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

Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control? Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control?
Date: 10/21/1995Call Number: PM 336Format: Cass A & BProducers: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown (CEML)Collection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Mind Control or Social Control? About closing the control units at Marion Prison. Nancy Kurshan of CEML (Committee to End the Marion Lockdown), Dr. Alan Berkman who has provided medical care for Black Liberation Army and Panther members as well as AIM activists at Wounded Knee in the 1970s. Berkman also speaks about being a former political prisoner, the prison system and control units as forms of social control which target revolutionary movements. Film segments about former LA gang member and Pelican Bay prisoner Sanyika Shakur. Transcript available for download.
Shut Down the Control Units Shut Down the Control Units
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: V 375Format: VHSProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
US policies at Marion violate the United Nation's Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners that were established for countries like Chile and South Africa. The control units at Marion often are used to silence political prisoners and those demanding prisoners rights.
Shut Down the Control Units Shut Down the Control Units
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: CD 697Format: DVDProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
US policies at Marion violate the United Nation's Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners that were established for countries like Chile and South Africa. The control units at Marion often are used to silence political prisoners and those demanding prisoners rights.
CEML Program - Bob Robideau, Safiya Bukhari-Alston, Rafael Cancel Miranda Moderator Nancy Kurshan CEML Program - Bob Robideau, Safiya Bukhari-Alston, Rafael Cancel Miranda Moderator Nancy Kurshan
Date: 11/17/1990Call Number: V 377Format: VHSProducers: Nancy KurshanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
A program by the Committee to End the Marion Lockdown about Control Unit Prisons. Harsh prison conditions (including super-max prison, Marion) are described by Bob Robideau of the American Indian Movement, Safiya Bukhari of the Jericho Amnesty Movement and Rafael Cancel Miranda a Puerto Rican Independentista.
Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control? Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control?
Date: 10/21/1995Call Number: CD 794Format: CDProducers: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown (CEML)Collection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
About closing the control units at Marion Prison. Nancy Kurshan of CEML (Committee to End the Marion Lockdown), Dr. Alan Berkman who has provided medical care for Black Liberation Army and Panther members as well as AIM activists at Wounded Knee in the 1970s. Berkman also speaks about being a former political prisoner, the prison system and control units as forms of social control which target revolutionary movements. Film segments about former LA gang member and Pelican Bay prisoner Sanyika Shakur. Transcript available for download.
Shut Down the Control Units Shut Down the Control Units
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: V 635Format: DV CamProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Excerpts of the CEML's "Shut Down the Control Units." US policies at Marion violate the United Nation's Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners that were established for countries like Chile and South Africa. The control units at Marion often are used to silence political prisoners and those demanding prisoners rights.
CEML Program - Bob Robideau, Safiya Bukhari-Alston, Rafael Cancel Miranda Moderator Nancy Kurshan CEML Program - Bob Robideau, Safiya Bukhari-Alston, Rafael Cancel Miranda Moderator Nancy Kurshan
Date: 11/17/1990Call Number: V 640Format: DV CamProducers: Nancy KurshanCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Excerpts from a program by the Committee to End the Marion Lockdown about Control Unit Prisons. Harsh prison conditions (including super-max prison, Marion) are described by Bob Robideau of the American Indian Movement, Safiya Bukhari of the Jericho Amnesty Movement and Rafael Cancel Miranda a Puerto Rican Independentista.
Refusing Military Work in a "Control Unit": Armed and Dangerous Refusing Military Work in a "Control Unit": Armed and Dangerous
Author: Raymond Luc LavasseurDate: 8/1993Volume Number: AugustFormat: ArticleCollection: Control Units
Reproduction of article by Raymond Luc Levasseur in Marion Prison.
Control Unit Prisons, Racism and Political Repression Control Unit Prisons, Racism and Political Repression
Author: Ward ChurchillDate: 5/3/1992Volume Number: 3-MayFormat: TranscriptCollection: Control Units
Reproduction of transcript from speech given by Ward Churchill on the topic of control units.
Control Units: An Opressive New Order in US Prisons Control Units: An Opressive New Order in US Prisons
Author: Nancy KershanPublisher: Committee to End the Marion LockdownFormat: ArticleCollection: Control Units
Reproduction