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

Victory Rally: 12/9/64

Victory Rally: 12/9/64
Date: 12/9/1964Call Number: CE 678Format: 1/4 3 3/4 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
A victory rally on the UC Berkeley campus following the Academic Senate vote to support freedom of political expression on campus. Speakers include Mario Savio (who is greeted with a serenade of “Happy Birthday”), Jack Weinberg, philosophy professor John Searle, Bettina Aptheker, Ron Anastasi (reading a message from Joan Baez as well as an op-ed by Ralph Gleason), and Art Goldberg. Lots of gratitude expressed, thanking movement supporters including Harvard students and Bay Area labor unions, and lots of self-effacing humor. Aptheker’s speech, which touches on experiences in Santa Rita and gratitude for faculty support, is especially well-crafted. Goldberg discusses the role of humor in the movement. There is also talk of organizing for the upcoming Regents meeting at UCLA, and soliciting donations for legal defense. Notes on the tape box indicate that parts of this recording were used for the program “Mario Savio: A Study in Charisma.”
Student rally at Regents Meeting
Student rally at Regents Meeting
Date: 12/18/1964Call Number: CE 680Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsProgram: KPFKCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Jack Weinberg, UC Berkeley FSM organizer, and Jim Berland, a student organizer at UCLA (as well as an unidentified speaker) speak at a student rally at the December 1964 Regents Meeting at UCLA. Topics discussed include frustration with bureaucracy and a sense that administrators are “stalling,” the effects of the movement in building political awareness and a warmer community on campus at Berkeley and UCLA, power dynamics and the lack of formal hierarchy in the movement, and censorship of research in relation to corporate connections of university administrators. There is a short section at the end which is unintelligible due to being very sped up.
Rick Davis: Covering the FSM (part 1 of 2)
Rick Davis: Covering the FSM (part 1 of 2)
Call Number: CE 691Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Interview with prominent television reporter, writer and producer Rick Davis about his experiences reporting on the FSM. His coverage began with the car top rally in October 1964 and continued through the Sproul Hall sit-in in December. He is critical of some student viewpoints and tactics, with an especially harsh assessment of Mario Savio, but describes himself as being strongly invested in free speech and accurate reporting, and exposes many of the distortions and fabrications that were present in his colleagues’ reporting, such as invented reports of break-ins and vandalism. He describes police violence, and their attempts to discourage press coverage. He discusses the various political factions on campus and the role that right-wing students held within the FSM.
4/26/65 Rally Part 2: Formation of the Free Student Union
4/26/65 Rally Part 2: Formation of the Free Student Union
Date: 4/26/1965Call Number: CE 727Format: 1/4 3 3/4 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Campus rally held in support of the formation of the Free Student Union, a successor to the Free Speech Movement. Many brief speeches and announcements by a number of student organizers and some discussion of the purpose and nature of a student union and student strikes. Some discussion of Mario Savio's resignation from the FSM.
Civic Park rally: 7/29/65 (part 1 of 2)
Civic Park rally: 7/29/65 (part 1 of 2)
Date: 7/29/1965Call Number: CE 730Format: 1/4 3 3/4 ipsProducers: Colin EdwardsCollection: Colin Edwards Free Speech Movement
Second rally held on 7/29/65, at Civic Park in Berkeley near the courthouse, in support of students facing trial. David Goines goes to jail at the beginning of the rally, and the crowd sings “Goodbye David.” Speakers discuss specific legal strategy, fundraising needs and earlier mistakes. There are also several speakers from the Vietnam Day Committee discussing the war and how the committee plans to learn from the FSM. Lou Smith of CORE speaks on themes of commitment and the connections between the FSM and civil rights. Allen Ginsberg chants and rings a bell. Bettina Aptheker calls attention to an FBI agent in the crowd who has been following her and declares that “we’re the fighting generation.” Mario Savio discusses his experiences in Santa Rita and the impacts of incarceration.