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 Panthers- Geronimo Ji Jaga Black Panthers- Geronimo Ji Jaga
Date: 1/14/1987Call Number: JG/ 057Format: CassetteProducers: Judy GerberProgram: interview with GeronimoCollection: Geronimo Pratt
This is an interview with Geronimo Ji Jaga, a Black Panther leader who was imprisoned for over 20 years at San Quentin prison, charged with a murder in Los Angeles, even though FBI surveillance showed him to be in the Bay Area at the time.
Mumia Abu Jamal message to Celebrate the Children of Resistance Mumia Abu Jamal message to Celebrate the Children of Resistance
Date: 4/29/2000Call Number: CD 044Format: CDProducers: Claude MarksCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Mumia Abu Jamal’s statement to “Celebrate the Children of Resistance” Berkeley Community Theater, April 29, 2000.
Mumia Abu Jamal message to Celebrate the Children of Resistance Mumia Abu Jamal message to Celebrate the Children of Resistance
Date: 4/29/2000Call Number: CD 043Format: CDProducers: Claude MarksCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Mumia Abu Jamal’s statement to “Celebrate the Children of Resistance” Berkeley Community Theater, April 29, 2000.
Marilyn Buck on women in prison Marilyn Buck on women in prison
Call Number: KP 192BFormat: Cass BCollection: Marilyn Buck
Marilyn Buck talks about the state of women in prison.
Interview with Herman Bell Interview with Herman Bell
Date: 9/16/1974Call Number: CD 540Format: Cass A & BProducers: Claude MarksCollection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
Interviews with Herman Bell by Claude Marks. The first conducted on September 16, 1974, the day of his conviction of a San Francisco bank robbery and the second September 25, 1974. “just came from the courtroom..if I had had my hopes up high for justice or fair play, I would have been disappointed. No great surprise. The whole charade. I was very relaxed and prepared for it. My position and always will be...look for nothing from these people...” Herman Bell speaks to the issue of prison and how he will continue to struggle ‘I dare to struggle and I dare to win.”
Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control? Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control?
Date: 10/21/1995Call Number: PM 336Format: Cass A & BProducers: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown (CEML)Collection: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown
Mind Control or Social Control? About closing the control units at Marion Prison. Nancy Kurshan of CEML (Committee to End the Marion Lockdown), Dr. Alan Berkman who has provided medical care for Black Liberation Army and Panther members as well as AIM activists at Wounded Knee in the 1970s. Berkman also speaks about being a former political prisoner, the prison system and control units as forms of social control which target revolutionary movements. Film segments about former LA gang member and Pelican Bay prisoner Sanyika Shakur. Transcript available for download.
Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control? Mass Incarceration and Control Units in Prisons: Mind Control or Social Control?
Date: 10/21/1995Call Number: CD 794Format: CDProducers: Committee to End the Marion Lockdown (CEML)Collection: Compact discs and videos representing digitized copies of analog tapes
About closing the control units at Marion Prison. Nancy Kurshan of CEML (Committee to End the Marion Lockdown), Dr. Alan Berkman who has provided medical care for Black Liberation Army and Panther members as well as AIM activists at Wounded Knee in the 1970s. Berkman also speaks about being a former political prisoner, the prison system and control units as forms of social control which target revolutionary movements. Film segments about former LA gang member and Pelican Bay prisoner Sanyika Shakur. Transcript available for download.
Silvia Baraldini Phone Interview Silvia Baraldini Phone Interview
Call Number: PM 437Format: 1/4 7 1/2 ipsCollection: Silvia Baraldini
Phone interview with political prisoner Silvia Baraldini, held in Marianna Prison in Florida. Baraldini discusses her trajectory as an activist, her sentence and the campaign for her return to Italy, prison conditions in Lexington and Florida, and women in prison.
Organizing Guide for Educators & Activists on the Crisis in Prisons Organizing Guide for Educators & Activists on the Crisis in Prisons
Publisher: Prison Activist Resource CenterDate: 3/21/1997Volume Number: 21-MarFormat: MonographCollection: Prisons - Stats, General
Section One: Directory of Organizations; Section two: Bibliography; Section Three: Examples of Recent Activism
Black Flag: Organ of the Anarchist Black Cross Black Flag: Organ of the Anarchist Black Cross
Publisher: Black Flag GroupYear: 1977Volume Number: Vol. 5-1Format: PeriodicalCollection: Black Flag
Focuses on conflicts in Germany between anarchists and Greman police. Contains several articles pertaining to the debate over trade unions throughout Europe.