.
Interview with Herman Bell Interview with Herman Bell
Date: 9/16/1974Call Number: CD 540Format: Cass A & BProducers: Claude MarksCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interviews with Herman Bell by Claude Marks. The first conducted on September 16, 1974, the day of his conviction of a San Francisco bank robbery and the second September 25, 1974. “just came from the courtroom..if I had had my hopes up high for justice or fair play, I would have been disappointed. No great surprise. The whole charade. I was very relaxed and prepared for it. My position and always will be...look for nothing from these people...” Herman Bell speaks to the issue of prison and how he will continue to struggle ‘I dare to struggle and I dare to win.”
Interview with Herman Bell Interview with Herman Bell
Date: 8/31/1977Call Number: CD 541Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interviews with Herman Bell on August 31, 1977 at USP Marion. He speaks mainly about prison conditions, control units, behavior modification, the injustice of the prison system.
Interviews with Herman Bell Interviews with Herman Bell
Date: 9/16/1974Call Number: CD 542Format: CDProducers: KPFACollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interview done by Claude Marks with Black Liberation Army member Herman Bell. Bell discusses the need for organizing within the black community and the means of strengthening itself through resistance and struggle. The SLA and Black Liberation Army are discussed extensively. 6/13/1974 Compilation of interview clips with Herman Bell. Among the topics discussed are Bell’s bank robbery conviction in San Francisco, the history of black rebellions in America, and methods of encouraging people to organize and participate in revolutionary change. There are frequent references to the Black Liberation Army (BLA), Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), and the Weather Underground. Prison conditions and police harassment are also discussed. 9/16/1974 & 9/25/1974