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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.
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

Lexington Prison Interviews (1987) Lexington Prison Interviews (1987)
Date: 5/1/1987Call Number: PM 184AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Political prisoners Alejandrina Torres, Silvia Baraldini, and Susan Rosenberg describe their living conditions at the control unit of the federal women’s prison in Lexington which opened in 1986: radical isolation, constant surveillance, sensory deprivation, no personal property, limited visits, etc. Defined by the government as the most dangerous women in prison for their political activities in various anti-war and liberation movements, Torres, Baraldini, and Rosenberg have been subjected to a sophisticated kind of psychological torture. According to them they have been used as examples of the consequences to be expected if one challenges the hegemony of US power. The interviews stress the importance of public pressure to have the unit closed.
Lexington Prison Interviews (1987) Lexington Prison Interviews (1987)
Date: 5/1/1987Call Number: PM 185AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Same as PM 184 Political prisoners Alejandrina Torres, Silvia Baraldini, and Susan Rosenberg describe their living conditions at the control unit of the federal women’s prison in Lexington which opened in 1986: radical isolation, constant surveillance, sensory deprivation, no personal property, limited visits, etc. Defined by the government as the most dangerous women in prison for their political activities in various anti-war and liberation movements, Torres, Baraldini, and Rosenberg have been subjected to a sophisticated kind of psychological torture. According to them they have been used as examples of the consequences to be expected if one challenges the hegemony of US power. The interviews stress the importance of public pressure to have the unit closed.
Interview with Susan Rosenberg about conditions in the women’s political prison, Lexington. Interview with Susan Rosenberg about conditions in the women’s political prison, Lexington.
Call Number: PM 438AFormat: Cass AProducers: Sally O’Brian, Terry BissonCollection: Political Prisoners- General Info
Interview with Susan Rosenberg, an American revoluntionary anti-imperialist female political prisoner, about Lexington prison. . Susan Rosenberg describes the focus of Lexington as “the psychological element of incarceration to disintigrate the personality”. She speaks about the terribly harsh and restrictive conditions of Lexington, as well as the psychological impact of the prison. Rosenberg speaks about how every prisoner is there for political reasons, as the control unit is not based on disciplinary measures, but on classificationof who and what the prisoners are associated with. Susan Rosenberg’s attorney, Michael Schubert, speaks about the isolation and solitary confinement the Lesington prisoners experience, and how such isolation is aimed at keeping the prisoners isolated from politics.
International Human Rights Day, 1994 International Human Rights Day, 1994
Date: 12/2/1994Call Number: JG/ 088AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberProgram: A Defiant HeartCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
Interview with Judy Siff and Bill Crossman of Prairie Fire Organizing Committee about International Human Rights Day, 1994. International Human Rights Day, December 10, is a global holiday not well known in the U.S. that champions human rights for political prisoners. The U.S. focus of this year's campaign are the 150+ political prisoners held currently by the U.S. justice system, many of whom were social activists of the 1960's, 70's, 80's. Siff and Crossman stress that with political prisoners it is important to factor not what illegal actions they committed but rather what their conscience was. They deplore the suppression of popular information on political prisoners within the U.S that leads to a popular attitude of disbelief about the problem. They explore the cases of Mumia Abu Jamal, Geronimo Pratt, Leonard Peltier, Sylvia Baraldini, and discus the Amnesty campaign for Puerto Rican prisoners of war. They note that any victory for any prisoner helps the effort as a whole and illustrate the grassroots efforts to shut down the inhumane Lexington, KY prison. They lament that the U.S. does not allow dissent because it gives abnormally long sentences to "freedom fighters." They offer info on how to support the campaign for human rights.
Interview with Susan Rosenberg Interview with Susan Rosenberg
Call Number: PM 253AFormat: Cass AProducers: WBAICollection: Political Prisoners- General Info
Susan Rosenberg speaks from the Metropolitan Corretional Center in New York City about political prisoners and prisons. She describes the conditions in the control unit in Lexington women’s prison and the government’s reasons for selecting the women sent to Lexington.
The Case of Silvia Baraldini The Case of Silvia Baraldini
Date: 4/16/1991Call Number: PM 267Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsProducers: Sally O'BrianProgram: Where We LiveCollection: Silvia Baraldini
Silvia Baraldini describes her harsh treatment and that of other U.S. political prisoners. Her attorney, Elizabeth Fink, comments on the lack of evidence presented at trial and the extreme sentencing and punishment of Baraldini at the Lexington Federal Prison. Italian member of Parliament Emma Bonino, and Italian journalist Patricia Lambroso comment on Italian parliamentary and public support for Baraldini.
Through the Wire Through the Wire
Date: 1/1/1990Call Number: V 325Format: VHSProducers: Nina RosenblumCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
A shocking and powerful documentary by Nina Rosenblum–narrated by Susan Sarandon and shot by Haskell Wexler- about the recent “experimental” torture and attempted brainwashing of three women prisoners in a federal prison in Lexington, Kentucky.
Lexington Prison Interviews 1987 Lexington Prison Interviews 1987
Date: 5/1/1987Call Number: CD 779Format: CDProducers: Judy GerberCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Alejandrina Torres, Silvia Baraldini, and Susan Rosenberg describe their living conditions at the control unit of the federal women’s prison in Lexington which opened in 1986. The interviews stress the importance of public pressure to have the unit closed.
The Case of Silvia Baraldini The Case of Silvia Baraldini
Date: 4/16/1991Call Number: CD 787Format: CDProducers: Sally O'BrianProgram: Where We LiveCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Silvia Baraldini describes her harsh treatment and that of other U.S. political prisoners. Her attorney, Elizabeth Fink, comments on the lack of evidence presented at trial and the extreme sentencing and punishment of Baraldini at the Lexington Federal Prison. Italian member of Parliament Emma Bonino, and Italian journalist Patricia Lambroso comment on Italian parliamentary and public support for Baraldini.
Interview with Susan Rosenberg and Josefina Rodriguez Interview with Susan Rosenberg and Josefina Rodriguez
Call Number: CD 799Format: CDProducers: Sally O’Brian, Terry BissonCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interview with Susan Rosenberg, an American revolutionary anti-imperialist female political prisoner, about Lexington prison. Susan Rosenberg describes the focus of Lexington as “the psychological element of incarceration to disintegrate the personality”. She speaks about the terribly harsh and restrictive conditions of Lexington, as well as the psychological impact of the prison. Rosenberg speaks about how every prisoner is there for political reasons, as the control unit is not based on disciplinary measures, but on classification who and what the prisoners are associated with. Susan Rosenberg’s attorney, Michael Schubert, speaks about the isolation and solitary confinement the Lexington prisoners experience, and how such isolation is aimed at keeping the prisoners isolated from politics.