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

Paul Robeson Show: Spirituals, Lena Horne Paul Robeson Show: Spirituals, Lena Horne
Date: 1/1/1982Call Number: PR 012Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Emiliano EcheverriaProgram: Freedom Is A Constant StruggleCollection: Paul Robeson recordings
Spirituals and Lena Horne, the 1958 Moscow concert, and excerpts from Robeson speeches & interviews. Also on CD 238, Track 1
Paul Robeson: Peekskill Story Paul Robeson: Peekskill Story
Call Number: PR 042Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Paul Robeson recordings
Peekskill story with Howard Fast and the Weavers; Ode to Paul Robeson by Pablo Neruda, read by Fernando Alegria; recollections of Lena Horne; recollections of Sid Roger. Also includes Robeson’s and Pete Seeger’s comments at rally to protest the Peekskill riots, interspersed with Robeson songs. Same as CD 279, tracks 1-7
Paul Robeson: Black Man in America Paul Robeson: Black Man in America
Call Number: PR 046Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Paul Robeson recordings
Paul Robeson: biography interspersed with recordings of songs, speeches and interviews; final speech from Othello. Same as CD 281, Track 1
Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 7 Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 7
Date: 1/1/1998Call Number: CD 216Format: CDProducers: Eugene GordonCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Harlem and Marriage: The Harlem Renaissance, Columbia Law School, Provincetown Players, marriage to Eslanda Goode. Songs by Ethel Waters and Lena Horne, as well as by Paul Robeson.
Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 11 Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 11
Date: 1/1/1998Call Number: CD 220Format: CDProducers: Eugene GordonCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Second World War: Robeson’s activities in WW II, with songs from the period, Paul sings Going Home and other songs, Music by Irving Berlin. Lena Horne sings It” Love!”
Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 12 Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 12
Date: 1/1/1998Call Number: CD 221Format: CDProducers: Eugene GordonCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
The Forties: “America’s Number One Negro” at the pinnacle of his career. Robeson sings and recites poetry. Also songs by Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Josephine Baker.
Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 20 Paul Robeson Centennial Tribute, Part 20
Date: 1/1/1998Call Number: CD 229Format: CDProducers: Eugene GordonCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
The Cult of Paul Robeson: Are we members of a cult? Paul sings Sonny Boy, Little Pal, So Shy, and a few lullabies. Songs by Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Pete Seeger, Sarah Vaughn.
Paul Robeson Show: Spirituals, Lena Horne Paul Robeson Show: Spirituals, Lena Horne
Date: 1/1/1982Call Number: CD 238Format: CDProducers: Emiliano EcheverriaProgram: Freedom Is A Constant StruggleCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Paul Robeson Show: Spirituals and Lena Horne, Moscow concert in 1958, excerpts from Robeson speeches & interviews. Same as PR 012 Recordings of Robeson singing and excerpts from speeches, including a 1949 rally protesting the “Peekskill riots.” Pete Seeger & others speaking about Peekskill. Robeson recites Langston Hughes’ poem “Freedom Train.” Includes full performance of Ballad For Americans, sung by Robeson and the American People’s Chorus , recorded on CBS Radio, November 5, 1939. Same as PR 013
Paul Robeson: Peekskill Story Paul Robeson: Peekskill Story
Call Number: CD 279Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Tributes and Peekskill story, 1949: 1: Peekskill story with Howard Fast and the Weavers; 2: Ode to Paul Robeson by Pablo Neruda, read by Fernando Alegria; 3: Recollections of Lena Horne; 4: Recollections of Sid Roger part 1 of 2; 5: Recollections of Sid Roger part 2 of 2. Also includes Robeson’s and Pete Seeger’s comments at rally to protest the Peekskill riots, interspersed with Robeson songs. Same as PR 042
Paul Robeson: Black Man in America Paul Robeson: Black Man in America
Call Number: CD 281Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Program from WBAI about Paul Robeson: biography interspersed with recordings of songs, speeches and interviews. Same as PR 046