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

Ricanstructing Vieques Ricanstructing Vieques
Date: 1/1/1999Call Number: V 005Format: VHSProducers: Ugly planet mediaCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
a punkumentary featuring the band Ricanstruction, directed by Vagabond.2/3 of the island is being destroyed by the Navy, the women and children have cancer, there is little employment. “ Another example is... you are at the beach, relaxing...one time we were at Sunbay this was in ‘87 or ‘88..we were with kids playing, and a few tanks came out of the water, various kinds of tanks..everybody was in shock, I grabbed my daughters and everybody was screaming then they went back in to the water, so if somebody would have been where they came out that person would have been dead. So it’s a mistake- there are many mistakes.”
Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War
Date: 1/10/1992Call Number: LA 050Format: Cass A & BProducers: Noelle Hanrahan (in assoc. with Gloria Alonzo), Jane Segal, J. Mullins, Bo (Rita D.) BrownProgram: You Can’t Jail the Spirit: Political Prisoners in the USCollection: Puerto Rico
Part of a thirteen part series (You Can’t Jail the Spirit). Interviews with PR PPs/POWs over prison phones and Puerto Rican Independentista activists and academics. Intro by Gloria Alonzo, Interviews by Avotcha. Recorded voices of Felix Mata, then Umberto Pagan (recorded at 1989 Grito de Lares Event in San Francisco). Interviews with Rafael Cancel Miranda, Dylcia Pagan (POW talking from prison), Jose Lopez (re: MLN today), Adolfo Matos (POW talking from Lompock Penintentiary). Music. Interview with Margarita Mengal (professor, talking on Ofensive ‘92). (duplicated on LA 070)
March for Vieques; Elizam Escobar March for Vieques; Elizam Escobar
Date: 1/12/2003Call Number: V 135Format: Mini DVProducers: hana tauber, nyla rosen, jose ignacio fuste, marcos garofaloCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Unedited video taping used for a project on the Puerto Rican former political prisoners. All in Spanish except interview with Dylcia. First half hour is at a March to get the Navy out of Vieques. Former political prisoners Dylcia Pagan (min16) and Luis Rosa (min. 19) talk about the connection between the Vieques struggle and PR Independence and the political prisoners. Korean war vetran talks about serving time for civil disobediance on vieques (min. 3). Also includes brief interview with a teacher’s union at the March and the union’s band playing music, and brief interview on the connection between Palestinian and Puerto Rican liberation. Second half hour is the continuation of an Interview with former politcal prisoner Elizam Escobar at his hosue (V 139). Talks about the role of art in the struggle for freedom, self-determination and Puerto Rican liberation. NOTE: For easier viewing, check out V 143 which has extracted, edited and english-subtitled interviews of these and other PR Independentistas.
Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War
Date: 1/10/1992Call Number: LA 067AFormat: Cass AProducers: Noel Hanrahan (in assoc. with Gloria Alonzo), Jane Segal, J. Mullins, Bo (Rita D.) BrownProgram: You Can’t Jail the Spirit #9: Political Prisoners in the USCollection: Puerto Rico
(Incomplete Duplicate of LA 050). Part of a thirteen part series (You Can’t Jail the Spirit). Interviews with PR PPs/POWs over prison phones and Puerto Rican Independentista activists and academics. (Missing LA050’s Intro by Gloria Alonzo, interviews with Felix Mata, Umberto Pagan (recorded at 1989 Grito de Lares Event in San Francisco), and Rafael Cancel Miranda). Does include interviews by Avotja with Dylcia Pagan (POW talking from prison), Jose Lopez (re: MLN today), Adolfo Matos (POW talking from Lompock Penintentiary). Music. Interview with Margarita Mengal (professor, talking on Ofensive ‘92).
Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War Puerto Rican Politcal Prisoners and Prisoners of War
Date: 1/10/1992Call Number: LA 070Format: Cass A & BProducers: Noel Hanrahan (in assoc. with Gloria Alonzo), Jane Segal, J. Mullins, Bo (Rita D.) BrownProgram: You Can’t Jail the Spirit: Political Prisoners in the USCollection: Puerto Rico
(Duplicate of LA 050.) Part of a thirteen part series (You Can’t Jail the Spirit). Interviews with PR PPs/POWs over prison phones and Puerto Rican Independentista activists and academics. Intro by Gloria Alonzo, Interviews by Avotcha. Recorded voices of Felix Mata, then Umberto Pagan (recorded at 1989 Grito de Lares Event in San Francisco). Interviews with Rafael Cancel Miranda, Dylcia Pagan (POW talking from prison), Jose Lopez (re: MLN today), Adolfo Matos (POW talking from Lompock Penintentiary). Music. Interview with Margarita Mengal (professor, talking on Ofensive ‘92).