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

Black Consciousness and the Quest for a True Humanity Black Consciousness and the Quest for a True Humanity
Author: Steve BikoPublisher: Selby Semela and Joel Bolnick of the Black Consciousness MovementFormat: PamphletCollection: South Africa
Contains The Quest for a True Humanity by Steve Biko and a statement on his death
The Quest for a True Humanity The Quest for a True Humanity
Publisher: Black Liberation PressDate: 1/1978Volume Number: JanuaryFormat: MonographCollection: South Africa
Contains A Tribute to Steve Biko by Sipho Buthelezi; Historical Background of the Black Peoples Convention (BPC) by Sipho Buthalezi; Black Consciouness and a Quest for a True Humanity by Steve Biko; and Projection: Future State by the BPC Programme
Reflections on the Black Consciousness Movement and the South African Revolution Reflections on the Black Consciousness Movement and the South African Revolution
Authors: Selby Semela, Sam Thompson and Norman AbrahamDate: 8/1979Volume Number: AugustFormat: MonographCollection: South Africa
Contains The 1976/1977 Insurrection; The Soweto Students Representative Council; and Black Consciousness and the Black Consciousness Movement.
Black Consciousness Reaffirmed Black Consciousness Reaffirmed
Publisher: AZAPODate: 7/1981Volume Number: JulyFormat: PamphletCollection: South Africa
A Strategy for Struggle A Strategy for Struggle
Author: Ron KarengaPublisher: The Black ScholarDate: 11/1973Volume Number: NovemberFormat: ArticleCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This article by Rob Karenga appears in the Black Scholar of November 1973. Karenga calls for liberation of Afroamericans by accessing "critical space" inside economic and political institutions. In his article he provides ways to meet objectives of the liberation struggle and comments on Pan-Africanism.
BGF solidarity with SLA open letter BGF solidarity with SLA open letter
Publisher: BGFDate: 3/1974Volume Number: MarchFormat: CommuniqueCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This communique is from the Black Guerrilla Family that calls for an end of sufferng and the oppression of the people. It outlines what oppression looks like, supports the SLA in their movement, and calls for action against oppression to be taken, but to be objective when taking action.
Message from the People to the SLA Message from the People to the SLA
Author: Members of the Poor Oppressed Communities of the Bay AreaDate: 3/31/1974Volume Number: 31-MarFormat: CorrespondenceCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This letter from the poor oppressed communities of the Bay Area was written March 31, 1974. It addresses demands from the Symbionese Liberation Army to help their communities after the Hearst donations.
Text of Debray letter to Patty Text of Debray letter to Patty
Author: Regis DebrayDate: 4/12/1974Volume Number: 12-AprFormat: ArticleCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This letter written by Regis Debray addresses Patricia Hearst's decision to take on the name of Tania and honors the real Tania who died fighting for revolution in Bolivia.
The Last SLA Statement: an interview with Russ Joe Bill & Emily The Last SLA Statement: an interview with Russ Joe Bill & Emily
Authors: Emily Harris, Bill Harris, Russell Little, Joseph RemiroPublisher: Bay Area Research CollectiveYear: 1976Format: PamphletCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
An interview with Emily Harris, Bill Harris, Russell Little and Joseph Remiro who were all members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The interview follows the history of the SLA from the formation of the group in August 1973 until its declared end in 1976. The interview comments on the assassination of Marcus Foster, the kidnapping of Patricia Hearst, the Hibernia Bank Robbery, and the shootout on May 17th, 1974. The members also comment on their views of future revolutionary movements.
Free the SLA Free the SLA
Author: SLAFormat: StatementCollection: Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)
This statement written from the "underground" critiques the current revolutionary groups and provides directions for how the Left should continue. Its idea to unite the masses includes building a non-racist movement, incorporating the ideology of feminism into all theory and practice, and creating organizations capable of surviving repression from oppositional forces.