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

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Last Speech Martin Luther King Jr.’s Last Speech
Date: 4/5/1968Call Number: KP 052Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.,’s last speech was given in Memphis, Tennessee. He starts by saying, “Something is happening in Memphis, something is happening in the world!” He goes on to explain how lucky he is that God allowed him to be in the world in the 1960’s, and how he with God’s grace will rally the people and bring justice to Negroes in America. He is not afraid for the people will get to the promised land and his eyes have “Seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!”
Paul Robeson, The First 100 Years: A Celebration of His Life and Legacy Paul Robeson, The First 100 Years: A Celebration of His Life and Legacy
Date: 4/5/1998Call Number: V 146Format: VHSProducers: WBAI Radio-NYCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Begins with a video montage with narration on Robeson’s life, including excerpts from his speeches and interviews, historic film footage. Followed by speakers who pay tribute to Robeson; musical performances. Concludes with a panel discussion and questions from audience. Dr. Charles Wright is seated on the stage but is not shown speaking.
Paul Robeson, The First 100 Years: A Celebration of His Life and Legacy Paul Robeson, The First 100 Years: A Celebration of His Life and Legacy
Date: 4/5/1998Call Number: V 147Format: VHSProducers: WBAI Radio-NYCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Begins with a video montage with narration on Robeson’s life, including excerpts from his speeches and interviews, historic film footage. Followed by speakers who pay tribute to Robeson; musical performances. Concludes with a panel discussion and questions from audience. Dr. Charles Wright is seated on the stage but is not shown speaking.
Paul Robeson Paul Robeson
Date: 1/1/1953Call Number: CD 288Format: CDCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Paul Robeson, taped message to Marine Cooks and Stewards meeting on February 24, 1952: speaks to his union brothers and sings "Bill of Rights" a capella. Same as PR 054
Paul Robeson: Speech at Marine Cooks & Stewards Union Convention, at Macedonia Baptist Church, San Francisco Paul Robeson: Speech at Marine Cooks & Stewards Union Convention, at Macedonia Baptist Church, San Francisco
Date: 5/3/1951Call Number: CD 379Format: CDProducers: Sidney RogerCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Paul Robeson’s Speech at tha Marine Cooks & Stewards Union Convention, at Macedonia Baptist Church, San Francisco, May 3, 1951. At this time, concert halls were closed to him, and he had to speak and sing in churches, union halls, and private homes. Here, he outlines his views of civil rights, the role of trade unions, peace, freedom, the universality of the struggle against oppression and colonialism. Same as PR 085 Readings from Here I Stand by Karl Marx Yeargans, CD 379, Tracks 2-11. Same as PR 087
I Have A Dream: Portrait of Martin Luther King's Life and Message I Have A Dream: Portrait of Martin Luther King's Life and Message
Date: 1/1/1968Call Number: KP 394Format: Cass A & BProducers: Pacifica National ProgramsCollection: Martin Luther King Jr.
This documentary focuses on major events in his life such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott to his incarceration in the Birmingham jail. The documentary covers his life up until the "I Have A Dream" speech and his death.