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

Shut Down the Control Units Shut Down the Control Units
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: V 375Format: VHSProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
US policies at Marion violate the United Nation's Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners that were established for countries like Chile and South Africa. The control units at Marion often are used to silence political prisoners and those demanding prisoners rights.
Shut Down the Control Units Shut Down the Control Units
Date: 1/1/1988Call Number: V 635Format: DV CamProducers: Committee to End the Marion LockdownCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Excerpts of the CEML's "Shut Down the Control Units." US policies at Marion violate the United Nation's Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners that were established for countries like Chile and South Africa. The control units at Marion often are used to silence political prisoners and those demanding prisoners rights.
Public morality and the Supermax Prison: Madison Urban Ministry Social Justice Task Force Public morality and the Supermax Prison: Madison Urban Ministry Social Justice Task Force
Publisher: Ed SteichenFormat: StatementCollection: American Friends Service Committee
Statement against building supermax prison in Madison, WI and the psychological effects of isolation and sensory deprivation on inmates. Part of 8/1997 mailing.
Social control and the Politics of Prisons! Social control and the Politics of Prisons!
Publisher: Break The ChainsFormat: MonographCollection: Control Units
Reproduction. Contains articles by Sundiata Lumuba; Hatari WaHaki; Dharuba Cinque Kalahari; Daud Obika Tulam; Kareen Stovall; Gene Jones; Ojore Nuru Lutalo; Bill Sanderson; Peter Page; and Tom Manning. Also includes Rothman DJ. The American Way of Jail (review of Crime and Punishment in America by Elliott Currie and Sensible Justice: Alternatives to Prison by David C. Andersion), in The New York Times Book Review, March 1, 1998.
Buried Alive: New Control Units Put Prisoners in Extreme Isolation Buried Alive: New Control Units Put Prisoners in Extreme Isolation
Author: Daniel Burton RosePublisher: Boulder WeeklyDate: 2/6/1997Volume Number: 6-FebFormat: ArticleCollection: Control Units
Reproduction of Original Article.
[Graphic: Control Unit] [Graphic: Control Unit]
Format: GraphicCollection: Control Units
Reproduction. A lot of the Prisoners cant cope with the constant lockdown. They deteriorate mentally.- Ojore N. Lutalo
Ohio Control Unit Monitoring program: Outside Support and Inside Report Ohio Control Unit Monitoring program: Outside Support and Inside Report
Author: John PerottiFormat: MonographCollection: Control Units
Short essay printed on back of unrelated text.
United States of America: The High Security Unit, Lexington Federal Prison, Kentucky United States of America: The High Security Unit, Lexington Federal Prison, Kentucky
Publisher: Amnesty InternationalDate: 8/1988Volume Number: AugustFormat: ReportCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Reproduction of full summary and report.
Special Incapacitation: The Emergence of a New Correctional Facility for Women Political Prisoners Special Incapacitation: The Emergence of a New Correctional Facility for Women Political Prisoners
Author: Gilda ZwermanPublisher: Social JusticeYear: 1988Volume Number: Vol. 15-1Format: ArticleCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
Excerpt from Social Justice Vol. 15(1)
The Lexington Women's Control Unit p.2 The Lexington Women's Control Unit p.2
Publisher: Freedom ArchivesFormat: Video ClipCollection: Lexington Control Unit for Women
This video discusses the conditions of Lexington Prison and how people end up in Lexington control unit. Contains a short interview with a doctor who speaks about the psychological affects of prolonged isolation.