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

A Double Sentence- AIDS in Prisons A Double Sentence- AIDS in Prisons
Call Number: JG/ 007Producers: Judy GerberCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
"A Double Sentence- AIDS in Prisons" California male prisoners with AIDS are sent to insufficient facility in Vacaville and totally removed from the rest of the prison population
AIDS in Prison: A Double Sentence AIDS in Prison: A Double Sentence
Call Number: JG/ 061AFormat: Cass AProducers: Judy GerberCollection: Programs produced by Judy Gerber and Laurie Simms
Judy Gerber speaks with inmates, activists, and prison officials about conditions in the AIDS Unit inside the California Correctional Facility in Vacaville, California. Attica Brother Akil Al-Jundi and others speak on AIDS prisoners' confrontations with racism, quarantine, lacking medical facilities and personnel, involuntary and suspect testing, and cruel prison administrations. Also included, are depictions of prisoner resistance to inhumane treatment and a call for action from the public outside the prison walls.
Medical Neglect Medical Neglect
Date: 1/1/1995Call Number: PM 302Format: Cass A & BProducers: Prison Activist Resource CenterProgram: Prison Activist RadioCollection: Medical Care In Prison
Prison Activist Radio discuss the battle for medical care and healthcare rights for prisoners. Judy Greenspan, director of HIV/AIDS in Prison Project and member of California Coalition for Women Prisoners, speaks about the lack of women's healthcare in prisons, the serious medical conditions that men and women prisoners enter the system with, and the hostility of doctors, officials, and guards towards prisoners. She also discusses prisoner-activist Joanne Walker and the effective campaign for HIV/AIDS care and medical rights. Jean Stewart, from the Disabled Prisoner's Justice Fund and ADAPT discusses the abuses suffered by prisoners with disabilities. She also discusses health care issues, including the Armstrong and Shumate cases. Stewart states that the biggest problem with medical justice is the public's ignorance of people with disabilites.
Psychiatrists and Cops: Unholy Alliance Psychiatrists and Cops: Unholy Alliance
Author: Philip ShapiroPublisher: New American MovementYear: 1973Volume Number: Vol. 3-1 SeptemberFormat: ArticleCollection: Mental Health
Original article discussing the relationship between law enforcement, prison authorities and psychiatry.
Prison Psychiatry: The Clockwork Cure Prison Psychiatry: The Clockwork Cure
Author: Bernard WeinerPublisher: The NationYear: 1972Volume Number: Vol. 214-14 April 3Format: ArticleCollection: Mental Health
Article about aversion therapy, routinely practiced in California's prison system. Article further investigates medical and mental health practices at Vacaville Prison.