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.

Zimbabwe

The majority of the materials in this collection articulate the perspective of the Zimbabwe African National Union which was founded in August 1963 to organize and mobilize the masses to confront and wrestle power from the 240,000 white settlers. In 1966, ZANU re-launched "Chimurenga" (the war of liberation) originally started in 1896 and began military engagement with the White Settler State which would last until 1980. The contents of the collection include periodicals, monographs (short books), transcripts of speeches, and miscellaneous publications and articles and reports. Our periodicals range from 1978-1992. Strengths of the collection include themes and information around women in Zimbabwe and a number of issues of Zimbabwe News published during the war of independence.

Highlighted Periodicals:

Speak Out/Taurai/ Khulumani: Published by the Womens Action Group in Harare, this publication focused on important and relevant issues facing women in Zimbabwe including contraception, health, legal rights, marriage, and evolving cultural gender roles and responsibilities. This periodical was published in English, Ndebele and Shona. Six issues ranging from 1989-1991.

Social Development and Change: This journal aims to promote discussion and debate amongst people in Zimbabwe on issues of change and development that concern the country. It was published by a voluntary non-profit collective. Five issues ranging from 1988-1992.

Moto Magazine: Originally a voice of criticism of the colonial government, after independence, Moto switched its focus to issues generally marginalized by the state-controlled press, running socioeconomic and human-interest stories, often set in rural communities. In addition to national and international news, Moto also featured articles on religion, sports and book reviews. Seven issues ranging from 1988-1992.

Heal the Wounds News: Heal the Wounds Campaign was founded in February 1988 to assist victims of South African aggression in Zimbabwe. Three issues ranging from 1989-1990.

Zimbabwe News: The official organ of the Zimbabwe African National Union, the Zimbabwe News functioned as the periodical of the revolutionary struggle. Each issue is over 60 pages and contains comprehensive news, political thought, writings and updates from the struggle. Six issues ranging from July 1977-December 1978. After independence, Zimbabwe News begins to function as the state controlled resource for news, government policies, obituaries, editorials, etc. Five issues ranging from 1985-1992.

Documents

1989 Zimbabwe Supplement 1989 Zimbabwe Supplement
Publisher: Computers in AfricaYear: 1989Volume Number: Vol. 3-4Format: PeriodicalCollection: Zimbabwe
Supplement focusing on Zimbabwe as a future leader in Internet and Computer Technology
Revolution in Africa: Newsletter of the Material Aid Campaign for ZANU Revolution in Africa: Newsletter of the Material Aid Campaign for ZANU
Publisher: Material Aid Campaign for ZANU (PF)Volume Number: Vol. 1-2Format: PeriodicalCollection: Zimbabwe
Revolution in Africa: Newsletter of the Material Aid Campaign for ZANU Revolution in Africa: Newsletter of the Material Aid Campaign for ZANU
Publisher: Material Aid Campaign for ZANU (PF)Format: PeriodicalCollection: Zimbabwe
Why I Joined ZANLA Women's Detachment Why I Joined ZANLA Women's Detachment
Author: Sarudzai ChurucheminzwaPublisher: Zimbabwe NewsDate: 6/1974Volume Number: JuneFormat: ArticleCollection: Zimbabwe
Reproduction of Article originally printed in Zimbabwe News.