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

Law and Order Hysteria and the US Imprisonment Binge Law and Order Hysteria and the US Imprisonment Binge
Date: 8/22/1994Call Number: V 361Format: VHSProducers: The Campaign to Confront the Racist Imprisonment Binge, the National Lawyers Guild Chicago ChapterCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Forum held at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois about racism in prisons - includes testimonies of formerly incarcerated people. Moderated by Erica Thompson, Speakers: Jerome Miller, Carlos Vega, Randolph Stone.
CEML Conference Workshop #2: The War on Drugs and the Attack on Third World Communities CEML Conference Workshop #2: The War on Drugs and the Attack on Third World Communities
Date: 11/4/1989Call Number: V 619Format: VHSProducers: CEMLCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
CEML Moderator Nancy Kurshan, presenter Professor Robert Starks. Panelists explore the historical roots of the war on drugs in an international context. Funding, technology and policy have all been used by criminal justice system and the war on drugs to expand attacks on Third World communities in a variety of spaces. Q and A follows presentations.
CEML Program (10-21-1995) Keynote Address CEML Program (10-21-1995) Keynote Address
Date: 10/21/1995Call Number: V 620Format: VHSProducers: CEMLCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
MC Nancy Kurshan, speakers Dr. Alan Berkman, Nozomi Ikuta, and Jose Lopez. Topics discussed include proliferation of the criminal justice system and control units, control units and social control, physical and psychological conditions in control units, and prisons as reflections of America as a colonial power and its historical roots in racism and white power. There is also a taped video statement by Sanyika Shakur and his 60 minutes interview is shown. Transcript available for download.
CEML Program (10-21-1995) Keynote Address CEML Program (10-21-1995) Keynote Address
Date: 10/21/1995Call Number: V 642Format: DV CamProducers: CEMLCollection: Videos in many formats – both camera originals as well as reference materials
Excerpts from Keynote address: MC Nancy Kurshan, speakers Dr. Alan Berkman, Nozomi Ikuta, and Jose Lopez. Topics discussed include proliferation of the criminal justice system and control units, control units and social control, physical and psychological conditions in control units, and prisons as reflections of America as a colonial power and its historical roots in racism and white power. There is also a taped video statement by Sanyika Shakur and his 60 minutes interview is shown. Transcript available for download.
Law and Order Hysteria and the US Imprisonment Binge Law and Order Hysteria and the US Imprisonment Binge
Date: 8/22/1994Call Number: V 683Format: VHSProducers: The Campaign to Confront the Racist Imprisonment Binge, the National Lawyers Guild Chicago ChapterCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Forum held at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois about racism in prisons - includes testimonies of formerly incarcerated people. Moderated by Erica Thompson, Speakers: Jerome Miller, Carlos Vega, Randolph Stone.
Law and Order Hysteria and the US Imprisonment Binge Law and Order Hysteria and the US Imprisonment Binge
Date: 8/22/1994Call Number: V 684Format: VHSProducers: The Campaign to Confront the Racist Imprisonment Binge, the National Lawyers Guild Chicago ChapterCollection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Forum held at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois about racism in prisons - includes testimonies of formerly incarcerated people. Moderated by Erica Thompson, Speakers: Jerome Miller, Carlos Vega, Randolph Stone.