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

Why was Patricia Hearst Kidnapped? Why was Patricia Hearst Kidnapped?
Publisher: The RealistDate: 2/1974Volume Number: FebruaryFormat: PeriodicalCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This periodical is dedicated to the conspiracy that the SLA was colluding with the FBI and the CIA and uses many of Mae Brussell's conspiracy theories.
Press Release: California Refused to Extradite SLA's Defreeze Press Release: California Refused to Extradite SLA's Defreeze
Publisher: The Black Panther Intercommunal News ServiceDate: 4/18/1974Volume Number: 18-AprFormat: Press ReleaseCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
Press release written by the Black Panther Party stating that Donald Defreeze of the Symbionese Liberation Army is working with the State of California in a conspiracy against the Black Panthers.
Is SLA's Cinque the First Black Lee Harvey Oswald? Is SLA's Cinque the First Black Lee Harvey Oswald?
Authors: Mae Brussell and Stephanie CaruanaDate: 4/19/1974Volume Number: 19-AprFormat: ArticleCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This article includes an interview of Mae Brussell, a conspiracy researcher by writer Stephanie Caruana. Mae Brussell gives an explanation of why she believes that the Symbionese Liberation Army is a hoax by the C.I.A.
Who Are the Real Patsies? Who Are the Real Patsies?
Author: Rex WeinerPublisher: Berkeley BarbYear: 1974Volume Number: July-AugustFormat: ArticleCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This newspaper article is featured in The Guardian and comments on those who criticize the legitimacy of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The article dissects Mae Brussell's conspiracy theories and ultimately discredits them. The article argues in opposition to the SLA "discrediting the left" presented by Mae Brussell and Paul Krassner.