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

Joyce Kangai of the ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) Women’s League Joyce Kangai of the ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) Women’s League
Date: 1/11/1980Call Number: AFR 010AFormat: Cass ACollection: Zimbabwe
Joyce Kangai of the ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union) Women’s League speaks about the Zimbabwean people losing their land, outside forces imposing their power, and the oppressive nature of colonialism on language and culture. She calls the women to fight for liberation, and explains how they can be part of the struggle.
Imperialist oppression in Southern African countries Imperialist oppression in Southern African countries
Date: 1/15/1982Call Number: AFR 066Format: Cass A & BCollection: African liberation movements
Judy Jensen of the Material Aid Campaign for ZANU makes a speech about Southern Africa. She speaks about ZANU’s defeat of white settler colonialism in Zimbabwe and also women’s contributions to the struggle. She discusses the different fronts in the war for the liberation of Southern Africa, and the struggle against the US’s attack on their independence. She talks about struggles in Namibia, South Africa’s control over Southern African countries, and calls for solidarity with Southern African countries. Lastly, she draws comparisons and similarities between the oppression of blacks in America and Africa. Next, Serge Mukendi, US Representative of the Workers and Peasants Movement of the Congo (MOP), speaks about weaknesses in natural and human resources in Africa because they are not in the hands of the Africans. He speaks about the struggles in Congo and tells the audience that it is our duty to strengthen the fight for liberation in Congo through support and solidarity. On Side B, Eve Rosahn, political activist, Students Against Government Misconduct, speaks about political activists for black liberation who have been tortured and beaten for their actions. Next, a member of the Anti-Springbok 5 chants “Up With Azania, Down With South Africa!”, and speaks about her experiences as an ASB-5, and tells the audience about the Springbok 5 and what they represent. The Springboks are an elite white supremacist South African rugby team traveling the US, representing the spread of white imperialism. Lastly, PAC (Pan African Congress) representative Jackie Mazibuko, speaks about white alliances between Ian Smith of Zimbabwe, the South African government, and the US in their oppression of black Africans. She also speaks about the land issues in Africa, and that all land originally, and still should, belong to black Africans, and that people must have the ideology of revolution to struggle against oppression.
Zimbabwe Minister Teurai Ropa Nongo on Zimbabwean women and land. Zimbabwe Minister Teurai Ropa Nongo on Zimbabwean women and land.
Call Number: AFR 080AFormat: Cass ACollection: Zimbabwe
A representative of the AAI (African American Institute) interviews Zimbabwe Minister Teurai Ropa Nongo. She speaks about women in Zimbabwe, and about women from developing rural towns and urban areas. Shye says that the people love their land, and it is a large part of society, culture, and is central to the family structure and well-being. Interview cuts off at 8:40.