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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

Panel Discussion on the current state of Congo. Panel Discussion on the current state of Congo.
Call Number: AFR 062Format: Cass A & BCollection: Zaire-DRC
Panel discussion on the current state of Congo. Zairian Political Scientist Ilunga Kabongo speaks about the past struggles of Congo, and about former Congo Prime Minister and revolutionary Patrice Lumumba’s efforts in the struggle for liberation in Congo. He speaks about how FLN (National Liberation Front) was restricted because of revolutionary mercenaries from South Africa and other neighboring countries. He speaks about Congo’s abundance of natural resources as well. Next, Nzongola Ntalaja, Congolese Political Scientist, speaks about the continuing struggles in Congo, and about the struggle for autonomy in that country. He calls for the complete liberation of the Congolese people, and speaks about the struggle against Sese Seko Mobutu, president/dictator of Congo from 1930 - 1997, who had usurped power through a coup and was backed by Western powers. Ntalaja speaks about the struggle for a “second independence”, and the need to continue the struggle for liberation against Mobutu’s regime. On Side B, Dr. Tshiteya Mukona of Penn State University speaks about Mobutu’s Development policy of bribery, and how American foreign policy in Zaire (DRC - Democratic Republic of Congo) is supportive of Mobutu. Lastly, he speaks about the US’s role as a superpower and how it can influence other countries without destroying them.
DU Zaire Au Congo DU Zaire Au Congo
Call Number: V 153Format: UmaticProducers: Christian MesnilCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Part 1 of 2. SAME AS V154 Continued on V215 This documentary by Christian Mesnil chronicles Congo's struggle for independence from the racist colonial rule of King Leopold's Belgium. Using archival pictures and footage, as well as poetry and music, this documentary covers the colonial occupation of the Congo from 1885 to the declaration of independence in 1960 as well as the subsequent postcolonial struggle. Much emphasis is placed on the political life of Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) and included are statements and speeches spanning from his organizing work with the Mouvement National Congolais to his inagueration as Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This film is in French with no subtitles. B&W.
Du Zaire Au Congo Du Zaire Au Congo
Call Number: V 154Format: Mini DVProducers: Christian MesnilCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Part 1 of 2. SAME AS V153 Continued in V215 This documentary by Christian Mesnil chronicles Congo's struggle for independence from the racist colonial rule of King Leopold's Belgium. Using archival pictures and footage, as well as poetry and music, this documentary covers the colonial occupation of the Congo from 1885 to the declaration of independence in 1960 as well as the subsequent postcolonial struggle. Much emphasis is placed on the political life of Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) and included are statements and speeches spanning from his organizing work with the Mouvement National Congolais to his inagueration as Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This film is in French with no subtitles. B&W.
Du Zaire Au Congo Du Zaire Au Congo
Call Number: V 215Format: Mini DVProducers: Christian MesnilCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Part 2 of 2. This documentary by Christian Mesnil chronicles Congo's struggle for independence from the racist colonial rule of King Leopold's Belgium. Using archival pictures and footage, as well as poetry and music, this documentary covers the colonial occupation of the Congo from 1885 to the declaration of independence in 1960 as well as the subsequent postcolonial struggle. Much emphasis is placed on the political life of Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) and included are statements and speeches spanning from his organizing work with the Mouvement National Congolais to his inagueration as Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This film is in French with no subtitles. B&W.
Excerpts from Du Zaire Au Congo & Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story Excerpts from Du Zaire Au Congo & Incident at Oglala: The Leonard Peltier Story
Call Number: CD 412Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Audio excerpts from two videos: V215 and CD V215 Part 2 of 2. Du Zaire Au Congo This documentary by Christian Mesnil chronicles Congo's struggle for independence from the racist colonial rule of King Leopold's Belgium. Using archival pictures and footage, as well as poetry and music, this documentary covers the colonial occupation of the Congo from 1885 to the declaration of independence in 1960 as well as the subsequent postcolonial struggle. Much emphasis is placed on the political life of Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) and included are statements and speeches spanning from his organizing work with the Mouvement National Congolais to his inagueration as Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This film is in French with no subtitles. B&W. CD 205 Michael Apted's documentary is an investigative report on the case of Leonard Peltier, an American Indian Movement activist who was convicted of killing two F.B.I. agents in a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge reservation, in South Dakota. Peltier (who has been serving time for the murders since 1977) was railroaded by the F.B.I. The filmmakers concentrate on demonstrating that Leonard didn't get a fair trial. Apted guides us through this tangle of ambiguous evidence and back-and-forth legal maneuvering with patient, unobtrusive skill, and the cool rationality of his manner makes the movie's arguments seem all the more irrefutable. Narrated by Robert Redford (who is also the executive producer).
Du Zaire Au Congo Du Zaire Au Congo
Call Number: V 291Format: UmaticProducers: Christian MesnilCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Part 2 of 2. This documentary by Christian Mesnil chronicles Congo's struggle for independence from the racist colonial rule of King Leopold's Belgium. Using archival pictures and footage, as well as poetry and music, this documentary covers the colonial occupation of the Congo from 1885 to the declaration of independence in 1960 as well as the subsequent postcolonial struggle. Much emphasis is placed on the political life of Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) and included are statements and speeches spanning from his organizing work with the Mouvement National Congolais to his inagueration as Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This film is in French with no subtitles. B&W.
Lumumba Lumumba
Call Number: V 628Format: DVDProducers: Zeitgeist VideoCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
When the Congo declared its independence from Belgium in 1960, the 36-year-old, self-educated Lumumba became the first Prime Minister of the newly independent state. Called the "politico of the bush" by journalists of the day, he became a lightening rod of Cold War politics as his vision of a united Africa gained him powerful enemies in Belgium and the US. Lumumba would last just months in office before being brutally assassinated.
Afrikan Awakener Afrikan Awakener
Publisher: Pan Afrikan Peoples OrganizationYear: 1977Volume Number: Vol. 2-16 MayFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Africa- General Resources
The organ of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Organization. Contents of this issue include: Zimbabwe Patriotic Front Recognized, Roots: Red, White and Blue or Black?, Will Zaire be the next Vietnam?, How the Camp Pendleton 14 resist Klan violence, psychology of the Black Revolution, Home Births- Not a Bad Thing, What's Happening to Our Bad Youth